-- Some parts of the Green Bay Packers' roster was just a little banged up during the course of the offseason.

Randall Cobb was one of the few players who underwent surgery in the spring -- albeit minor -- to rid any lingering ailment in preparation for the upcoming season.

"I had surgery six weeks ago," Cobb said after Friday's practice, according to Michael Cohen of The Athletic. "Nothing invasive. They went in and pretty much just removed a piece of cartilage that was giving me some problems. Obviously not that big of a deal. But feeling a lot better than I did before."

Cobb was spotted at an airport early last month in a walking boot, describing it as "temporary," which is exactly what it was. He hosted his youth football camp last week and was no longer wearing the boot.

As the elder statesman of the Packers' young wide receiver unit, it's almost vital that Cobb enters the season at full capacity. Opting for surgery in hopes of getting himself back to normal without the hindrance of discomfort in his ankle seemed almost like a no-brainer.

"I started feeling a lot through OTAs, but after, we went back and looked," Cobb said. "I had a scan on it last year during OTAs, so I don’t know if it was something that was lingering from then or not, but it didn’t show anything on my MRI or my X-ray, but obviously I was feeling something, so we took care of it."

Both on and off the field, Cobb's role on the team increased tenfold this offseason when the team chose to part ways with longtime receiver Jordy Nelson. Cobb, 27 and turning 28 in three weeks, is now tasked with the job of filling in as something of a mentor.

If there was ever a realistic expectation that Cobb would be eased into training camp after undergoing surgery a little over a month ago, it didn't take long for him to turn that expectation into something of a myth.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers' first pass of training camp on Thursday was a deep shot for -- you guessed it -- Cobb, who was blanketed by second-year cornerback Kevin King.

While both came down with the ball simultaneously and would probably dispute the call in their favor, it was not only a thrilling way to kick off the first practice of the summer but a sign that confidence in Cobb's health and maneuverability haven't wavered.

Between J'Mon Moore, Equanimeous St. Brown and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the Packers need to figure out what they have in their depth behind Cobb, Geronimo Allison -- the presumed opposite perimeter starter -- and Davante Adams, the No. 1 of the group, and entering his eighth season, Cobb gets to have a role in that.

"I feel like that was just yesterday," Cobb said of his time as the youngest of the Packers' receivers. "I had a lot of veterans to lean on and a lot of veterans to watch and see how they carry themselves. See how they perform as pros, in the weight room, in the classroom, on the football field. Just being able to learn and pick up on all those little different things I think definitely helped my career."

Drafted by the Packers in the second round in 2011, Cobb was successfully plugged into an offense engineered by Joe Philbin, then in his final year as the team's offensive coordinator.

This time around, coach Mike McCarthy sought out Philbin once more and brought him back to Green Bay where he spent five seasons (2007-2011).

All three of the aforementioned rookie receivers need to formulate some kind of rapport with Rodgers under the circumstances of learning an entirely new offense at the professional level if they're hopeful of steadily contributing throughout the season.

"We’ve changed up some things schematically, but the overview is the same thing. It’s continuing to build trust and chemistry with Aaron [Rodgers] and continuing to get on the same page with him.

"It’s all about that chemistry and continuing to talk through things. Year-to-year, things change. We try to work through different changes and make sure we’re all on the same page."