Packers rookie tight end Colt Lyerla takes part in organized team activities Thursday. Credit: Mark Hoffman

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Green Bay — For months, the name Colt Lyerla has been synonymous with a government conspiracy, a cocaine arrest, trouble.

This was a welcome change of pace.

At Thursday's OTA practice, the Green Bay Packers rookie tight end made a high, outstretched catch and was showered with loud cheers at Ray Nitschke Field.

"I was kind of surprised," Lyerla said. "I'm pretty far away from home. I couldn't ask for a warmer welcome."

And with that, Lyerla's NFL career is under way. Possibly no rookie enters the league with Lyerla's baggage — the arrest, the Sandy Hook tweets, quitting Oregon's team — but the Packers were willing to give him an opportunity. He signed after a rookie tryout and spoke for the first time to Wisconsin reporters Thursday. An apologetic Lyerla took responsibility for his past and said he is a changed person.

"Once you've been to the bottom," Lyerla said, "you see what you need to do as a person and the changes you need to make. I think that's going to help me become a better person in the locker room.

"I feel like I have a new home. I was kind of lost for a little while, but being here and being accepted here is truly great."

At Oregon, Lyerla caught 25 passes for 392 yards with six touchdowns in 2012. At some point in 2013, cocaine become a problem, Lyerla left the team and his reputation went down with him.

Those who knew Lyerla best in Hillsboro, Ore., and on the Ducks team say he needs a solid foundation, a family in Green Bay. He hopes he has that now.

Asked what structural changes he has made to his life off the field, Lyerla said football is his one focus.

"It's my job now," Lyerla said, "so I try to do everything that's productive toward my goals. That's a 24-hour job pretty much, because you have to train, you have to eat right, you have to sleep right, you have to watch film. I'm here 10 hours a day right now. That's pretty much all I'm doing."

A lack of trust has been central to Lyerla's past problems.

Oregon teammates say Lyerla grew to distrust others at Oregon, creating a wedge. He began to associate with the wrong people.

The Packers want Lyerla to open up, to trust those around him. On Day 1, tight ends coach Jerry Fontenot told Lyerla he doesn't come from the same background, but that he'll help if a problem arises. And if he can't, he told Lyerla someone in the locker room can help. By nature, Fontenot said that Lyerla is not an "overt person emotionally."

"Trusting someone," Fontenot said, "is a huge factor in being able to allow a person to help you institute a change."

When Lyerla went undrafted, and then unsigned after the draft, he did wonder if he'd even get a chance to play. The Packers swooped in and took on the risk.

Next, he has to earn a roster spot. Lyerla insists he has changed.

"I think I've spent the last six, seven months doing hard thinking and making changes and doing the right things," Lyerla said. "I think me being here today shows that I am moving in the right direction."

Finley update: Tight end Jermichael Finley was medically cleared by Joseph Maroon, the neurosurgeon who performed his C3/C4 cervical neck fusion, his agent announced Thursday. For the free agent, that's step one. Maroon is a physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Now, for Finley, team-to-team evaluations would be next. Opinions can vary doctor to doctor.

Speaking to Pro Football Talk, his agent, Blake Baratz, said Finley did see Packers team physician Patrick McKenzie to check in and see where he is "neurologically."

Matthews patient:Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews didn't practice Thursday with the Packers, but he sounded optimistic that he might be ready to go when training camp breaks July 25.

He said he expects to be limited during the OTAs, and that means watching practice while standing on the sidelines.

"It's been a long off-season with the surgeries and rehab and physical therapy," said Matthews. "But it's definitely coming along. I'm doing everything I can to get out there as soon as I can. I don't see there being any hindrance toward the beginning of the season, toward camp. But obviously I am speaking a few months in advance."

Matthews suffered a broken thumb in October, sat out, came back and played with a club, had the club reduced and then suffered the same injury — Bennett's fracture — while sacking Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on Dec. 22.

Another center: Aaron Rodgers will have his fourth different center in four years. The competition between JC Tretter and rookie Corey Linsley is underway. Whoever wins, Rodgers is hoping for continuity.

From Scott Wells to Jeff Saturday to Evan Dietrich-Smith to someone this summer, Rodgers will adjust again.

“It is a big challenge,” Rodgers said. “It’s tough. You’d like to play with one guy for an extended period of time. …We’ve got to get one of these young guys ready and hopefully we can get a guy who can stick for five or six years.

“I think as a quarterback you really appreciate when you can have some continuity there and some consistency as far as the same guy being there for multiple years.”

Sidelined: The Packers do not provide injury updates during OTAs, but in addition to Matthews, RB Johnathan Franklin, TE Andrew Quarless, TE Brandon Bostick and OLB Nick Perry all did not practice Thursday.

Bostick had off-season foot surgery. Fontenot later said he didn't expect Quarless to be out for long.

DE Jerel Worthy wasn't in attendance due to a family tragedy. ABC 22 in Huber Heights, Ohio, reported that a woman was shot in the head early Thursday morning and was in critical condition. The woman is reportedly Mae Worthy, Jerel Worthy's grandmother.

Meanwhile, CB Casey Hayward (hamstring), T Bryan Bulaga (knee) and RB DuJuan Harris (knee) were among those who practiced, coming off season-ending injuries.

Lori Nickel of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.