-- For their joint practices against the Houston Texans this week, the Green Bay Packers will have the franchise's all-time leading scorer at their disposal.

Kicker Mason Crosby was removed from the NFI list after battling a calf injury for much of the summer, preventing him to take part in any one of the team's eight training camp practices. That paved the way for Sam Ficken, who was claimed off of waivers by the Packers in April to serve as Crosby's competition.

But while Ficken has been taking the starting reps in practice, Crosby hasn't been sitting on his hands. After Sunday's practice -- a day that saw Crosby return to the field -- he revealed that his rep count has remained the same, even while nursing his calf injury.

"Through this process, I've been kicking. I've been doing everything, just not the team reps," Crosby said, via Packers.com. "I feel good about where I'm at and I'm ready to get back out there."

Crosby described his absence as 'precautionary" more than anything and reaffirmed that missing a few days of camp and returning at full health far outweighed the detrimental cost of returning too soon and finding out that the calf could become a long-term concern.

"My rep counts are fairly similar to what I'd normally be doing," Crosby said. "I wasn't limiting my kicking. It was bugging me when I was running. It was just precautionary, making sure it was behind us and being smart about it.

"As far as limiting my kicking and preparation, I felt like I was still able to do quite a lot."

Crosby connected on 81.1 percent of his 37 kicks in 2018. Four of his seven misses on the year came in a single game against the Detroit Lions. He also missed a game-winning field goal against the Minnesota Vikings and a game-tying kick at the end of regulation against the Arizona Cardinals. 

Ficken, who kicked for the Packers at the team's annual Family Night practice last week, struggled. He continued to push kicks wide-right of the crossbars and couldn't establish any consistency in his reps. He did, however, make five of his last six, including a 63-yarder to conclude the practice.

But despite the latter success, Ficken hasn't taken the reins of the kicking competition during Crosby's absence by any means. It's a competition that Crosby may be winning without even actually participating.

Ficken is Crosby's first competitor at the position since the Packers acquired Giorgio Tavecchio in 2013. Crosby and Tavecchio competed for the starting job that summer -- a job that Crosby obviously prevailed in -- before Tavecchio was released after the team's third preseason game.

Entering his 13th year in the league and tasked with the responsibility of once again having to fend off a potential suitor in order to keep his job, Crosby's attitude remains just as unshaken and undeterred as it did six years ago.

"My mindset's the same. Every time I come to camp, it's a process. I'm preparing for a season. To go out there and perform and practice and do my job, but that's the expectation every time I take the field. My mindset doesn't change regardless of the situation; I'm just going to continue to work hard and do my stuff and prepare for a season."