Notebook: Just one of those nights for Packers tight end Martellus Bennett
GREEN BAY - It probably would have been better if Green Bay Packers tight end Martellus Bennett had been given Thursday night off.
Besides already being bothered by allergies, Bennett hurt his elbow in a blocking drill, tripped on the turf in the Don Hutson Center running a slant route and dropped a pass from quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
“It was one of those days for me, like the damn elbow, or get caught in the turf, the ball’s coming,” Bennett said. “It was one of those days where stuff just happens. Nothing was going my way.
“It was a rough day. I looked at Aaron and I said, ‘I don’t know what the (expletive) is going on today.’”
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Paying his dues: Rookie cornerback Kevin King wasn’t flipping out over being picked on in the 2-minute drill Thursday.
At the request of cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt, Rodgers and receiver Jordy Nelson went at King, connecting for three decent-sized gains, including a 10-yard back shoulder touchdown.
“Of course, you want to be tested,” said King, the Packers' top pick in the 2017 draft. “You want to know where you’re at, especially against the best quarterback in the world. It was definitely a learning experience. I want to keep learning.”
Waters to IR: Cornerback Herb Waters reverted to injured reserve Friday after the Packers waived him injured the day before.
Waters, a former undrafted free agent from Miami, hurt his shoulder during minicamp in June and aggravated the problem during the first practice of training camp. He didn't practice again and was waived-injured Aug. 3.
"I mean it’s unfortunate to have the back-to-back injuries, but Herb, we were all excited about him," coach Mike McCarthy said. "You could definitely see the talent. Just the type of kid, young man that he is, I really thought he’d be competing for a spot on our 53-man roster."
Tight end Beau Sandland hobbled through the locker room Friday with his left leg in an immobilizer. Sandland dropped out of Thursday's practice with a knee injury and did not return.
He told reporters Friday that the injury wasn't serious and wouldn't require surgery.
"Don’t have a timeline for you," McCarthy said. "But yeah, he had a knee injury last night and just got caught in a bad spot. Got hit from the side by a defensive lineman in a stunt situation. The news (about his knee) was better than we feared."
Official visit: Referee Carl Cheffers and members of his crew spent the day in meetings with Packers players and coaches to familiarize themselves with some of the plays they’ll be seeing this year and offer guidance on how those plays might get called during the season.
The officials, who are here for three days and work the practices, meet with position groups for question-and-answer sessions related to rule changes, points of emphasis this season and interpretation of existing rules.
“There’s a lot of interaction,” Cheffers said. “They have questions on things that come up during the day. We did a lot of video of practice. Coaches were asking us on different events that took place and wanting clarification.”
One of the rule changes this year is a softening on illegal celebrations. Players can go back to group celebrations, using the ball as a prop or going to the ground.
The Lambeau Leap was grandfathered in when the stricter rules were put in place, but only one player could leap in the stands. Now multiple players can do so, but a 40-second clock starts after the touchdown is ruled official and the celebrants have to be off the field before the clock expires on the extra point or they’ll be called for delay of game.
“That would probably preclude them from having too many (do the leap),” Cheffers said.
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