GREEN BAY -- If the Packers opt not to keep undrafted rookie free agent running back Kregg Lumpkin when they make their final roster cuts Saturday, they can essentially kiss him goodbye.

The kid showed too much promise not to be snapped up by one of the league's other 31 teams before the Packers can sneak him through to the practice squad.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy essentially said so after the Packers' 23-21 preseason-ending loss to the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night.

"I thought Lumpkin did a good job," McCarthy said of Lumpkin, who had just 27 yards on 10 carries but caught a team-high four passes for 33 yards against the Titans and finished the preseason as the Packers' leading rusher (38 carries, 153 yards, 4.0-yard average, one touchdown) while adding seven receptions for 59 yards and another score.

"He runs physical. He continues to improve. He breaks tackles. He's a better player when he gets past the line of scrimmage than I originally thought. (As) he gets more comfortable, you see the physicality of his play has increased. I thought he did some good things."

While Lumpkin had some highlight plays in the preseason -- an 11-yard touchdown catch against Cincinnati, a 21-yard run against San Francisco and a go-ahead 1-yard touchdown run against Denver -- it was his fumble against the Bengals with less than 2 minutes left and the Packers within a field goal that might've been the bellwether moment of camp for him.

Well-acquainted with missed opportunities after his promising college career at Georgia was derailed by injury, Lumpkin vowed to make the most of his second chance -- if he got one.

"That's the cardinal sin for running backs. Not only did we have a chance to win the game, but fumbling the ball isn't me," Lumpkin said. "In college, you get another chance to redeem yourself. The NFL is cutthroat. You may not get another chance to get back out there."

But he did, and he's an even-money bet to make the 53-man roster when final cuts are made at 5 p.m. Saturday.

"Lumpkin is a perfect example of what you're looking for in a rookie," McCarthy said earlier in the week. "I think talent-wise, he brings a lot to the table, (and) he's improved every week. That's what you're looking for in rookies, to take advantage of their opportunity. He's put together a nice training camp."

Lumpkin has always had talent. He came out of Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, Ga., ranked as the No. 2 prep running back in the country, and he played as a true freshman for the Bulldogs, rushing for 523 yards in 12 games and tying for the team lead in touchdowns (seven) in 2003.

But a torn ACL in his left knee on the first day of camp cost him the '04 season, which he redshirted. He was saw limited action in '05, the highlight being a 34-yard touchdown in the Sugar Bowl. While he regained his starting job in '06 (team-high 798 yards and six TDs in nine starts), a broken thumb and torn cartilage in his knee in '07 left him with just 12 carries for 44 yards while Knowshon Moreno (the Bulldogs' starter this season) and Thomas Brown (sixth-round pick by Atlanta) passed him by.

"You get hurt, somebody else steps up," said Lumpkin, who'd hoped to play in the Sugar Bowl but missed that game, too. "Every opportunity you get, you have to take advantage of it, because you never know if you'll get another one."

He got his opportunity with the Packers because the team's southeast scout, Brian Gutekunst, liked what he saw of him, as did college scouting director John Dorsey and general manager Ted Thompson. After the draft, the Packers gave him a $4,000 signing bonus, but Thompson gave Lumpkin the ultimate compliment this week when asked about him.

"I think he's been pretty solid, pretty steady," Thompson said. "He's still learning, as all rookies are."

Translation: We really like the kid, and if we don't have room for him on the 53-man roster, we want him on our practice squad, so stop asking me about him.

 Page 1 of 2 (view all on one page)

Next >>

Post a comment / write a review.