The Green Bay Packers have informed [intlink id=”64″ type=”category”]Ryan Grant[/intlink] he’s still the team’s starting running back.
Grant, who went on injured reserve after the team’s first game in 2010, was replaced in the lineup by [intlink id=”77″ type=”category”]Brandon Jackson[/intlink], who’s a free agent, and rookie [intlink id=”1038″ type=”category”]James Starks[/intlink] carried the load for the Packers during the playoffs.
Starks’ success — an NFL best 315 yards rushing in the playoffs — led some to believe he’d be the Packers’ No. 1 back in 2011. Not the case, at least for the time being.
“From what I’ve heard, that’s the conversation that was told to me,” Grant told WSSP radio. “I was told that by [former running backs coach Edgar Bennett], initially. Jerry [Fontenot, the new position coach] didn’t tell me that anything changed. Jerry told me that as of right now I’m still the leader of the backfield and the expectations won’t change. . . . I do believe there will be competition, which is fine. I’m all for that.”
Of course, just because Grant’s penciled in as the Packers’ No. 1 doesn’t necessarily mean the team won’t use more of the backfield-by-committee approach or that Grant will remain the starter for the entire season.
The Packers like Starks and coach [intlink id=”67″ type=”category”]Mike McCarthy[/intlink] has already eluded to the fact the team will use him fairly extensively, saying they don’t want to wear one guy out.
That could mean fewer carries for Grant than he’s come to expect.
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