GREEN BAY Brian Burns Jersey , Wis. (AP) — Cole Madison last year, there was optimism that the former Washington State standout would be able to fill an opening at right guard.Madison didn’t report for training camp. He put football on hold to focus on his life.“I love football, but, at that point, it was my health and my life was on the line,” Madison said. “I had to go help myself before my football career. If I didn’t get my chickens in order back then, I don’t think I’d be here right now.”After sitting out his entire rookie season, Madison joined the team for the start of offseason workouts in April and was expected to be on the field this weekend for the Packers’ rookie camp.Madison would not detail exactly what had gone wrong, only saying that his issues had deep roots and were exacerbated by the suicide of Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski in January 2018.“I was going through some stuff for a long time that I was putting off and they caught up to me with the decisions off the field I was doing. I wasn’t making good decisions and it led to bad thoughts,” Madison said. “Tyler, if anything, helped me with knowing that other people go through things, too. It was a little light at the end of the tunnel — light in a dark area.“It was a first beginning step of a wakeup call for me, how I needed to handle my mental health, was after that entire situation. Me and him were great friends. I would have never known any of that was going on or vice versa. I had my demons going on and no one had any idea what was going on. It’s just one of those things of taking that step when you’ve got those things and not to just bat them down and talk to someone and opening up.”Through those conversations Greg Little Jersey , things improved. By November or December, he said, he began to feel like his old self.“After that, it was getting over the hump, that period of, ‘I feel like me again,” Madison said. “I haven’t felt like me in God knows how long and I finally started to feel positive, feel like, ‘Hey, I can do this’ and no second-guessing myself.”With that, Madison began to think about football again; he didn’t even watch football last year. He began to focus on getting ready physically. He’s listed at the same 6-foot-5 and 308 pounds as he was at the scouting combine in 2018. He called his stamina “great.”“I’m ready to roll,” Madison said. “Took a year off, twiddling my thumbs, now I’m back and letting it loose.”The Packers are eager to see if Madison can reach his potential. There remains a hole at right guard, though they fortified the offensive line with free agent Billy Turner and second-round draft pick Elgton Jenkins.“It was great to see Cole back in the building and doing some football things again Will Grier Jersey ,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “That was a really, really pleasant surprise. I think he was very appreciative about the way we handled things last year. We’re excited to see what he can do for us because he had a really good offseason last year before everything transpired. Very optimistic.”New coach Matt LaFleur is implementing an outside-zone running scheme that is fueled by linemen with a blend of athleticism and power. Gutekunst called Madison an “absolute fit” for what LaFleur is trying to build.“We were really high on Cole when he was coming out,” LaFleur said, thinking back to 2018 when he was offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans. “So, we feel like he adds a lot of value to what we can do with him in our system.”Madison’s return will be a day-by-day process. He hasn’t put on pads or blocked somebody since the Senior Bowl in January 2018.His football comeback, however, is secondary to his personal comeback.“I can’t remember the last time I’d wake up and feel positive and not go into bed with negative thoughts in my head,” Madison said. “Just living life and being happy doing it, it’s a blessing.”NOTES: The Packers announced Friday the signings of six draft picks, including linebackers Rashan Gary (Michigan) and Ty Summers (TCU), defensive backs Darnell Savage (Maryland) and Ka’dar Hollman (Toledo), defensive lineman Kinglsey Keke (Texas A&M), running back Dexter Williams (Notre Dame), and 11 rookie free agents. OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — In his new role as general manager of the Baltimore Ravens Christian Miller Jersey , Eric DeCosta has no intention of filling the shoes of his highly successful predecessor, Ozzie Newsome.“I have size 10½ feet and I think Ozzie is a 13, so there you go,” DeCosta said Wednesday, standing alone in front of a gathering of the media and team employees at his first news conference since taking the job on Jan. 11.Newsome, who held the post since the franchise moved from Cleveland in 1996, will stay on as an adviser. The first African-American GM in NFL history, Newsome drafted wisely and shrewdly combed the free agent market to build the Ravens into a perennial contender and two-time Super Bowl champions.DeCosta was there for all of it. As an intern, DeCosta’s duties included taking then-coach Ted Marchibroda’s car for oil changes. The coach gave him $100 and told him to keep the change, so DeCosta found a place that charged $9.99.“Sometimes people would think that maybe I’d be embarrassed that I started off as an intern now that I’m a GM, that I want to forget that,” DeCosta said. “To be honest with you, I cherish the fact that I could start out as a young person and really do a lot of different things.”DeCosta moved up the corporate ladder to become assistant general manager in 2012. He began to attract the interest of other clubs, so owner Steve Bisciotti promised him a promotion after the 2018 season. Now that the job he long coveted is his, the 47-year-old DeCosta is already hard at work trying to improve a team that won the AFC North before being eliminated with a first-round playoff loss.He has overseen personnel meetings Jordan Scarlett Jersey , huddled with top team officials in Florida, attended a couple college all-star games and given plenty of thought to the draft.“There are times I look at the challenges and they are daunting. But I’ve been blessed that I’ve had a lot of time to think and prepare for this,” he said. “Had I had gone to another team, with all new faces, new organization, new people, that would be a little more challenging.”This job has plenty of obstacles to clear, most notably a tight salary cap and some important pending personnel decisions. Pro Bowl linebacker C.J. Mosley is a pending free agent, the status of safety Eric Weddle and guard Marshal Yanda for 2019 is uncertain and quarterback Joe Flacco is almost certainly heading elsewhere.“If there’s one team interested, yeah, we’ll probably trade him,” DeCosta said of Flacco. “If there’s nobody interested, we’ll have to make another decision.”Having Newsome on his side will make those kinds of choices a whole lot easier.“I am extremely happy that Ozzie is going to play such a significant role moving forward for this organization,” DeCosta said. “It just gives me immense joy that I can still mess around with him like I do.”Having learned so much from Newsome, DeCosta has no intention of straying from the lessons provided by his mentor.“We’ve done a lot of really good things in the past David Montgomery Jersey , and we would be foolish to change things overnight,” he said.DeCosta revealed that Bisciotti actually broached the subject of his ascension to general manager in 2007. Eleven years later, it finally happened. Along the way, DeCosta spurned several opportunities to land a GM job in another city.“Did I have chances? Yeah. Did I have a lot? Yeah. Did I ever really consider it? Not really,” DeCosta said. “Every time I’d go to bed, thinking that maybe I would consider something, I’d wake up and say, ‘What are you crazy? You know you’re going to have the job someday that you’ve dreamed about, so just wait and make it perfect.'”