There was a bit of a mystery surrounding cornerback Casey Hayward this offseason.
While it appeared the Green Bay Packers more or less wanted to hand him a starting job at cornerback, Hayward did nothing but stand around until training camp started. On Friday, he finally revealed the reason for his absence.
Offseason foot surgery.
Hayward had a screw inserted into his foot after a checkup revealed a stress fracture.
“The bone is healed,” Hayward said. “My foot is healed. I just have to deal with a little nagging pain here and there, but everybody around here is dealing with nagging pains. I’m not going to do any complaining about it. I’m going to stay on my rehab, make sure my cleats are right, fitted right, things like that.”
Now the real question becomes, can Hayward stay healthy?
He missed all but three games in 2013 with a recurring hamstring injury. And while he made it through all of 2014, Hayward was only a bit player as the Packers’ dime back and he broke his foot at some point.
It’s a good thing the Packers have a first and second-round pick waiting in the wings at cornerback.