Long snapper Brett Goode tore his left ACL during Green Bay’s 30-20 win over Oakland on Dec. 20. Credit: Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports

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Green Bay — In the hours after Brett Goode unknowingly tore his ACL, the long snapper for the Green Bay Packers returned home and couldn't sleep. He was agitated by a gnawing pain in his left knee, a kind of dull ache he described as "annoying." It fell far short of an uncomfortable throb, but it made Goode uneasy about carrying his son up and down the stairs.

By the time morning arrived on Monday, Dec. 21, a day after Goode played the whole game in a 30-20 victory over the Oakland Raiders, he made the decision to visit the team doctors.

"I knew there was something there," Goode said.

But the silver lining of a disheartening MRI was the simplicity of Goode's injury. The tear of his left ACL was clean and complete, thus reducing the complications caused by partial tears or cloudy images. He also avoided the bone bruising and meniscus tears that often accompany injuries to the cruciate ligament, thus expediting the post-surgery recovery time.

The relative tidiness of Goode's knee ignited a rehab process he described as both smooth and swift, speaking via phone from his native Arkansas earlier this week. He is on pace to begin running in the next two weeks, and already his rehab has included speed ladders, small box jumps, snapping footballs and barre class with his wife. (It's a mixture of yoga, Pilates and ballet, and yes, Goode is the only man.) More than four months removed from surgery, Goode, who became an unrestricted free agent in March, said his goal of being fully healthy by the start of training camp remains intact.

The only question, though, is which team will employ him.

"It's been difficult at times just from the uncertainty," Goode said. "But with the interest that I've received, not only from Green Bay but from other teams, my main focus is to get back healthy. I don't know where I will be next year playing, but I do think that I will have a legitimate opportunity to play. And I think my knee will be ready by that time, for sure by training camp."

Due to a lack of swelling in his knee, Goode had surgery just a week after he felt a pop covering a punt against the Oakland Raiders. Team physician Patrick McKenzie performed the surgery and used a patellar tendon graft to replace the torn ACL. (Patellar tendon and hamstring grafts are among the most popular choices for ACL reconstruction.)

Goode, who was still under contract at the time, remained in Green Bay throughout the winter to complete the first portion of his rehab at Lambeau Field. When coach Mike McCarthy addressed reporters at the NFL scouting combine, he mentioned Goode as one of a handful of players who frequented the facility every day.

Aside from having his appendix removed, Goode said, the repair by McKenzie was his first legitimate surgery. He received tips and encouragement from friends who had endured their own ACL reconstructions, which Goode said prepared himself for the various mental and physical hurdles. Chief among them: pushing through the pain from range of motion exercises.

"I don't know if it's true or not, or if it's just a rumor, but I've heard from people saying that the pain there is as close as a man can feel to his wife giving birth," Goode said. "Makes me glad that I don't have to do that."

The rehab disrupted Goode's normal off-season process, which features plenty of working out and far less football than you might imagine. While running and lifting are more or less ever-present, Goode said he did not typically begin snapping until a week before the Packers start their conditioning program in mid-April. He was reluctant to report to Green Bay in "tiptop snapping shape" for fear of physical letdowns later in the year.

But his recovery from the torn ACL bred curiosity and a desire to partake in anything resembling physical activity. Goode wondered how his knee would react to the snapping motion, and under the watchful eyes of McKenzie he received overwhelmingly positive results.

"It was making sure to do it and then looking at it the next day and seeing if there was any swelling, and there wasn't," Goode said. "That's a great sign. Since then, I haven't had any. All the swelling is gone and it's been gone for a while."

With Goode's season cut short, the Packers signed Rick Lovato, a street free agent whose opportunity mirrored the one Goode received in 2008. That year, Goode answered the phone while pouring concrete after J.J. Jansen went down injured. This year, Lovato answered his call while working at a sandwich shop in New Jersey.

Lovato, who played at Old Dominion, flew to Green Bay and spent an hour with Goode the day he arrived. They watched film together, Goode said, and discussed all the protections, adjustments and communication calls that have become second nature for a player who never missed a game through the first seven years of his career. Goode described Lovato as "very knowledgeable, very educated" and said he picked up the concepts well, even if there would be an obvious feeling-out process with kicker Mason Crosby and punter Tim Masthay.

"They had a comfort zone with Brett," special teams coordinator Ron Zook said during the regular season. "Those guys, they finished each other's sentences and so forth. People don't understand how important it is for the punter and for the kicking situation."

Lovato performed well during his four-game spot duty and drew strong reviews from Zook and the kickers. He remains under contract and will be in training camp to compete for a spot on the 53-man roster.

Goode would like to return to Green Bay as well. There is an inherent level of comfort with the Packers, the only team he's ever played for, and Goode believes he has several years left in the tank at age 31.

"There were no burned bridges there," Goode said. "The communication and everything was all fine.

"Obviously, this is also a business and you don't leave any stone unturned either. Yes, I would like to be back, but I know there are other opportunities. Whatever is best for me and my family at that time, whenever I get that chance, we'll make the decision from there."