GREEN BAY — Sean Richardson says he's at peace with whatever happens, but that doesn't mean the Green Bay Packers second-year safety isn't hoping and praying that he gets the go-ahead to resume his football career.

But the decision is nigh, and he knows it — as does coach Mike McCarthy.

"All the opinions of the doctors have to weigh in, and a final decision needs to be made," McCarthy said. "It's a time (consuming) process and we're in the middle of it."

Richardson, who played 16 snaps of defense last year, is an intriguing prospect because he has excellent size (6-foot-2, 216 pounds) for a safety but also has good speed. He went undrafted coming out of Vanderbilt but made the 53-man roster coming out of training camp last year but injured his neck during the Packers' Nov. 25 loss to the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J.

But he didn't know the severity of the injury at the time, and he even practiced the following week in advance of the Packers' Dec. 2 game against Minnesota before an MRI revealed the ruptured disc in his neck.

In January, he underwent single cervical fusion surgery and his doctor was Dr. Robert Watkins, who performed a similar procedure on Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, who returned to form in 2012 after missing the entire 2011 season.

Richardson said the disc he ruptured was in the C5 area, which is lower than the neck injuries that ended the careers of safety Nick Collins (C3-4) and Sterling Sharpe (C1-2). Much like in Collins case, team physician Dr. Pat McKenzie brought together multiple specialists to examine Richardson and share their opinions.

"There's nothing I can do about it now. I rehabbed, did everything I needed to do. It's just up to the doctors and their decision," Richardson said. "That's how I see it. If I can't play football anymore, then I move on to the next step and work hard and strive for my goals. Football is not everything for me. Some people rely on football, but I do it because I love it. If it's in God's will to play again; if it's not I'll move on."

Richardson would have been an interesting entrant into the team's competition for the starting safety opposite Morgan Burnett had he been healthy, but for now, he's been reduced to watching each practice from the sideline. He said he's thought about life after football but isn't ready to give up his dream just yet.

"I think I'd stick around football. I'm not ready to be completely done with football," Richardson said when asked what he'll do if the doctors red-light him on playing. "If I'm not able to play, I'll GA (be a graduate assistant) somewhere and see where that goes. Anything involved in football."

When wide receiver Terrence Murphy suffered a career-ending neck injury in 2005, the Packers brought him back as a training-camp scouting intern a few years later. Murphy ended up going into real estate and the ministry.

Jason Wilde  wrote: