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Tuesday night practice report

The Packers practiced in shells on Tuesday night, and saw the return of running back Ryan Grant (concussion) and linebacker Cyril Obiozor (calf). Wide receiver Brett Swain (knee) and safety Derrick Martin (ankle), who have both been on a one-a-day schedule during camp, returned to practice as well after resting in the morning.

Sitting out the night practice were safety Will Blackmon (knee), running back Kregg Lumpkin (hamstring), linebackers Alex Joseph (quad) and Clay Matthews (hamstring), center/guard Evan Dietrich-Smith (neck), and defensive ends Justin Harrell (back) and Ronald Talley (knee). The three players on the PUP list – safety Atari Bigby (ankle), cornerback Al Harris (knee), and running back James Starks (hamstring) – also sat out.

Head Coach Mike McCarthy said Blackmon’s knee responded well to the work he did during the morning practice, and that he is expected to practice once on Thursday when the Packers have their final two-a-day session.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers connected on three throws from nearly 50 yards out into the metal hoop, swishing each one that he was successful on to draw a large ovation each time from the crowd. Graham Harrell put one into the hoop, while Matt Flynn was shut out.

During a blitz period, Rodgers threw a bullet to tight end Jermichael Finley down the seam, and also found wide receiver Charles Dillon on a nice pass over the middle. Rodgers later connected on a perfect throw to wide receiver Jordy Nelson down the right sideline with D.J. Clark in coverage.

Linebacker A.J. Hawk had a nice breakup on a Matt Flynn pass over the middle to tight end Spencer Havner, and the deflected ball went into the hands of safety Nick Collins for the interception.

During a red-zone period, cornerback Jarrett Bush made a nice break on the ball to knock down a Rodgers pass intended for Finley near the goal line. Clark also registered a pass defensed on a fade from Rodgers to Dillon in the end zone.

The Packers will take the day off from the practice field on Wednesday before returning for the final day of two-a-days on Thursday. McCarthy said the team is scheduled to practice in pads in the morning and in shells at night.

Tuesday stories

Click here for today’s Feature Story on the special teams, and here for today’s Training Camp Report.

Check the blog later tonight for a report from Tuesday night’s practice.

Tuesday morning practice report

Three players returned to the field on Tuesday from injuries — S Will Blackmon (knee), G/C Jason Spitz (calf) and TE Tom Crabtree (wrist). Blackmon was at safety with the No. 2 defense, paired with Charlie Peprah, and he was the first man up on both kickoff return and punt return. Spitz worked mostly as the No. 2 center. Crabtree was practicing with a brace after finding out on Monday that his injury is a wrist sprain and bone bruise in his hand. He told reporters it’s just a matter of him playing through the pain.

Sitting out the morning workout were T Chad Clifton, T Mark Tauscher and DE Justin Harrell. Clifton and Tauscher were getting their usual morning rest with an evening practice later. Head Coach Mike McCarthy said Harrell’s back tightened up on him, but he would be evaluated to see if he could practice on Tuesday night.

Also, one-a-day participants WR Brett Swain (knee) and S Derrick Martin (ankle) did not practice.

With Clifton and Tauscher out, Bryan Bulaga was at LT and Breno Giacomini was at RT on the No. 1 offensive line. T.J. Lang rotated in at RT with the first group as well.

Still on the injury list and sitting out are RB Ryan Grant (concussion) — who could be cleared to practice as soon as tonight, McCarthy said — RB Kregg Lumpkin (hamstring), LB Alex Joseph (quad), LB Clay Matthews (hamstring), LB Nick Barnett (knee), LB Cyril Obiozor (calf), G/C Evan Dietrich-Smith (neck), plus the three PUP players — S Atari Bigby (ankle), CB Al Harris (knee) and RB James Starks (hamstring).

In a run-on FG scenario, K Mason Crosby was 2-for-2 from 40 yards out.

In the daily ball-security period, a new wrinkle was thrown in. Punt returners were catching punts shot from the Jugs machine with two or three coverage players up tight surrounding them. It was a similar scenario to how rookie Sam Shields fumbled a punt on Saturday night in the preseason opener. None of the returners, Shields included, fumbled even one attempt on Tuesday.

QB Aaron Rodgers twice drew the defense offsides with hard counts during team periods. The first time, he took advantage of the “free play” to hit WR James Jones behind the defense for a big gain.

Crabtree made a nice catch, despite the brace on his wrist, on a pass over the middle from QB Matt Flynn with LB Brady Poppinga right in front of him in coverage.

CB Tramon Williams had a couple of impressive pass break-ups, one on a slant to WR Shawn Gore and another when he jumped in front of TE Spencer Havner and nearly intercepted the pass.

LB A.J. Hawk had an eye-catching INT on a short dump-off pass when he reached back and pinned the ball with one hand against his shoulder pad and then secured the catch.

During red zone work, Rodgers hit back-to-back TD passes to Jones in the back left corner and to TE Jermichael Finley over the middle. Later in the period, he also hit WR Greg Jennings with a bullet right to the back line of the end zone, and Jennings made a tough catch, snagging the low throw and stutter-stepping his feet to get both in bounds.

The players will return to the practice field at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

McCarthy’s Tuesday press conference transcript is right here. GM Ted Thompson’s transcript is here.

Stay tuned to Packers.com for today’s feature story and Training Camp Report.

Mike McCarthy’s post-practice comments

Click here for the transcript of Coach McCarthy’s press conference following practice on Tuesday morning.