In this March 26, 2013 file photo, Former University of Texas and NFL quarterback Vince Young throws during Texas' Pro Day in Austin, Texas. The Green Bay Packers have signed free agent Young as a backup quarterback, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound quarterback spent five seasons with the Tennessee Titans and one season with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was with the Buffalo Bills during the 2012 preseason.

GREEN BAY — Vince Young says the Green Bay Packers are getting a more mature, stronger person. What kind of quarterback the team is getting in the 30-year-old Young remains to be seen.

"That's the mystery of it, sort of the intrigue," general manager Ted Thompson said Tuesday after Young completed his first practice in a Packers uniform.

The Packers are hoping that Young, out of football last year after being cut by the Buffalo Bills, can pick up the offense quickly enough to make a serious run at the backup job behind Aaron Rodgers.

After five up-and-down years as the Tennessee Titans' starter and one year as a backup to Michael Vick with the Philadelphia Eagles, Young says the Packers are getting someone who has experienced both success and failure on the field (31-19 career record as a starter, two Pro Bowl selections, a 74.4 career passer rating) and has grown up off the field while getting married and trying to navigate through financial problems.

If the Packers get a more reliable backup than incumbent No. 2 quarterback Graham Harrell or third-stringer B.J. Coleman, signing Young to a one-year deal will prove well worth the risk.

"Back in the day, I was a young Vince. Now, I'm more mature and definitely learned from things that happened in the past," Young said. "I'm married now, a grown man, 30 years old. I've definitely been through the highs and the lows and different things like that. It's the way you come out of it to stay strong. I'm stronger than I've ever been."

Young doesn't have much time to learn the playbook and make an impression, but said he isn't fazed by the odds being against him.

"(It's) no challenge. I've been through pretty much everything you can think of," Young said. "I'm just happy, enjoying this and just happy to be here and being here with some special, special guys. My whole thing is to continue to keep working and get myself better and just staying ready — you never know."

Harrell was solid but unspectacular during the first 10 days of training camp and Coleman, a seventh-round pick in 2012 who spent last year on the practice squad, did little to impress his coaches. He threw a pair of interceptions in practice on Thursday and did so again in Saturday's scrimmage. One interception came in the end zone; another was returned 66 yards for a touchdown.

"We're adding more competition to the room," coach Mike McCarthy said. "I thought (Saturday night) was one of the better scrimmage-type environments that Graham has performed in. B.J. did not take the step that I was hoping for, but he's a young player. I'm not giving up on B.J. Coleman because I think he has, definitely a future, a bright future. (So) that is a room that there will be more competition. And Vince Young was available."

McCarthy said he wasn't sure whether Young would know enough of the playbook to see action in the team's preseason opener Friday night against Arizona, although the coach said he hoped Young could play.

Young, who is listed at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds on the Packers' official roster, appeared to be in good shape, even though he acknowledged he was rusty. McCarthy made it clear that Young wasn't brought in merely to run read-option plays on the scout team against the No. 1 defense, and that the coaches had already started tweaking his fundamentals.

"Vince Young is a very talented player. You look at his history, it speaks volumes about his ability to play. It's just a matter of getting comfortable with him," McCarthy said. "We'll have to teach him the language and get him up to speed."

Young's comeback attempt began with him participating in Texas' pre-draft pro day, and while he said he had other teams show interest in him, Green Bay was the right place for him to resume his NFL career.

"I'm still fighting and I haven't quit," Young said. "I really feel like that year off really helped me out a lot. It opened my eyes and a lot of things like that. I'm just happy to have the opportunity to play here. Right now, I'm just taking it day by day, trying to get a grasp of the offense, ask questions, kind of pick Aaron's and the rest of the guys' heads so I can try to catch up to speed with the guys."

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GREEN BAY — The injury hits just keep on coming for the Green Bay Packers.

Wide receiver Jordy Nelson will miss the rest of training camp after undergoing a procedure on one of his knees. He joins a laundry list of Packers on the sideline, including left tackle Bryan Bulaga, who is expected to miss the season - despite his hope to the contrary - with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in one of his knees.

Yet coach Mike McCarthy wasn't in woe-is-me mode Tuesday.

"These type of injuries, they're part of the game. The game of football, especially pro football, stops for nobody," McCarthy said. "You keep playing and if you ever stop and blink, you're two steps behind your opponent."

McCarthy said Bulaga, who played roughly 30 plays in Saturday night's scrimmage, was injured on the seventh play, but no one seemed certain of just how he hurt himself.

"He doesn't even look like he's injured," McCarthy said.

General manager Ted Thompson said he saw Bulaga come out of the pile after a play "kicking his leg" as if it was bothering him.

"Then (he) goes back to the huddle and plays great the rest of the night, which is the reason I still have hope," Thompson said.

So does Bulaga, who has reportedly sought a second opinion from renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews in hopes of somehow playing through the injury.

Rookie fourth-round pick David Bakhtiari worked at Bulaga's left tackle spot in practice Tuesday and would start there in Friday night's preseason opener against Arizona.

"We're still waiting on a medical opinion that hasn't come in yet. Bryan is still hopeful to potentially give it a go," McCarthy said. "Nothing's been finalized."

Asked if he really thinks Bulaga could play through a torn ACL, McCarthy replied in part, "Everybody's talking through, as we always do, what's in the best interest of the player. Bryan fully understands what it would take for him to play this year. He's looking at all his options."

Pro Bowl guard Josh Sitton, who played next to Bulaga on the right side from 2010 through 2012 before the team switched up their offensive line and moved both men to the left side this offseason, said he thinks it would be a mistake for Bulaga to try to play with the injury.

"If he does try to go? I would think he's stupid," Sitton said. "He's got a career to worry about. It's not just about this year when you have something like that, so it would be dumb."

Having suffered a hip injury on Nov. 4 that ended his third NFL season, Bulaga had been ultra-committed during the offseason as he shifted from right tackle to left tackle.

"I feel terrible what happened to Bryan and no one knows how hard he's prepared coming off of last year's injury," McCarthy said. "I can (count) on maybe one hand how many days he has left Lambeau Field. He worked out exclusively here in the offseason throughout the summer. So, to see him pour that much into it and able to see it, you feel bad for the person."

As for Nelson, doctors expect the receiver to be ready in 4-6 weeks. The Packers open the season Sept. 8 at San Francisco.

"Fortunately with Jordy, his particular thing that we had (to) fix is something that we have some experience with with some other guys here," Thompson said. "So, we think we can predict about the way it'll go. But you never know."

In addition to Nelson and Bulaga, wide receiver/returner Randall Cobb, the team's leading receiver last year, dropped out of practice Tuesday with a biceps injury. No. 1 cornerback Tramon Williams has been sidelined for more than a week with a bone bruise in his knee, and cornerback Casey Hayward has yet to practice because of a hamstring injury. DuJuan Harris, the team's starting running back at the end of last season, has yet to practice because of a knee injury.

In all, 16 players missed practice Tuesday, including wide receiver Sederrick Cunningham, who was placed on injured reserve to make room on the roster for quarterback Vince Young.

"Injuries are not explainable," Thompson said. "They just happen."