Tom Pelissero

USA TODAY Sports

Free agent tight end Jermichael Finley hasn't given up on playing again. But the former Green Bay Packers standout is moving forward with his backup plan.

Finley is filing a claim on his $10 million insurance policy, which can be paid out as soon as Oct. 20 – one year to the day after he suffered a scary injury that required spinal fusion surgery, a person with knowledge of Finley's thinking told USA TODAY Sports on Friday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Finley, 27, continues to work out 5 hours a day in Minneapolis and Wisconsin and wants to return to the NFL. But that's not a reality at this stage, despite progress shown through a series of MRIs and CAT scans since doctors fused his C-3 and C-4 vertebrae a month after his injury.

So, the plan is to move forward with the insurance process, which could take some time. The policy stipulates Finley can collect the money if he hasn't played in four games and wouldn't prevent him from trying a comeback in the future – perhaps even later this season.

Finley visited the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks in the offseason and told USA TODAY Sports in July he received interest from the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose team neurosurgeron, Dr. Joseph Maroon, performed the surgery and cleared Finley in May.

"Pittsburgh have showed me a couple deals, but we all know the money ain't what it's supposed to be," Finley said in July. "If I quit the game right now, I can take tax-free money, and that's a difficult thing that I'm going through with myself …"

In six NFL seasons, Finley has 223 catches for 2,785 yards and 20 touchdowns