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- Mar 19, 2019
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Last but not least, King has returned to practice this week after being out since Family Night with a hamstring injury, and Pettine doubted anyone could play a whole game after missing that much time. The Packers are glad to have King back, but they’ll be careful early on.
“I gotta get back out there and get that camaraderie with those guys, but from where I was standing everything looks good,” King said. “The sky’s the limit. A lot of new faces, but when we’re out there everybody’s pretty much in tune.”
The Smiths, Amos, Savage, Gary and perhaps Summers will all be making their Green Bay debuts on Thursday night in Chicago. For the latter three, it’ll be their official NFL debuts as rookies.
Their goal? To stay loose.
“I don’t get nervous anymore, honestly,” said Savage, who switched his jersey number this week from 26 to 21. Greene also changed his from 36 to 24. “I feel like when you start getting nervous and you start making things larger than they are, you play tight.”
If there’s anyone with a little extra emotion going into this one, it would be Amos, who played his first four pro seasons with the Bears and is returning to Soldier Field right away in a new uniform.
The two NFC North rivals actually swapped starting safeties, with Amos’ predecessor in Green Bay, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, now starting for the Bears.
“I expect there to be feelings when I come out (of the tunnel),” Amos said. “I know I have to be prepared to take a deep breath and play football.”
It’s finally time to do just that. This Packers unit has plenty to prove, but the belief in what the group can become is there.
“I think it’s high,” Martinez said. “It’s something we’ve been talking about throughout preseason and just harping on that we can be special.
“It’s just working every single day to get there, because it’s one thing to talk about it. It’s another thing to go out there and do it.”