GREEN BAY, Wis. -- One of the great stories of Green Bay Packers' training camp ended Monday when rookie punter Peter Mortell was released.

The Green Bay native was trying to make his hometown team, but his connection with the Packers runs much deeper than just growing up in the shadows of Lambeau Field.

As we wrote in May shortly after Mortell was signed as an undrafted free agent from Minnesota, his grandfather served as the Packers clock operator dating to the Lombardi era, and his father holds the job now. Dan Pompei of Bleacher Report traced Mortell’s ties to the Packers even further back than that.

As a kid, Mortell waited outside the gates of Packers' practice for a player to ride his bike. His Instagram post announcing his release showed a picture of him riding a young fan's bike.

That smile has been there since April 30th, the day I signed as a Packer. While my football journey will continue elsewhere, I can't begin to describe what these past four months have meant to me. Every kid who grows up in Wisconsin dreams of putting on the Green and Gold. I'm proud to say I made that dream a reality. I can't thank my family, friends, and fans enough for their support throughout my time here. YOU are what makes this team so special. I was a fan of this team the day I was born, and I'm an even bigger fan of this team today. You see the smile in that picture? Don't worry, it's still there as I type this. . .. ... Also, I am undefeated as a Packer. That's pretty damn cool. God Bless and, as always, Go Pack Go!

A photo posted by Peter Mortell (@pmortell1) on Aug 29, 2016 at 7:41am PDT

Mortell made it a close competition with veteran Tim Masthay. Though Mortell’s statistics (nine punts, 45.1-yard gross average, 42.0-yard net) in three preseason games were better than Masthay’s (nine punts, 42.8 gross, 31.6 net), Masthay was slightly more consistent during training camp practices.

The Packers made the move in advance of Tuesday's deadline to reduce their roster to 75 players. They also likely wanted to give whichever punter won the job all the reps in Thursday's preseason finale at Kansas City in order to get ready for the regular-season opener.

It marks the second straight year Masthay faced a training camp competition. Last summer, he won the job over Cody Mandell. Despite setting the franchise record for net punting average last season (40.3 yards), he was inconsistent, especially down the stretch.

Mortell was one of two Green Bay natives in training camp with the Packers. Offensive lineman Kyle Steuck was signed midway through camp.