Like Last Year, Packers Have High Hopes for Versatile Deguara

Back from a torn ACL, Josiah Deguara said: “Getting out there in practice, I’m not thinking about it at all. I feel like I used to feel and I’m just happy to be back out there.”

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Big things were expected of Green Bay Packers tight end Josiah Deguara as a rookie. Instead, after a promising NFL debut at Minnesota, he missed two games with an ankle injury and tore his ACL in his first game back vs. Atlanta.

Of the six tight ends on Green Bay’s roster last year, Deguara played the fewest snaps – even fewer than Dominique Dafney, who spent most of the season working as a bouncer in West Des Moines, Iowa, and John Lovett, the former college quarterback who also suffered a torn ACL.

“There’s definitely that little timeline right after you get hurt, you’ve got to give yourself some time to be angry, give yourself time to feel bad about yourself,” Deguara said after Thursday’s practice. “It’s part of the whole journey and I don’t know exactly how long that took to get over but it was a little bit. Felt bad about myself probably until I got surgery, and then when I got surgery, it was time to grind from there, so it’s been a journey.”

Deguara was held out of the first six practices of training camp before returning on Friday. He’s not certain if he’ll play in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Houston Texans.

He said the months of rehab work allowed him to get past the mental hurdles of worrying about his knee upon his return to practice last week. That allowed him to put his focus on knowing his assignments and attacking the defense.

“I think the mental side of it coming back is definitely there a little bit, but when you start practicing, I kind of overcame all those mental hurdles,” he said. “That’s why I felt like I was ready to get out there, and the training staff felt like I was ready to get out there. There’s mental hurdles throughout the whole process, and trusting your knee and remembering what happened and just getting back on the field and not thinking about it is a big step in the process. So, getting out there in practice, I’m not thinking about it at all. I feel like I used to feel and I’m just happy to be back out there.”

Deguara played 24 snaps in last year’s Week 1 game at Minnesota. He lined up here, there and everywhere, with 16 snaps at fullback, five at tight end and three as a slot receiver. That versatile skill-set is exactly why the Packers used a third-round pick on him last year. It’s a role he figures to reprise this year.

Among the tight ends, Robert Tonyan will be the primary pass catcher and Marcedes Lewis the primary blocker. It will be up to Deguara to do a little bit of everything, ranging from the dirty work as a blocker to a receiver. The Packers don’t have a fullback on the roster, and Deguara has lined up there frequently in his limited opportunities this summer.

Now, after barely playing as a rookie, he needs to show he’s up to the task.

“He’s so instinctive,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “There’s little things he does both in the run game and pass game, that it’s hard to coach. He just has such a great feel for the game. He gives great effort all the time. He’s a guy that we’re really happy to have.”

Being away from the game only fueled his passion for the sport he’s played since lining up as a center in third grade back home in Folsom, Calif.

“Perspective is huge, man,” Deguara said. “Not being able to play this game is tough. I’ve never went through something like this before, where I’ve went through such a long period, especially with such a big injury, one of the biggest injuries in the sport. So, perspective is huge. Obviously, just your appreciation for the game, everything that you go through to get to a certain point, and then you feel like all that’s taken away, your appreciation [grows]. Even today’s fourth practice in a row, maybe back in the day when I’ve never had an injury, I might, ‘Ah, we have another practice.’ But now I’m excited to be back out there every single day. I know God’s placed me here for a reason, so just appreciating the place I’m in and playing for the Green Bay Packers, man, it’s an unbelievable experience and I’m just trying to take advantage of every opportunity.”