Although no one has ever said the word “retired,” that’s what former Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley is. That became reality when no team wanted to take a chance on Finley and his injured neck last season.
Finley, who had hopes of returning to the Packers, sat out the entire year after undergoing spinal fusion surgery in the offseason.
And in the NFL, when you sit out an entire season and you’re not on a team’s roster, that means you’re retired. Whether you like it or not.
Just ask Nick Collins.
That point was hammered home for Finley this past weekend.
The Packers opened their rookie camp and Finley was quick notice that they gave his old number away.
No. 88 now belongs to third-round pick Ty Montgomery and that makes Big Fin sad.
Sad to see #88 on someone else's back.. #Packers. Lets see what he got!
— Jermichael Finley (@JermichaelF88) May 8, 2015
What Montgomery has doesn’t really matter in our estimation. The Packers have approximately 739 receivers, so we imagine one or two of them are bound to be able to catch a football.
What the Packers haven’t had since Finley’s injury is a tight end who can do anything of note.
Andrew Quarless thinks he Rob Gronkowski, but most certainly is not. Brandon Bostick has been cut and relegated to the purgatory known as Minnesota. Richard Rodgers, AKA DickRodge, was an unaccountable suckbag as a rookie. And now there’s sixth-round pick Kennard Backman, who we know next to nothing about.
Fortunately, the Packers proved they don’t need a tight end to win, last season.