Mike Neal prepares for 4 game hiatus
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After the final training camp practice yesterday, Rob Davis sat down in the locker next to Mike Neal.
It was perhaps the last time Davis, the Packers director of player development, will get the chance to talk to Neal for a month. Beginning on Monday, Neal begins serving his four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. Neal said he was suspended for taking the prescription drug Adderall without informing the league he was doing so.
“Like I told Rob, if you look at the next four weeks, that’s like having another offseason,” Neal said. “That’s basically the time we have from OTAs to training camp. I’m looking at it like that and just being smart and making sure I get in good workouts and not over do it.”
Neal said he will spend the month in Tampa, where he typically works out in the offseason.
“I’ve been talking to Mike for the last month about this,” defensive line coach Mike Trgovac said. “I will definitely talk to Mike again before he leaves. It’s been difficult on Mike; it’s been difficult on me as well. It’s the first time I’ve ever had go through this with a player who you know will be suspended. I will definitely have some advice for Mike.
“But I’m not worried him. Mike’s going to work out. He’s going to live right. He’s not a troublemaker. He’s not in the nightclubs. He’s a homebody. I don’t worry about him in that regard. I just want to make sure his psyche is OK.”
I don't know how impactful he will be in week 5 coming back but I do hope this kid can show something like he did in his Rookie year and give the DL a needed rotational break by weeks 7-8. I assume he'll practice weeks 5-6 and then can rotate in by then.
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