"If Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson decides to keep just three halfbacks, he's going to have a tough call to make.

Does he stick with what he knows he has or with what he hopes he has?

That is the difference between Ryan Grant and Dimitri Nance, two backs as different as night is from day, but possibly competitors for one roster position.

It might seem like heresy to even consider the Packers letting Grant go, but the truth is about two weeks before the season opener the only certainties at the position for the 53-man roster are James Starks, Alex Green and John Kuhn.

Grant is healthy again after spending 19 games on injured reserve with a damaged ankle, and the coaches have been doing what they can to see him in live action. He started against the Arizona Cardinals on Friday night and played in the first three series, finishing with 23 yards on five carries.

This preseason, Grant has just eight carries, which is hardly enough to cast judgment. Then again, Starks has only two carries and Green six.

"We're trying to get Ryan and James - and, now Alex is back - we're trying to get those guys a certain number of carries each game," coach Mike McCarthy said. "I definitely would like to start off getting Ryan going this week.""