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          Practice-ready: Jordy Nelson has time to reconnect with Aaron Rodgers

          • Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff WriterAug 17, 2016, 11:00 PM
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              Rob Demovsky is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Green Bay Packers. He has covered the Packers since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2013. Demovsky is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the NSSA. You can follow him on Twitter at @RobDemovsky.
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          GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Rodgers said it would take "probably a couple of days" for him and Jordy Nelson to reconnect.

          They'll have more than three weeks.

          Even if Nelson doesn't play in any preseason games, the news Wednesday that he passed his physical and can begin to practice means the two most important players on the Green Bay Packers' offense -- the quarterback and his Pro Bowl receiver -- will at least have a chance to work together well before the Sept. 11 season opener at Jacksonville.

          Remember, it was Rodgers who said at the start of training camp that as long as he got the opportunity to practice with Nelson, he'd feel confident they could be on the same page in time for Week 1.

          "We're going to need a little bit of time, not necessarily game reps but just some reps in practice," Rodgers said on the first day of camp. "He's going to need to feel press coverage again and getting off of that and running and making plays and catches. I'm confident that he'll get to a point where he'll be ready to play when we need him."

          That came on the day Nelson revealed he suffered a second knee injury, not the torn ACL in his right knee that ended his 2015 season last August but a "hiccup" with his left knee. At that point, it was anyone's guess whether Nelson would be able to even practice in camp, let alone be ready for the opener.

          Wednesday's NFL transaction notice at least put that first part to rest.

          The Packers' history of being cautious with injuries suggests they will take it slow with Nelson. He almost certainly won't play in Thursday's preseason game against the Oakland Raiders at Lambeau Field, and coach Mike McCarthy almost never plays his starters in the finale, which is Sept. 1 at Kansas City. That would leave the Aug. 26 game at San Francisco as Nelson's best chance to play in the preseason.

          But it wouldn't be a surprise to see Nelson's only on-field work come in practice. The Packers have seven practices, including those closed to the public, remaining in the preseason.

          "Obviously, you want to be out there," Nelson said early in camp. "The more practices you have, the better, but it's nothing that we're panicking about right now. As long as we're on the same page mentally, it will carry over to the game."

          The mental work has been ongoing. Nelson has attended every practice during camp, although sometimes he's inside, presumably working out during the early portion of practice. He has also been a regular in meetings. In fact, it was that way even last season. Unlike some injured players who choose to rehab off site, Nelson remained in Green Bay and was at Lambeau Field with his teammates.

          Now, this gives Nelson the chance to also get on the same page physically with Rodgers before the regular season begins.

          That, of course, doesn't guarantee Nelson will return to his form from 2014, when he had 98 catches for 1,519 yards and 13 touchdowns. Nelson, in fact, admitted that he can't be certain he won't lose a step.

          But the mere threat of having a big-play receiver should help Rodgers, who last year posted the lowest yards-per-attempt (6.7) of his starting career. Nelson's return should open up coach Mike McCarthy's playbook and allow him to use the play-action more effectively than last year, when opposing defenses didn't have to worry about Rodgers taking shots down the field.

          "A lot of that was predicated on Jordy Nelson," Rodgers said earlier in training camp. "We had a lot of single-receiver or two-receiver, max-protection plays with him and taking some shots down the field. When you're hitting those 60-, 70-, 80-yard chunk plays, it's going to make your play-action stats and averages and touchdowns look a lot better.

          "Getting him back, and then also getting some other guys to do some of the same stuff so the pressure isn't all on him to run those routes, is going to help us get back to where we need to be, because the run has been pretty consistent. We had a good two-headed monster last year with James [Starks] and Eddie [Lacy]. It starts with that in order to play-action well."