Raven Greene, EQ St. Brown starting comeback seasons strong

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Whatever role he settles into this year, Greene remains confident he can be reliable and impactful. After he played mostly on special teams as a rookie, acquitting himself well in full-time duty at Soldier Field last September was a significant, if unfortunately brief, step forward.


"I feel like I kind of got my first taste – a really small sample size," said Greene, who was re-activated off injured reserve last January for the NFC title game, but was a game-day inactive. "Being able to figure out that I really have a good chance of making an impact as long as I can stay out there."


He recorded six tackles in that game and broke up a pass in the end zone in the fourth quarter. New defensive backs coach Jerry Gray noted after watching the film, Greene impressed him with his ability to cover running backs coming out of the backfield.


While Greene has become a workout warrior over the last couple of years, bulking up from his listed weight of 197 – he posted a Twitter video power-cleaning 345 pounds – he doesn't feel he's sacrificed any centerfield speed in building a different body from his college days to line up closer to the line of scrimmage when called upon.


"I feel like I've played a decent bit of true safety and that's what I'm categorized as on the roster," he said. "Versatility – wherever they want to put me, they can. So I'm just making sure my skill set is exactly where it needs to be."


St. Brown has the same mentality as he re-enters the competition at wide receiver, which is very similar to last year's. The former Notre Dame standout and sixth-round pick in 2018 was having a solid camp one summer ago when he hurt his ankle in the third preseason game in Winnipeg.


It eventually required surgery and prevented him from ever being on the active roster in 2019, his first season without football he can remember. After finishing his rookie year on the upswing, with three catches for 53 yards in a November game at Minnesota and then five grabs for 94 yards in December at New York, St. Brown didn't get to build on what he'd done.


"Personally I was very disappointed," he said. "There were a few times where I got down, but I picked myself up pretty quick. I wasn't too negative about it. I know I have a long career ahead of me, and I'm pretty young."