"So now it's like either Carl knows it or he doesn't at this point. It's ultimately on me now, so I'm trying to show them something different."

Green Bay drafted Bradford as an outside linebacker, but converted him inside at the end of training camp his rookie year. He made the roster but was inactive for all 18 games.

Bradford continued the transition last year but was among the team's final cuts to 53. He re-signed to the practice squad the following day where he'd spend the remainder of the season.

It's that time on the practice squad that Bradford feels helped him pick up the intricacies of the defense. Implementing them each day against the Packers' offense doesn't hurt, either.

Slowly, he felt the confidence return like he did when he had 154 tackles and 21½ sacks in three seasons at Arizona State.

"The guy is working on it day-in and day-out, day-in and day-out and finally the light clicked on the other day," associate head coach/linebackers coach Winston Moss said. "I went up to him and said, 'I'm so happy for you and the way that you played. That's what you can do. Let's see this as much as possible. Every opportunity that you get, have that confidence and ability to continue to do what you can do,' which is what we expected for a while now."

It's been a long road – and there's still many more miles to travel this preseason – but Bradford is finally playing again with his "hair on fire," a characterization given to him in the pre-draft process in 2014.

He's faced adversity and dealt with disappointment, but Bradford hasn't lost his love for the game. After two years of watching from the sidelines, he hopes to finally be a part of the action again.