With only a few days of the preseason remaining, the turn of events that resulted in running back Jason Brookins being placed on the Packers' reserves list today happened just in time to stand as the most bizarre story of training camp.
One day after the Packers trimmed their roster by 15 per NFL rules to reach the required 65-man limit, it seems that Brookins misinterpreted a posting on the omnipresent video messaging system inside the Packers' new facilities at Lambeau Field and came to believe that he was among the cuts.
Consequently, Brookins left camp. And while the Packers are allowed to retain his rights, it doesn't appear he'll get a warm welcome to return.
"In our new facility we have a nice in-house communication process that's foolproof and he misread the foolproof communication on our video monitors," GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman said. "He thought he was cut and he wasn't cut."
According to Sherman, Brookins had been among the many players who failed to turn in his playbook for updates after Monday night's game against Cleveland. As a result, Brookins' name was one of many listed on a video message requesting that delinquent playbooks be returned. Even though the list was said to also include the names of several Packers starters, among them center Mike Flanagan, Brookins' apparently believed that the list of names was a list of cuts.
"He thought it was, 'turn in your playbook for good,' I guess," Sherman said. "It was a misunderstanding on his part. I don't quite understand how. It's pretty self-explanatory if you can read."
Ironically, Sherman ordered the video messaging system installed inside the Packers' new facilities precisely to eliminate confusion among players regarding practice or meeting times, etc. The monitors can be found almost anywhere inside the new facilities, from hallways to the locker room, to the player dining room.
