The Sports Xchange

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Quarterback Aaron Rodgers isn’t resting on his newfound laurels as a two-time NFL MVP.

“The biggest thing with Aaron is he loves football,” said Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy, raving about the commitment the 11th-year pro continues to make to participate in organized team activities (OTAs).

“He’s in such a comfortable place on the football field. The guy loves to compete.”

However, a day after Green Bay kicked off its three weeks of OTAs, Rodgers watched his most prolific pass-catcher from last season go to the sideline Thursday.

Jordy Nelson is indefinitely out of action. Nelson, though, stopped short of saying after the team’s first OTA practice open to fans and the media that his absence from on-field work was because of hip surgery he underwent early in the offseason.

Nelson also dodged questions about a timetable for getting back on the field.

“We’re just going to continue to progress going forward,” Nelson said. “We’re excited where we’re at, and we don’t have any worries about anything that is of importance down the road.”

McCarthy revealed at the NFL meetings in Phoenix two months ago that Nelson had some cleanup work done after the eighth-year wideout experienced pain in his hip while playing in the Pro Bowl for the first time.

Nelson, who turns 30 on Sunday, led the potent Rodgers-directed passing attack last season with career highs of 98 catches and 1,519 receiving yards while making 13 touchdown receptions.

Even without Nelson and rookie receiver Ty Montgomery, Rodgers has plenty of capable pass targets on the field at the outset of OTAs.

Randall Cobb, another Pro Bowl honoree with huge production last season, was running around Thursday in public view for the first time since landing a four-year, $40 million contract to stay with the Packers before free agency started.

Other notables at receiver Thursday were second-year players Davante Adams and Jared Abbrederis.

Adams, a second-round draft pick, flashed at different points of his rookie season, highlighted by a personal-high seven receptions for 117 yards and a 46-yard touchdown in Green Bay’s 26-21 divisional-playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Abbrederis, a Wisconsin native, was cleared for football activities this spring after missing his first pro season. The 2014 fifth-round draft pick sustained a torn ACL a week into training camp last year.

Offensive tackle Don Barclay and linebacker Andy Mulumba also are back practicing after being nonfactors last season because of ACL injuries. Barclay, a former starter at right tackle, missed the full season, and Mulumba went out after just two games.

“I would say all (those) guys have been doing well and really have been for a long time,” McCarthy said. “I don’t think they’ve really missed a beat. (I) feel good about the progress everybody is making. As far as the whole group, I have no long-term concerns.”

Besides Nelson, other veterans not involved in the OTA practice Thursday were outside linebackers Julius Peppers, Mike Neal and Nick Perry, cornerback Casey Hayward and defensive lineman Josh Boyd. Peppers was said to be out with an illness. Perry, the team’s oft-injured 2012 first-round draft pick, managed to play all but one game in 2014 despite having shoulder issues most of the season.

The rookie duo of Montgomery (third round) and quarterback Brett Hundley (fifth) are away from the team for this week’s voluntary OTAs. They are participating in the annual NFL Players Association Rookie Premiere in Los Angeles.