Mike Neal hurt in non-contact drill

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GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Packers defensive end Mike Neal injured his left knee during a non-contact drill early in Tuesday's practice.

Coach Mike McCarthy says Neal will have an MRI and other tests done on the knee.

"The way Mike fell -- I saw it from the special teams drill -- just the reaction from everybody makes you nervous," McCarthy said. "As far as the position, the defensive line, you have healthy competition. We were expecting big things from Mike as a contributor this year. I don't want to see any of those guys get hurt, especially both sides of the line."

Neal was expected to help replace Cullen Jenkins at defensive end. After practice, he said on Twitter: "I'm A-OK."

Fellow defensive lineman B.J. Raji, who was participating in the same drill, called the injury a "freak" accident. Veteran defensive end Ryan Pickett was equally concerned.

"Everybody knows how vital he is to our success this year. So, that got around real quick," Pickett said. "Everybody breathed a sigh of relief when he got up and started walking. Hopefully, he's fine."

A 2010 second-round draft pick from Purdue who played in just two games as a rookie before a season-ending shoulder injury, Neal is the presumptive replacement for Jenkins, who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency.

While Neal only played in two regular season games before a complete tear of his rotator cuff and a partial tear of his labrum, he had a significant impact. In 26 snaps against the Detroit Lions on Oct. 3, he forced Jahvid Best's fumble that was recovered by Pickett to set up a touchdown. Against the Redskins, with Pickett out with a first-quarter ankle injury, he played 53 snaps and had five tackles, his first NFL sack, a quarterback hit and a pressure.

The Packers made no effort to re-sign Jenkins, despite the affordable five-year, $25 million deal he received from the Eagles, in part because of their confidence in Neal. Despite playing just 11 games because of a calf injury, and playing half those games with a cast on his broken hand, Jenkins finished second on the team in sacks with seven, trailing only Pro Bowl outside linebacker Clay Matthews.

"There's no doubt about it that Cullen was a great player and will continue to be," Matthews said. "But, it's time for these young guys to step up now, just as they expected me to do when I came in."

Notes

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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