By Jason Wilde
Channel3000.com's Packer Insider from ESPN Madison

GREEN BAY – All Jason Chery wanted was a chance. And while he had to beg to get it, when he did, the Green Bay Packers’ little-known wide receiver made the most of it.

And now, Chery – in one of the most remarkable, you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up stories from training camp in years – can force his way onto the 53-man roster with a strong showing in the preseason finale Thursday night at Kansas City, where Chery will handle all kickoff and punt returns against the Chiefs.

“The young man hasn’t been given a whole lot of opportunity in the games,” McCarthy said following practice Monday after primary returner Will Blackmon sat out yet again with problems in his surgically repaired left knee. “So we’re going to find out.”

What they found out on Thursday night – and, more accurately, how they found out – is the stuff of, well, legend.

After signing with the Packers on Aug. 5 after undrafted free agent wide receiver Jeff Moturi was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury, Chery had done little to get anyone’s attention in his three weeks with the team. In fact, his most memorable play was being wide open behind reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Charles Woodson on a go route in practice … and dropping the ball.

But with about 5 minutes left in the Packers’ 59-24 blowout victory over the Indianapolis Colts at Lambeau Field and the Colts facing third-and-2 from their own 28-yard line, Chery started pestering special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum for a chance to return a punt. According to Chery, who relayed the story in front of his locker Monday after practice, fellow receiver Chastin West was “a little winded,” so Chery asked Slocum to let him fill in.

Slocum wasn’t particularly keen on the idea initially, considering Chery had done next to no return work in practice. (Through a team spokesperson, Slocum confirmed that Chery’s account was accurate. Assistant coaches weren’t scheduled to speak with reporters until Tuesday, so Slocum was unavailable to share his perspective on the story.)

“It was (West’s) turn to go up. I told coach, ‘He’s a little winded, give me a chance’ – because I’m (standing) right behind him – ‘give me a chance, put me back there,’” Chery recounted. “He wasn’t sure (if he wanted) to put me in because he didn’t know what I could do yet. So I said, ‘Give me a chance.’ And I asked the other coach (assistant special teams coach Chad Morton) to pull for me, tell (Slocum) to give me a chance.

“He finally gave me a chance, and I took it and ran with it.”

That would be an understatement. Chery fielded punter Pat McAfee’s 50-yard punt at the Packers’ 25-yard line, made one cut and exploded through an enormous hole in the middle of the field, sprinting to a 75-yard touchdown.

Not bad for a guy who almost had tears in his eyes while the kick was in the air.

“I was on the sideline, just waiting, stretching, waiting for a chance. By the time I finally went out there, the whole team was rooting for me,” Chery said. “I’m back there, I’m already nervous, my adrenaline is pumping, my eyes are red because I was emotional, like, ‘Finally, my time!’ And then I said, ‘OK, catch the ball.’ I caught the ball, so what am I going to do? So I just caught the ball and made one move – because coach said make one move and just hit it. So I did exactly what they told me to do, and I let my abilities work for themselves.

“It wasn’t my first time doing punt return or kickoff return. But that one opportunity really sparked things, opened their eyes. Now they’re like, ‘Wow!’ They’re saying ‘Wow,’ and I’m saying, ‘See? See.’ I was here all along. I was hiding.”

Hiding in plain sight, as it turned out.

Coming out of Louisiana-Lafayette in 2009, Chery was a highly regarded special teams player. (Draft guru Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News even profiled him as the best pure special teams player in that draft.) He led the Ragin’ Cajuns in special-teams tackles all four years (60 career tackles), blocked two punts, recovered two fumbles and forced one fumble while also returning a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown as a senior – one of four touchdowns of 80 or more yards in his career. He returned both punts and kickoffs until his senior year, when he became a primary wide receiver and limited himself to only kickoff returns.

Nonetheless, the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Chery went undrafted and signed with Carolina as a free agent. He was cut on the final roster reduction – he did catch a game-tying 31-yard touchdown pass in a preseason loss to the New York Giants – and spent parts of the season on Carolina’s and Pittsburgh’s practice squads. After spending the offseason with the Steelers, he was released in June and was out of work until the Packers were blown away by his workout following Moturi’s injury.

“He can run. We saw that in his workout,” McCarthy said. “We had him clocked anywhere from 4.29 to 4.32 (seconds in the 40-yard dash) the day he worked out for us. He has tremendous speed. There’s no question about that.”

But because he was playing catch-up in McCarthy’s complex offense, Chery did little to impress.

“That’s a tough situation to come into a multiple offensive scheme, come from somewhere where there’s not a whole lot of carry-over terminology-wise. So it’s been a tough transition for him from a playbook standpoint,” McCarthy said. “But he’s going to have a big opportunity here on special teams Thursday.”

Given that Blackmon, who had reconstructive surgery last October after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, continues to have problems with irritation, swelling and discomfort in the knee, the Packers’ return game is up in the air. If Chery can replicate against the Chiefs what he did against the Colts, they might’ve stumbled on their new return man.

And if that happens, it would make for an even more remarkable story. With his return against the Colts, Chery became the first Packer to return a punt for a touchdown in a preseason game since Desmond Howard did it against Pittsburgh on Aug. 11, 1996. Those who recall that camp remember that Howard was on the verge of being cut before that return – and he wound up being the MVP of Super Bowl XXXI.

“I can’t wait. It’s a great opportunity to showcase my skills again and just do good for my team as well,” Chery said. “I want to show them that it wasn’t a fluke, so I’ve got to keep on working do it again. Even if I don’t score, but I can still show them a case of what I can do with the ball in my hands.

“I’m just taking it one step at a time. First, catch the ball. Then, once I catch the ball, everything handles itself. I’m not going to try to think too much, even though it is a lot of pressure. A lot is riding on this right now. On Thursday, I’ve basically just got to go out and play – play fast, and just let everything loose. Leave it all out there.”