By Rob Demovsky
Despite his best performance since Week 1, Derrick Frosts days as the Green Bay Packers punter could be numbered.
The Packers on Monday worked out four punters, including former Bay Port High School and University of Wisconsin standout Ken DeBauche and former Pro Bowler Scott Player.
DeBauche spent part of the offseason on the Packers roster. He signed with his hometown team as a rookie free agent just a few hours after the April draft and went through the organized team activities and the mandatory minicamp. He was cut on July 24, just five days before the first practice of training camp.
DeBauche has been living in Milwaukee and made the drive to Green Bay on Monday. It was his first workout since the Packers released him. He worked out inside Lambeau Field along with Player, Zac Atterberry and Waylon Prather and long snapper Kevin Garvoille, according to the NFL transaction wire that is sent to all 32 teams but not released to the public.
I thought it went well, DeBauche said. I was pretty optimistic coming out of it in that I knew I punted well.
Player was the only NFL veteran among the group. The 38-year-old played for the Arizona Cardinals from 1998 to 2006 and made the Pro Bowl in 2000. He punted last season for the Cleveland Browns and was signed by the New England Patriots this offseason but did not make the team. In 727 career punts, he has averages of 43.1 yards (gross) and 36.1 yards (net).
Atterberry, who played at Lindenwood University, spent time on the Chicago Bears roster this offseason. Prather, of San Jose State, was with the New Orleans Saints in the preseason and was on the New York Jets practice squad briefly last month. Both are rookies.
After a solid first week, Frost struggled in three straight games before turning in an improved performance against Atlanta on Sunday. He punted three times and finished with averages of 41 yards (gross) and 40 yards (net) with one kick inside the 20.
Like DeBauche, Garvoille has ties to the state. He played at UW-Whitewater through 2003 and grew up in Oregon, which is near Madison.
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