Green Bay It has reached the point for Donald Lee in Green Bay that the veteran tight end can't even be sure anymore if he's going to be in uniform on game day.
Rookie Andrew Quarless might replace Lee on the 45-man roster Monday night when the Packers meet the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
Still, the 30-year-old Lee said he would not ask the Packers to trade him before the Oct. 19 deadline even though there are teams looking for capable tight ends.
"All my life I've been a team guy, and football is the ultimate team sport," Lee said Saturday. "Am I happy about the things I'm asked to do? Sometimes I am, sometimes I'm not. But that's not for me to worry about."
Free agent Tom Crabtree, the best blocker of the four tight ends, returned to practice Saturday after missing Friday with an arch problem. He's fine.
Assuming that Crabtree joins Jermichael Finley on the 45, there's no guarantee it will be Lee over Quarless for the other berth. Both don't expect to know until a few hours before kickoff.
Lee, a regular on the four core special teams, was told by coach Shawn Slocum early in the week that he needed to look at some other players in practice. Thus, Lee gave way to Quarless much of the time.
"He just told me he was going to try something new this week to see what other guys can do," said Lee. "I have no idea. Hey, whatever his decision is, that's fine with me. Only thing I can guarantee, if I'm out there I'm going to give 110% effort."
Lee was the starter throughout 2007, '08 and the first half of '09 before giving way to Finley.
Last season, he caught 37 of the 53 passes thrown in his direction. This year, he caught the only ball thrown to him for minus-1, which was in a 17-play stint against Buffalo.
According to Lee, he is the exact same player who caught 48 passes for 575 yards and six touchdowns in 2007.
"I pray about it," Lee said. "I think I do a pretty good job of putting the team first. Because I would love to be in the action, catch more balls, start doing some of things I love. But that's not the case.
"If I'm here, I'm happy. If I'm somewhere else, I'm happy. It's not going the way I would like it to go but I'll try my best to put the team first."
Quarless, a fifth-round draft choice, obviously is eager to start his pro career. He has been inactive both games.
"I've been studying special teams a lot more these past couple weeks," he said. "I back up a lot of people on special teams. I've really been trying to get it down pat."
As a tight end, Quarless says he is comfortable with the entire playbook. In recent weeks, he has worked with quarterback Aaron Rodgers on signals and specific adjustments.
Same unit
[ul]The Packers are expected to start Chad Clifton at left tackle and Daryn Colledge at left guard after both worked with the No. 1 offense Saturday.
"Really, Chad Clifton is our starting left tackle," coach Mike McCarthy said. "He's in the stage of his career that his particular knee situation is a little bit unpredictable, so we'll see how he is Monday."
Colledge took about 75% of the first-team reps, whereas Bryan Bulaga and T.J. Lang took only a handful. Colledge proclaimed himself 100% after being forced to sit out Friday because B.J. Raji fell on his knee Thursday.
"Right now I feel like nothing ever happened," said Colledge, who hasn't missed a game in the pros, college or high school. "Slides were great. Power was good."
As for Clifton, who experienced knee woes last Sunday against Buffalo and was replaced by Bulaga in mid-second quarter, Colledge said, "I got to watch practice yesterday and he looked really good out there. He's nimble. I know a lot of people were critical of him last week. He wants to be available. I'm looking for him to be 100% Monday."[/ul]
Injury list
[ul]Linebacker Brad Jones (knee) worked on a limited basis all week and was listed as questionable. Brady Poppinga or Frank Zombo would replace him.
"We're going to give him a chance," McCarthy said. "He's gotten better each day but he's struggling right now."
Defensive end Mike Neal (side) missed a second consecutive day of practice and McCarthy indicated he would miss another game. Safety Charlie Peprah (thigh) sat out again and was the fourth player listed as questionable.
Cornerback Brandon Underwood (shoulder) practiced all week and said he would be active and playing on special teams. It's probable Underwood will replace Pat Lee as the No. 5 cornerback.
In Chicago, linebacker Lance Briggs (ankle) and defensive end Israel Idonije (foot) returned to practice and will play.[/ul]
Looking to improve
[ul]Free agent Tim Masthay, who has averaged just 3.95 seconds of hang time on seven punts, boomed the ball Saturday in practice.
"Today, I hit the ball very well," said Masthay. "I'm happy to hit the ball like I did. Hopefully, I can make that more the norm. I'm not hitting it as well as I would like to or I need to."[/ul]