It has been all quiet on the Jermichael Finley front ever since the tight end failed a physical with the Seattle Seahawks.
Finley is more than six months removed from undergoing neck surgery to fuse his C-3/C-4 vertebrae, which is an injury that some doctors believe carries a risk of re-injury too high to clear. Finley’s surgeon, however, called the neck fusion fully healed.
Since then there’s not been much to report on Finley, except for rumored interest from the Green Bay Packers. When asked about a potential return to Lambeau, head coach Mike McCarthy told Sirius XM NFL Radio he’s keeping a watchful eye on the tight end.
“In my mind, he’s a Green Bay Packer, hopefully,” McCarthy said on Wednesday. “He’s going through a tough medical situation that we all recognize is a serious injury. My understanding is he’s doing everything and beyond to get himself ready, and we’ll continue to watch that.”
Earlier this week, Packers general manager Ted Thompson would not rule out re-signing Finley, despite the team having a reputation for being very conservative when it comes to bringing in players coming off injury. The team currently has Andrew Quarless and Brandon Bostick penciled in atop the depth chart the position, but drafted Richard Rodgers out of Cal in the third round of the NFL draft.
Thompson told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Finley would of course need to be medically cleared, but said drafting a tight end does not mean they are out of running for Finley.
“I don’t necessarily think the two are tied at all,” Thompson said. “We were just trying to pick a good player.”
Finley still has yet to receive medical clearance from any NFL clubs. He underwent an X-ray on his spine in late April, and it was reported that he was “on track,” though there was no set timetable for when he could be cleared.
