GREEN BAY, Wis. – On August 24, Brenton Cox played 17 snaps in the Green Bay Packers’ final preseason game. A few days later, he landed his spot on the 53-man roster.

He has not been seen since.

At least by the fans.

While Cox has been a healthy inactive for all nine games this season, he has been seen at practice by defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.

“I think there’s a streak of two practices where Cox, I just thought he looked like he was ready to go,” Hafley said Thursday, a few days before the Packers play at the Chicago Bears.

“(It’s) really cool to see when guys deserve their opportunities, and I think he’s a really good example of that. And I’m really, really excited for him along with (Arron) Mosby.”

The development of Cox and Mosby ultimately led to last week’s trade of Preston Smith. Mosby has played seven defensive snaps this season, which is seven more than Cox, who is expected to play his first game in about three months on Sunday.

“Yeah, I’ve been counting,” Cox said. “It’s been a while. I’m ready for the opportunity to go out and prove my worth.”

After trading Smith, general manager Brian Gutekunst explained it by saying, “There are players we want to see.”

It’s an obvious vote of confidence for Cox.

“It’s bigger than us,” Cox said. “I don’t know what went into it, but I just know that I come to work every day for moments like these and when they decide to do whatever they need to do on the depth chart. I’m always ready.”

Players don’t need to get ready if they stay ready. That’s what Cox has done as he toiled in anonymity without getting a chance to show what he could do in the games.

Was it difficult to maintain that motivation?

“No, because I love what I do and I like doing it,” Cox said. “Every opportunity when I’m on the pitch is an opportunity for me to get better and show what I can do.

“Just going in there with that confidence, whether it’s on the scout team or when I get reps with the defense, just looking to win every rep. That’s how I never get tired of it. That’s how I keep it fun and keep started my motivation by just trying to win.”

Cox and Mosby joined the Packers in 2023, with Cox a free agent and Mosby out of Carolina.

Cox made the 53-man roster last year but played in just four games — and just once in the second half of the season. Mosby spent the entire season on the practice squad.

This year, they both made the 53-man roster. Mosby was inactive for Week 1 but has been a staple on special teams the past eight games.

“Speed, athleticism,” Hafley said of the young defensive ends. “I think they’re two really good, young players that have shown up in practice. When you get your looks done and you go over and watch our offense against our show team (scout team defense) and you focus on some guys and they start jump out every day.

“And if our offense has a hard time blocking certain guys or you get a guy that all of a sudden makes a ton of balls, you really start to watch him and watch him, and I think both of those guys really started to pop out.”

Mosby played his first two defensive snaps against Jacksonville before getting a half-sack in five snaps against Detroit.

“Mosby, obviously, got the playing time a little bit against Detroit, so we tried to get him going and now he’s going to have a bigger role,” Hafley said. “For a guy like Cox to get his time now and do it the right way in practice and not say anything and just keep working, I’m really excited for him. So we’ll see what he can do.”

Cox showed what he can do in the preseason when he had one sack and nine total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.

“Oh, yeah,” he said when asked if he’s a better player now. “Every day. I feel like I’m better today than I was yesterday. That’s just me. I try to improve everything I do every day.”

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