Justin Harrell Has Been Injured for Almost a Decade, Packers Still Drafted Him

And so it continues...

Packers 2007 first-round pick Justin Harrell is still injured -- as he has been for most of his brief NFL career -- and the team hopes he's healthy enough to report to training camp in six weeks or so.

Rob Reischel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asks if Harrell is "injury prone or simply unlucky" before correctly answering his own question: "Truthfully, Green Bay Packer fans could care less. All they know is defensive tackle Justin Harrell's run of inactivity marches on."

Certainly, part of it is luck, but Harrell has an extensive injury history dating back to high school.

[In high school] he battled shin splints and had a bad lower back. At Tennessee, Harrell underwent surgery for shin splints on his right leg in 2003 and missed more than half of spring practice that year. That August, Harrell broke a bone in his right ankle and missed the first five games of the season.

It all makes you wonder why Green Bay thought Harrell was worth the16th-overall pick in the draft. Whatever, the Packers need him healthy for 2008; he's supposed to help fill the void left by Corey Williams, who was traded to Cleveland earlier this offseason.

Right now, though, that job belongs to Johnny Jolly, who's currently ... recovering from an injury.