GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Considering the NFL's offseason workouts are technically voluntary, attendance for the Green Bay Packers' first OTA on Tuesday was very strong.
The only two healthy players missing on the field were wide receiver Donald Driver and cornerback Charles Woodson.
The team knew not to expect Driver while he awaited the season finale of "Dancing with the Stars." Woodson, however, was in Green Bay but chose to only take part in the team meetings.
"He's not going to work today," coach Mike McCarthy said of Woodson. "He did not work on the field today. But he's here."
But everything else looked similar to a regular Packers practice. Aaron Rodgers was out slinging passes, even connecting on a 50-yarder down the sideline into double coverage to Jordy Nelson. Rodgers was later intercepted by safety M.D. Jennings and cornerback Sam Shields, both of whom made tremendous plays on the ball in coverage.
There were several players unable to take part in the practice session due to various injuries. With every player undergoing a physical on Monday, medical results kept a few of them from participating. McCarthy would not reveal specific injuries given that the practices were volunteer.
"There's some things medically that there may be a concern or two on certain players," McCarthy said. "But I'm not going to do the roll call."
Safety Charlie Peprah was one surprise, standing on the sideline throughout the duration of practice. Peprah was not available to the media during locker room availability, and it's not known how much more practice time he may miss.
Linebacker Frank Zombo, who battled through multiple injuries last season, was also unable to practice, though it was not clear what kept him off the field on Tuesday.
Running back Alex Green and tight end Andrew Quarless are still recovering from torn ACLs suffered last season and cannot practice yet. Offensive lineman Derek Sherrod is still out from the broken leg he suffered late last year, and rookie defensive lineman Mike Daniels remains out of action due to a shoulder injury that occurred while still playing in college at Iowa.
The team did go through some relatively competitive 11-on-11 drills, which revealed the early defensive lineup possibilities for the Packers.
In all of the first-team nickel defense packages, B.J. Raji and rookie Jerel Worthy anchored the line up front. C.J. Wilson and Ryan Pickett played alongside Raji in the 3-4 defense, though the Packers were mostly in nickel throughout the day.
Outside linebacker Clay Matthews, who played mostly on the left side last season, took all of his snaps on the right. First-round pick Nick Perry was in with the starters, playing at the left outside linebacker spot.
The biggest challenge for Matthews switching to the right side -- if the move becomes permanent -- is pass-rushing against left tackles, who are almost always more skilled than a right tackle.
Desmond Bishop and A.J. Hawk remained as the two inside linebackers.
With Nick Collins no longer on the roster and Peprah unable to practice, the first-team safety spots were Morgan Burnett playing with a rotation of Anthony Levine and Jennings. Fourth-round pick Jerron McMillian did not get any snaps with the starters.
Woodson not practicing left the rest of the secondary with Tramon Williams, Shields and Jarrett Bush. Second-round pick Casey Hayward did not have any repetitions with this group.
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