Nick Collins Shows Up For Packers Practice

Packers safety Nick Collins reportedly wants a new contract, but that didn’t stop him from attending Green Bay’s final open offseason practice Wednesday. According to Greg Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Collins was at the session but quickly left with other players who were rehabbing injuries. The one-time Pro Bowler’s attendance is noteworthy because he’s entering the final year of his rookie deal, and his previous attendance this Spring was spotty. (A serious family matter was cited previously, but his agent said that Collins would have been absent even if there had not been family problems.) Packers coach Mike McCarthy calls Collins the “main communicator” in Green Bay’s new 3-4 defense, so his knowledge of the scheme will be key. Collins shares an agent with teammate Ryan Grant, who held out out of training camp last season before a slow start in September. It now appears Collins won’t be taking the same route.