GREEN BAY — Randall Cobb hasn't given up hope of playing again this season, but the Green Bay Packers wide receiver said still hasn't gotten clearance to start running — a less-than-encouraging sign for his hopes of returning to action.
"I thought I was going to be cleared to run two weeks ago, and I still haven't been," Cobb said in the Packers' locker room Friday.
But perhaps Cobb, who fractured his right leg against Baltimore on Oct. 13, will get that go-ahead next Tuesday, when coach Mike McCarthy said he will be tested again.
"I got to see Randall a little bit, some of his workout today," McCarthy said after practice Friday. "Obviously, he's not ready this week, and Tuesday will be a big day because that's kind of the week we've always looked at for his availability. So we'll see how that sorts out on Tuesday."
That Tuesday is a key day for him came as a surprise to Cobb. Told McCarthy had said Tuesday would be a big day for him, Cobb replied, "Did he? You broke some news to me."
Cobb was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 15 with the designation for return. Per the NFL's rules for being designated for return, the first game Cobb could play would be Dec. 15 at Dallas, although that appears unlikely. He said he met with Dr. Pat McKenzie on Friday.
"I feel pretty good, but until I'm able to run and able to test out, I won't know exactly where I'm at. It's kind of hard to tell where I'm at without running," Cobb said. "I talked to the doctor this morning, and after the scan that I had right before Thanksgiving, from what that scan showed, he still wasn't ready to let me run yet.
"So until he gives the OK, I just continue to do the things I've been told I can do."Cobb's return, despite the designation, has never been a sure thing. Last year, running back Cedric Benson suffered a Lisfranc foot injury on Oct. 7 at Indianapolis and was given the IR return designation but never played another snap.
Cobb had caught a team-leading 29 passes this season for 378 yards (second to Jordy Nelson's 484) and two touchdowns at the time of his injury. it has been seven weeks and five days since the injury.
"When it happened, they said best-case was six to eight weeks," Cobb said. "Worst case, I wouldn't play the rest of the season. I'd be ready for next season, obviously, with a full year of recovery, but ... that's just where we're at."
Much like quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who'll miss his sixth straight game Sunday against Atlanta with the broken collarbone he suffered Nov. 4 against Chicago, Cobb has struggled with being a spectator while the Packers' season has spiraled downward.
"I try to stay positive. In the end, this injury that occurred is best-case scenario to what I thought it could have been. So that's just how I look at it," Cobb said. "I try to keep that in the back of my head as I go day to day and try to stay as positive as I can. But it's been tough. It's frustrating, not being able to be on the field, not being able to be of any help whatsoever. It's hard for me."
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