Collins Looking Good, But McCarthy Wouldn’t Let Him Play

We’ve all been waiting to hear the status of Green Bay Packers safety Nick Collins, who is looking to return from spinal fusion surgery after suffering a neck injury early last season.

Word is, there may be news by the end of the week. At present, it looks good from a medical standpoint.

“I’ll tell you what (team physician) Dr. Pat McKenzie told me, ‘It’s something that they feel very good about based on the last exam, and if he has a good chance just based on the way he’s progressing, but you don’t know,’” McCarthy said. “He said it’s either yes or no.”

That being said, there’s no guarantee Collins will be cleared to play. In fact, coach Mike McCarthy said if Collins were his son, he wouldn’t let him play.

“That’s probably one of the worst parts of your job (as a coach),” McCarthy said. “Walking out on the field looking over a player, especially when it didn’t look very serious and then you get out there, I don’t want to be put in that position again.

“And this is not about me. I’m just talking about, if that was my son, if Nick was my son, I would not let him play.”

That’s not exactly reassuring.

The Packers defense wasn’t the same after Collins went down last season and ultimately finished last in the NFL in total defense. Collins absence wasn’t the only issue, but there was clearly a big drop off when the Packers were forced to insert Charlie Peprah into the lineup.

If Collins is unable to return, the Packers will have to draft his replacement.