GREEN BAY — From what running backs coach Alex Van Pelt said Tuesday, Green Bay Packers fans can plan on still yelling Kuuuuuuuuuuuuhn! to their hearts content this season.

While there are very few certainties when it comes to the 53-man roster, Van Pelt all but guaranteed that John Kuhn, the team's veteran fullback, will have a spot on the roster.

"You never go in without a fullback," Van Pelt said after practice Tuesday. "So even though we're more of a three-wide (receiver), two-tight end team right now, there is always a place for a fullback in this offense."

Some had suggested that the team has so many running backs — rookies Eddie Lacy and Johnathan Franklin, incumbent starter DuJuan Harris and veteran holdovers Alex Green and James Starks — that perhaps the Packers would steal an extra running back spot on the 53-man roster by cutting Kuhn and using one of their tight ends as a lead blocker in his stead.

That's not realistic, Van Pelt said.

"I don't think you want to. Tight ends, guys can do both, but having a true fullback is definitely a benefit," Van Pelt said. Asked what situations require a fullback, Van Pelt cited goal line, short yardage, backed up situations, as well as the four-minute offense when a team in the lead tried to bleed the clock with the run late in the game.

Kuhn, 30, is entering his eighth NFL season and set to earn a base salary of $1.8 million in the final year of a three-year, $7.5 million deal he signed in 2011. While Kuhn only carried 23 times for 63 yards in the regular season last year while catching 15 passes for 148 yards, Van Pelt said no player in his room knows the offense as well as Kuhn, who is limited as a pass catcher and running threat on third down but is the team's best pass protector.

"John's been around for a long time. Obviously he can make all the calls the offensive line can make," Van Pelt said. "He's in tune with the quarterbacks and there's more value there. And once again, he is our best third-down protector. He does a great job of that. He still has a lot of value."

Jason Wilde  wrote: