Packers notes: Randall Cobb reveals severity of injury; J'Mon Moore wants more chances

GREEN BAY – Randall Cobb was a late addition to the Green Bay Packers' injury report last week, appearing as a limited participant after Thursday’s practice, and the club estimated he would not have practiced Friday.

Considered questionable to play with a hamstring injury Sunday against Buffalo, Cobb was inactive. On Monday he revealed that the decision wasn’t made as a precautionary measure.

“I wouldn’t have been able to play this week,” he said. “As much as I would’ve wanted to, I couldn’t be out there running at full speed. So it’s no reason to take that risk.”

Cobb said the hamstring has improved the last few days, but a more definitive evaluation will come midweek.

“Hopefully we’ll see where he is on Wednesday, see how he moves around,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said.

Entering Sunday’s game, Cobb was second on the team in receptions (17) and yards per catch (11.5) and third in yards. Rookie Marquez Valdes-Scantling started in Cobb’s place, but had just one catch on three targets.

“We’re very close,” Cobb said. “Watching the film, we are really close. We’re doing some really good things on film. We just gotta put the whole package together. We had some opportunities we missed on. I thought receivers ran some great routes. Aaron (Rodgers) made some great throws. We gotta collectively do a better job, all together.”

Moore is ready for more

While Valdes-Scantling earned his first start Sunday, fourth-round pick J’Mon Moore was active for the first time in the regular season, and he saw the field for 11 snaps against the Bills.

“Practices have been going well,” Moore said. “I’m just having to get their trust in that playbook. That’s where I’ve struggled at. I’ve not really been too detailed in some of the stuff; how they like things done. So it kind of slowed me down with getting on the field. You gotta know what you’re doing first before you get out there.

“I’ve been able to prove to them that I know what I’m doing, and I saw the field a little bit this week. I got a couple plays out there. It’s a process. I trust the process, trust the struggle, and I’ll be out there.”

Through the first three weeks, Valdes-Scantling has been active every week and sixth-round pick Equanimeous St. Brown was active against Chicago and again Sunday.

Moore had multiple opportunities in training camp to earn a role within the offense, and he finished the preseason with nine receptions of 17 targets for 102 yards. But, he feels he has made strides since.

And with Cobb nursing his hamstring injury and Geronimo Allison in concussion protocol to start the week, Moore might see an increased role in Detroit.

“Shoot, if you ask me, my number should be getting called a little bit more than what it is,” Moore said. “But it is what it is. I plan on making the best out of every opportunity I can get, so I can show these people here what’s up. I just feel like it should be getting called. But, you know, if I get a chance, I gotta prove that. And it will be. That’s how I feel about it. Those two are good players, they’ll be fine and they’re going to rehab and do what it is they got to do to be on the field but I mean, when I get my shot, when they give me my chance, I’m definitely going to do what I gotta do.”

Brown savors debut

On Saturday, Tony Brown was promoted off the practice squad to the Packers’ 53-man roster when the club placed defensive lineman Muhammed Wilkerson on injured reserve. On Sunday he made his NFL debut as a member of the active 46.

The rookie out of Alabama played three defensive snaps at the end of the game and played 12 on special teams, and he took it all in.

“It’s beautiful out here,” Brown said. “It’s something you can can’t explain at Lambeau. You don’t get that all around the league. I’m blessed to come to an organization like Green Bay, who has the best fans in the country.”

Brown has been on the practice squad since Sept. 3, signing after the final roster cutdowns. He had gone undrafted out of Alabama and spent all of training camp with the Los Angeles Chargers before being cut Sept. 1.

The 6-foot, 199-pound corner ran a 4.35-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine. He had 51 tackles, seven passes defensed and three interceptions in three seasons for the Crimson Tide, but was a special teams stalwart for Nick Saban’s team.

“Leading up to the game, it didn’t really register,” Brown said of his debut. “I was in a routine. I just tried to live my routine so that when that does happen, it doesn’t give me a feeling where — whenever you feel like something is really big, sometimes you don’t perform the way you want to. When I was out there, when I was actually on the field at Lambeau, I seen the fans and the uniform. Just now, I’m feeling it now. I called my mom. I get to keep my first jersey and uniform from my first NFL game. Man, it’s a huge blessing. I’m not going to let them take me off there.”