Green Bay - If they had the same kind of sway quarterback Aaron Rodgers has in the Green Bay Packers organization, Ryan Pickett and B.J. Raji might have stormed into general manager Ted Thompson's office and begged him to re-sign Cullen Jenkins.

Both players knew what was at stake.

"I watch a lot of film, I'm a film junkie," Raji said Monday. "He is the best interior pass rusher in this league. Just his ability, his approach, his technique, there's no way you can replace that.

"Which is why if you're coming to this training camp, it's time for you to step up."

Jenkins took his dynamic first step, slippery spin move and infectious humor to Philadelphia after the Packers declined to offer him a free-agent contract. He signed a five-year, $25 million contract that the Packers easily could have afforded. But even as the market fell out from under him, Thompson didn't bite.

In his mind, it's better to get rid of a player one year too early than one year too late and with the oft-injured Jenkins having turned 30 in January, Thompson decided it was time for youngsters Mike Neal, C.J. Wilson and Jarius Wynn to have their chance.

Everyone concedes it will be impossible to replace Jenkins' individual ability, but among the three, they're going to have to bear more responsibility on the defensive line.

"They're going to have to step up the way I was expected to step up," said linebacker Clay Matthews, who benefited the most from Jenkins' pass rush from the opposite side.

Pickett, Raji and Howard Green have been around long enough to understand the business, and so while they're disappointed Jenkins won't be back, they also know it's a fact of football life that good players are sometimes allowed to leave.

As a group, the defensive line has to accept that the affable Jenkins isn't going to have their back when they're having a bad pass-rushing day or keep them loose when the pressure is on. It's unlikely any of them will come to a game on Halloween dressed as Mr. T.

"He just brought an energy to a team," Pickett said. "He's a jokester. Nothing is too serious for him. His personality, we're going to miss it."

And, of course, his pass rush.

Neal, a second-round pick in 2010, appeared to be headed for big things before he tore his rotator cuff in practice Oct. 20. He's back and close to being cleared for full contact, but he'll wear a brace on his right shoulder and could lack some of the strength that made him so difficult to block last year.

Neal would be the leading candidate to take over Jenkins' inside rush position in the nickel package. Of any position the Packers have to fill - left guard included - it might be the one that hurts them the most.

"Guys have to be themselves and play the system," Pickett said. "Coach (Dom) Capers knows what he's doing and they know what personnel they like and you just do what they tell you to do. And just stay in those boundaries and you'll be fine."

In Neal's case, the mind is willing but the body might not be. He insists his shoulder is completely healed and he won't encounter any setbacks, but he also won't be full strength until at least a year from surgery and he still isn't sure how much he'll practice in training camp.

In the first two days of practice, he was limited to individual drills and even if he's cleared to do more, he'll be eased back into things. Expecting him to be an effective starter come Sept. 8 might be asking a little too much.

"That's one thing I don't know," Neal said. "We have a lot of good guys here that are ready to play. C.J. is really up there in that spot and Howard is in that spot. We have Lawrence Guy, a rookie, coming in. With his size I'm pretty sure he'll be able to contribute."

It won't be hard to replace Jenkins on running downs. Green was doing that effectively at the end of last year and in the playoffs and Wilson was chipping in where he could. Both are solid run players, but Wilson, in particular, has to pick up his game as a pass rusher.

His primary focus during the off-season was to increase his speed and develop better pass rush moves.

"I learned a lot from Cullen," Wilson said. "He was a great pass rusher and he taught us many things. I'm trying to put them to use this year. I'm trying to be better and take some of his moves, but I just want to not be a drop-off from last year."

Wilson said defensive line coach Mike Trgovac told him the improvement he made from the beginning of the season until the end was like seeing two different people. The coaches thought enough of Wilson that he played 17 snaps in the playoff game against Philadelphia, including four at the end of the game when the Eagles were driving for a game-winning score, and 18 against Atlanta the following week.

Wynn, meanwhile, was active for three of the four postseason games and got a few rushes here and there. He might be the one in the group with the most pass-rush potential, but he has to prove he has the energy to fight off blockers every single play.

It may turn out that Capers tries to replace Jenkins' pass rush with an extra linebacker or more blitzing, but at some point he's going to need Neal and Wilson, in particular, to be more than just names on the roster.

"They're both competitive guys and they're going to have a significant role on this team, on this defense," Raji said. "In order for them to do that, they're going to have show that in training camp. They have to do that."

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