The discomfort in Pat Lees left knee was nothing compared to the pain of finding out his second NFL season was over before it started.
I just walked away from the doc, Lee told the Press-Gazette on Wednesday, in his first public comments since he went on injured reserve Sept. 5.
I couldnt even speak to him. Its a hard thing. Its mentally harder sitting out and not doing anything and just watching these boys play.
Viewed as a key piece of the future at cornerback when the Packers selected him out of Auburn in the second round (60th overall) of the 2008 draft, Lee has suffered one bad break after another since he got to Green Bay.
He took over as the dime (No. 4) cornerback four games into his rookie season but tweaked his back a couple of weeks later. He missed three games, returned Nov. 24 at New Orleans and sprained a knee, ending his season.
Coaches were excited about Lees play this summer before he tweaked his back in a training-camp practice on Aug. 6. Then, when he finally returned to action in the preseason finale Sept. 3 at Tennessee, Lee broke loose on a 41-yard kickoff return and came up limping after an awkward sidestep out of bounds.
An initial examination revealed no ligament damage, and Lee was confident hed be back in a week or two. But he got far worse news shortly after: he had a deep bone bruise and would miss eight weeks, leaving the Packers little choice but to put him on IR again.
Lee was so distraught he declined all interview requests the following week.
It hurt me real bad, Lee said. I look at it as, thats how the game is. Sometimes, people have that bug on them, and once it goes away, they end up shining. I just hope it goes away and everything comes out for the best.
Lee is far from the only member of the Packers 2008 draft class who has battled injuries. Three others receivers Jordy Nelson and Brett Swain and tight end Jermichael Finley currently are nursing knee injuries. Nelson returned to practice on Wednesday; Finley remains sidelined and Swain is on IR.
Among the other five players General Manager Ted Thompson selected in that draft, only one (right guard Josh Sitton) is a starter, three (quarterback Matt Flynn, linebacker Jeremy Thompson and tackle Breno Giacomini, whose offseason was derailed by a broken foot) are little-used backups and one (quarterback Brian Brohm) is on the practice squad.
Lees absence came to mind again on Sunday, when the Packers employed a dime defense extensively for the first time and Tampa Bay receiver Sammie Stroughter caught the go-ahead touchdown against Jarrett Bush a special-teams player who almost surely wouldnt have been on the field if Lee or Will Blackmon (knee) were healthy.
A size-speed prospect (6-foot, 194 pounds, 4.41 in the 40-yard dash) who never had a significant injury in high school or college, Lee is running again and knows this is about the time he would have been ready to play again. All he can do is try to stay positive and make sure hes ready for 2010.
It was motivation from the day when they told me they were going to put me on IR, Lee said. Its still hard, though watching. Ive been doing this since I was like 7, and I cant do it right now, for a year. Its hard.