DuJuan Harris was expected to compete for the Green Bay Packers' starting running back job this summer, despite missing offseason practices after surgery to remove a fist-sized cyst from his lung.
That plan was altered when a "minor" knee injury landed Harris on the active/physically unable to perform list entering training camp.
Although Harris insists he's already at "100 percent" and will soon be at "110 percent," Packers coach Mike McCarthy set the timetable Tuesday at two or three more weeks.
Harris could miss the entirety of training camp, which will put him behind the eight ball for a spot on Green Bay's final roster.
Alex Green opened camp as the starter. Reinvigorated veteran James Starks had his best practice Tuesday. The Packers view second-round draft pick Eddie Lacy as a key red-zone hammer.
Even more impressive has been fourth-round pick Johnathan Franklin, who has stood out from the crowd at tailback. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel suspects Franklin could play as much as 40 percent of the backfield snaps this season.
The backfield logjam means at least one tough decision will have to be made.
The Packers do have the luxury of stashing Harris on reserve/PUP for the first six weeks of the regular season. That move would buy time against a trade or release of Green or Starks. It also would allow Harris' fresh legs to function as a late-season shot in the arm for the second consecutive year if the Packers suffer injuries at the position.
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