MINNEAPOLIS – A new chapter in Trevon Diggs' storied football career quietly opened inside the visiting locker room at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday morning.
While getting ready for his first start in the Packers' secondary, the former All-Pro cornerback peeked in the mirror to see himself in his brand-new No. 28 jersey and liked what he saw.
"I was like, 'This is pretty cool,'" said Diggs with a smile. "I feel good in it."
The 27-year-old cornerback had a chance to test it out, too, in what turned into largely an exhibition game for Green Bay, which chose to rest a majority of its starters during a 16-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
With the Packers locked into the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoffs, Diggs was one of only a few veterans Green Bay chose to play against Minnesota, but the sixth-year pro enjoyed every snap.
Claimed off waivers on Wednesday, Diggs was told going into the game he'd play the first quarter and possibly the second to help him acclimate to Green Bay's defense.
Diggs, who lined up against both Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, stayed in constant communication with safety Kitan Oladapo and the secondary to make sure he was on the same page.
The Vikings scored only six points while Diggs was on the field, as he finished with a pair of tackles. Diggs said afterward he was having so much fun he wanted to play the whole game.
"It was crucial. It was needed," Diggs said. "I know that these guys are going to make sure I get the call. They're going to make sure I know what I'm doing every play."
Diggs' second tackle was rather important, as he raced across the defense to help prevent Minnesota running back Jordan Mason from scoring on a 12-yard carry.
After Mason went down at the Green Bay 8, the defense forced the Vikings to kick a field goal after three J.J. McCarthy incompletions.
"Diggs is a player. We're excited to have him on the team," safety Javon Bullard said. "We know the type of player he is. People don't understand that dude is All-Pro. You can't take that away from him. We're happy to have him on our team. We're gonna do something special."
It remains to be seen how the Packers will align their defense heading into next week's NFC Wild Card playoffs. Although starters Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine are both healthy, Green Bay has seen its three primary backups – Nate Hobbs (knee), Kamal Hadden (ankle) and Bo Melton (knee) – all sustain injuries over the past two weeks.
Diggs says he's ready for whatever role awaits him. He just wants to help the Packers win and is grateful for how the locker room and Green Bay community have embraced him after a somewhat messy ending in Dallas.
During early pre-game warmups, Diggs even signed a young fan's drawing of him in a Packers uniform. Small things like that have made his first week in Green Bay special.
"That was pretty cool. I enjoyed seeing that a lot," Diggs said. "Green Bay is a wonderful place. It feels like a family here. These guys, I have a lot of my old teammates here and everything feels tight. I'm clicking with all the guys. It's perfect."
Surreal for Sorrell: Defensive end Barryn Sorrell was one of several young Packers players who benefitted from extra snaps in Minnesota and the rookie fourth-round pick made it count.
Sorrell racked up eight tackles and was involved in a pair of third-down stops – dropping Ty Chandler for a 1-yard loss on third-and-1 late in the first quarter and then sacking Max Brosmer on third-and-2 early in the third quarter.
The 6-foot-3, 256-pound pass rusher nearly ended the day with a highlight-reel fumble recovery when he scooped up a loose ball off a Brenton Cox Jr.'s strip sack of Brosmer in the fourth quarter.
Sorrell had open field in front of him before he tripped over a scrum at the Green Bay 25.
"It was a good play by (Cox) getting the ball out and the rest was history," Sorrell said. "I just went after the ball and wish I would've kept going but got kind of trip up a little bit there. It definitely was a fun time but shout out to him for making that play."
The Packers' top three edge rushers – Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness and Kingsley Enagbare – were active but didn't play. In their place, the trio of Sorrell, Cox Jr. and rookie Collin Oliver recorded six of Green Bay's seven hits on the Vikings' QBs.
"I took the field with a great group of guys," Sorrell said. "Everyone was working behind the scenes and waiting for our opportunity. I think that was the thing going into this game, knowing we all got our opportunity and we want to make the most of it. I'm happy with what I put on tape."
Bullard is OK: A banged-up Packers roster seemed to get some good news afterwards on Bullard, the team's starting nickelback who injured his knee with roughly 10 minutes left and didn't return.
Bullard told reporters afterwards he is fine, though. Due to roster limits, the Packers needed Bullard and fellow starting safety Evan Williams to rotate on the back end alongside rookie Johnathan Baldwin.
"I'm fine. Just a little hyperextension," Bullard said. "Somebody fell on me."
Whelan whales away: After not punting the past two weeks, Daniel Whelan boomed a career-high eight punts with a 53.9-yard gross average and 50.8-yard net.
His 431 total punt yards were the most in the NFL this season. The third-year veteran said afterwards that's the most he's punted since probably high school.
"I was ready for the moment," Whelan said. "I've been waiting for a game like this my whole life, so there you go. I was pretty excited about it. I didn't know I was gonna have eight, but I'll take it."
A final reminder: Quarterback Jordan Love gave a quick speech to the Packers' locker room after the game, reminding teammates "It's time to go" and "Everything counts now" as Green Bay heads into the playoffs.
Love backed up third-string quarterback Clayton Tune in Minnesota after the Packers scratched Malik Willis with shoulder and hamstring injuries.
"Just move past this one and get our minds ready for the playoffs," said Tune, who completed 6 of 11 passes for 34 yards. "We have an opportunity to do something special and so he was just kind of refocusing everyone's mind and getting everyone prepared mentally for what we have ahead of us."
