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Green Bay --- Ryan Grant dismissed the standing ovation as "a joke." Aaron Rodgers assured it was "legit."

Either way, when the Green Bay Packers running back met his old (and new) teammates again, he was met with booming applause. The team's fifth all-time leading rusher is back for the stretch run when the Packers need him most. Cedric Benson is down. James Starks is down. Brandon Saine is down.

So this week, Grant got the call back.

Of course there's motivation. Grant had a brief stint with the Washington Redskins, carrying the ball once. He also had workouts with the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears and New York Giants, and nothing stuck. Grant said he holds no grudges toward the Packers, who could have signed him at various points since March. Still, he acknowledged a natural drive for any player who has been out so long.

After all, Grant doesn't even have a locker in the main part of the locker room yet. He's in the back with the Packers' practice-squad players.

"Any football player who hasn't played football," Grant said, "the minute they get a chance to play football, they have a little chip on their shoulder. Talk to anybody in this position and think that's how they'll play. This is a competitive sport. I don't really like watching football from a spectator's stance."

It's no secret why Grant was a spectator this long. He turns 30 years old on Sunday. For all running backs today, that's a glaring red flag. Grant admits there's some "good reason" for such trepidation from general managers, yet believes he's not a 30-year-old running back. Grant has historically kept himself in great shape and -- as he pointed out Wednesday -- he hasn't carried the ball quite as much as you'd think.

There's 925 carries of tread on Grant's tires. By comparison, the 29-year-old Benson has carried the ball 1,600 times. A late bloomer who also missed practically the entire 2010 season, Grant said he hasn't "taken that wear and tear" of other running backs his age.

At no point did he believe his career was over.

"I didn’t think that, I definitely didn’t think that was it for my career," he said. "This league is a funny one. I didn’t think I was going to be out of football that long. That’s just how it goes. You just prepare yourself with what you can do. I had no control over other things. I just made sure I moved forward, worked out and made sure I was ready if something else breaks."

So he lifted weights, ran, played chess and spent plenty of time reading. Grant cited "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell as his favorite book.

When asked if it was humbling not to get any offers out of his three workouts, Grant was quick to point out "nobody said I didn't come out with an offer." He believed this opportunity would come all along -- somewhere. As far as the "humbling" nature of this all, Grant hinted at another particular, more polarizing Packer player who wasn't so fortunate to return.

"Humbling? It would be humbling if I didn’t think that this could happen," Grant said. "Like I said, I came in as a free agent. You’ve got to understand, I was an undrafted free agent. Everybody, I believe there was somebody else that didn’t come back that tried to come back, another guy on this team. It’s part of the game.

"It would be humbling if I thought it couldn’t happen to me, but I’ve never thought of it from that place. This is the nature of what I do. it’s performance-based. I think we have one of the highest turnover rates in the country as far as business-wise. So guys are in, guys are out."

Expectations may need to be tempered. Grant simply hasn't been played extensively in a very, very long time. This is the Ryan Grant circa 2012, not quite 2008 or 2009. Coach Mike McCarthy said after practice that Grant "is in very good shape" and that he expects the running back to play Sunday against the Detroit Lions, adding "we’re not looking for him to go out and play the full game."

With Starks sidelined, McCarthy said Alex Green "has to be" ready for a heavier workload.

Grant has been keeping an eye on the Packers and Green's progress from afar.

"Alex is a talent," Grant said. "He’s getting more and more comfortable each week. And that’s what happens. He’s a young guy, of course coming back from injury like he did, it’s impressive that he’s been able to take more carries. You can see that he’s tough. The game is slowing down for him."

Ideally for the Packers, Green won't be alone in the running game. Grant could help with that.

Of course, the veteran missed the Packers' Super Bowl run in 2010. On injured reserve, he watched on as the Packers won it all. The irony of this all is staring Grant in the face but he won't get caught up into it. If Grant did, he says "I'd have been killing myself with the whole situation."

Instead, he's worried about right now.

"I didn't come here for a feel-good story," Grant said. "I came back here to help this team and contribute."

(Journal Sentinel photo by Mark Hoffman)