Charlie Peprahs journey has arrived at what is for most players a starting point, but for Peprah it qualifies as a destination.

Three inglorious years as a special teams maven and one season dedicated nearly exclusively to recovery from major injury have arrived at a moment in the glow of the Super Bowl limelight and redemption in the form of a contract that provides Peprah with a future some thought had gone dark.

Its been an up-and-down ride. Its definitely been a little bit of a journey. Everything worked out in my favor, Peprah told packers.com on Saturday, a day after it had been announced by the Packers that they had signed Peprah to a new contract.

The news of Peprahs contract was not of leaguewide significance, but for Peprah it is the culmination of a lifetime of dreams and a tortured year of wondering if he would ever get back to where he was, which is to say on two healthy knees and on the roster, again, of the Green Bay Packers.

Since I was brought in (waiver claim in 2006), theres always been something special about the organization. Thats why I wanted to stay around. I want to win a couple of more, Peprah said of the Packers and their Super Bowl XLV triumph.

It was the game of his life. He was a starter at safety against the Steelers, in the game of games and in his hometown.

Eighteen months earlier, he had been released by the Packers following a training camp knee injury. It was one of those fluke noncontact things; he tore his patella tendon just coming to a stop.

It just took a long time; had to let it heal, Peprah said.

He was signed by the Falcons at midseason and played in a couple of games, but the 09 season was dedicated to recovery. The following spring, he signed back with the Packers, but he knew the competition to make it onto the final roster would be stiff because the Packers had just made safety Morgan Burnett a third-round draft pick.

I just knew if given the opportunity I could make it. If I just had an opportunity I wasnt worried about making the team, Peprah said as he looked back on, as he calls it, his journey.

If I got healthy, I felt my career could get back on track. Thats how I looked at it.

By the end of training camp, Peprahs career was back on track. When safety Will Blackmon was released, Peprah knew he was back on the radar.

Coach (Mike McCarthy) came to me and said Id be the third safety because I had earned it. Whenever I have my opportunity, I take advantage of it, Peprah said.

A month into the season, Burnett went on injured reserve and Peprah became an even more important player in the Packers run to the postseason. He started 11 games, made 64 tackles and intercepted a couple of passes; they are all career highs.

Then came Super Sunday in Dallas and the guy from just down the road in Fort Worth was in the starting lineup. Peprahs journey was nearly complete.

You dream about it when youre a kid, and then when you get there and being that it was in my hometown I tried not to let the hype creep into the game. I want to go do it again. Thats why I signed back, Peprah said.

He led the Packers in tackles against the Steelers.

It wasnt my best game but I led the team in tackles, he said with a lilt in his voice.

So, now what?

Come in and compete for the starting job. Its a chance to win another Super Bowl if not two more, he said.

Why stop there?

Vic Ketchman is a veteran of 39 NFL seasons and has covered the Steelers and Jaguars prior to coming to Green Bay.

Packers.com wrote:

Youre number one, Charlie

Charlie Peprah has the distinction Im sure hes telling all of his friends of being the first Packers player Ive interviewed since becoming packers.coms editor in mid-February. Well, if theyre all as energetic and cooperative as Charlie was, covering the Packers will be like taking candy from a baby, to quote the late Hank Stram. What a delight it was to interview Charlie. I asked him to tell me about himself and he did, humbly, I may add. He even said hed stop by my office to say hello.

A long time ago, I covered baseball. I did it in those months between the start of the baseball season and the start of football training camp. I loved baseball; I played baseball. I never realized, however, until I started covering baseball, what jerks baseball players could be. Interviewing them was fruitless. I seldom found more than one or two guys in a clubhouse that were worth interviewing. Thats one of the reasons I loved covering football. Football players are good interviews. They were good interviews back in the 1970?s when I started doing this, and they still are today. That part of the game really hasnt changed. They have a passion for the game that they willingly express; thats especially true for the Charlie Peprahs of the game, which is to say those players that have worked so hard against such great odds to get to where they are today.

Football players are good guys. Yeah, I know, sometimes they do mischievous things. Hey, so did I; never mind what they were. The bottom line is this: Ive been asked quite often to name those players Ive hated to interview. Honestly, I cant think of any. I can think of guys who just werent good interviews because talking about the game wasnt their strength, but I cant think of any player I have covered in the 39 years Ive covered the NFL that would legitimately qualify as a jerk.

Ill think harder. There must be at least one.

Vic Ketchman wrote:

Interesting difference between baseball and football players. I wonder if other journalists would back him up on that. I could see where it would be true. I think football players tend to be friendlier because their teams are part of the social fabric of high schools and colleges. Baseball players, on the other hand, tend to be more socially isolated. Their teams play solely for their own glory.

"Greg C." wrote: