Kellen Winslow has not played in an NFL game since the 2013 season but has remained focused on a comeback, albeit doing so mostly under the radar. But the Packers are set to gauge how far along Winslow is on this return journey by hosting him on a workout on Sunday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
This is the tight end’s first audition since he began talk of a comeback, Rapoport notes.
Although it is set for the same day as the Packers’ first preseason game, one set for Canton, Ohio — meaning the workout might not be for a top audience — Winslow receiving such an opportunity at 33 and nearly three full seasons removed from action is noteworthy.
He last contributed as a backup for the Jets in ’13 after a 2012 season with the Patriots that included just one game, but Winslow was one of the league’s better tight ends from 2006-11 with the Browns and Buccaneers. His well-documented injury issues notwithstanding, the former first-round pick in 2004 recorded five 700-plus-yard seasons in that span, including a Pro Bowl effort in Cleveland during the 2007 campaign. How much of this form is left, though, is obviously worth wondering, and Winslow would be competing for a depth spot with Green Bay.
The Packers have Jared Cook and Richard Rodgers as their top two tight ends, with Cook still out due to offseason foot surgery. Green Bay’s roster currently houses five tight ends.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.