Veteran tight end Bubba Franks will likely sit out of Saturday night's Family Night scrimmage at Lambeau Field with a scratched cornea. Franks sustained the injury near the end of Tuesday's practice when he was poked in the eye while run-blocking by a linebacker.
"Hopefully it will get better soon," said Franks after today's practice. "I can't really see out of it."
With Franks out, the Packers will be thin at the tight ends position. Zac Alcorn (blisters) and Clark Harris (ankle) each sat out of today's practice. Alcorn is expected to return Saturday, but Harris is questionable.
Donald Lee and street free agent Joe Werner are currently the only two healthy tight ends.
Packers sign free agent punter
The Packers signed punter Ryan Dougherty, a non-drafted rookie free agent out of East Carolina, the team announced today. Dougherty takes the place of David Lonie, who injured his foot last weekend and was waived/injured by the Packers earlier this week.
Dougherty will compete against incumbent Jon Ryan.
Dougherty (6-foot-1, 233 pounds) was a three-time All-Conference USA selection, with a career average of 42.7 yards per punt. The four-year standout had 68 punts inside the 20, playing in 47 career games.
The Orlando, Fla., product also served as the team’s kickoff specialist his junior and senior seasons, accounting for 47 touchbacks. Dougherty was a three-time watch list candidate for the Ray Guy Award, presented to the nation’s best college punter.
He will wear No. 8.
Humphrey placed on injured reserve
Tight end Tory Humphrey was placed on injured reserve (ankle), the Packers announced. He underwent surgery on his ankle on Wednesday in Green Bay.
Humphrey, a second-year pro, sustained the injury on the opening day of training camp last Saturday.
"It's a shame that Tory got hurt," said Packers general manager Ted Thompson. "I thought he had a really good off-season, and we think he's a very good athlete and an interesting tight end prospect. The other guys have to step up. As I've said before, it's a position that we want to get more production out of. We're still working at it and will continue to work at it."