GREEN BAY, Wis. -- General manager Ted Thompson said the Green Bay Packers remain in a wait-and-see mode about the playing future of safety Nick Collins.
Collins, 28, sustained a career-threatening neck injury at Carolina last season and had neck fusion surgery in September.
"It's a process that continues. We don't have any determination at this point," Thompson said during his pre-draft news conference Thursday.
Collins and the Packers haven't met to discuss his future and probably won't until after the draft, agent Alan Herman said.
Thompson addressed the issue of the Packers looking to fill Collins' position in next week's draft.
"We feel like our roster is balanced enough overall," Thompson said. "We don't feel we have to target a particular position in the draft. That's not what we do, and we won't do it this year."
Without Collins for much of the season, the Packers' pass defense struggled. Internal options at safety include M.D. Jennings, an undrafted rookie last year who played on special teams, and Anthony Levine, an undrafted rookie in 2010 who has served two stints on the practice squad.
Alabama's Mark Barron is the best safety in this year's draft class but figures to go long before the Packers pick 28th. Notre Dame's Harrison Smith is considered the second-best safety and a late first-round prospect.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press
