Whatever role he plays this year, Greene remains confident that he can be reliable and effective. After playing mostly in special teams as a rookie, having himself working well in full-time duty at Soldier Field last week September was an important, if unfortunately, step forward.
“I feel like I got my first taste – a really small sample size,” said Greene, who was reactivated last January from injured reserve for the NFC title game but was inactive one game day. “Being able to figure out that I really have a good chance of making an impact, as long as I can stay out of it.”
He recorded six tackles in that game and broke a pass in the end zone in the fourth quarter. New defensive back coach Jerry Gray noted after watching the movie that Greene was impressed with his ability to cover running rain coming from the backfield.
While Greene has become a workout fighter over the last few years, stepping up from his stated weight of 197 – he posted a Twitter video to clean up 345 pounds – he does not feel he has sacrificed any speed of the center in building another body of his college days to get closer to the line of scrimmage when requested.
“I feel like I’ve played a decent bit of true safety and that’s what I categorize as on the roster,” he said. “Versatility – wherever they want to place me, they can. So I just make sure my skill set is exactly where it needs to be.”
St. Brown has the same mentality as he re-entered the competition at wide receiver, which is very similar to last year. The former Notre Dame standout and sixth-round pick in 2018 had a solid camp a summer ago when he injured his ankle in the third game of the preseason in Winnipeg.
It eventually required surgery and prevented him from ever being on the active roster in 2019, his first season without football that he can remember. After ending his rookie year on the serve, with three catches for 53 yards in a November game in Minnesota and then Dec. 5 for 94 yards in December in New York, St. Brown did not build on what he had done.
“Personally, I was very disappointed,” he said. “There were a few times where I came down, but I picked myself up pretty quickly. I was not too negative about it. I know I have a long career ahead of me, and I’m pretty young.”
