Mike McCarthy hopes Jermichael Finley returns to the Packers

Jermichael Finley is fighting to get back in the NFL after suffering a neck injury, and Packers coach Mike McCarthy is one of the people rooting hardest for Finely to succeed.

McCarthy appreciates better than anyone, except maybe Aaron Rodgers, the unique dimension Finley brought to the Packers offense. He gets how difficult it would be to replace that dimension.

So it’s no surprise that McCarthy is still holding out hope that Finley can return to the field as a member of the Packers.

“In my mind he is a Green Bay Packer – hopefully,” McCarthy told Rich Gannon on Sirius XM. “[Finley] is going through a tough medical situation. I think we all recognize that it was a serious injury. My understanding is he is doing everything and beyond to get himself ready. We’ll continue to watch that.”

The Packers say they have been monitoring Finley’s medical situation all offseason. In the meantime, Green Bay has shored up their tight end depth by drafting Richard Rodgers out of Cal.

Aaron Rodgers has been doing his part to address the tight end issue as well, by reportedly recruiting Kansas basketball forward Tarik Black to come to Green Bay for a try out.

No doubt, the Packers still have a lot of weapons without Finley, and as long as Rodgers is healthy that Green Bay offense will be a force. But the dimension Finley brought, with his ability to create mis-matches, can’t be overstated. The Packers are better with Finley and they know it.

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