Reed (toe) was activated off of NFI today. He was previously out with an injury sustained at a youth camp.
Wednesday marked the end of the first consecutive stretch of practices for the Green Bay Packers to open training camp. On Thursday, the team will have an off day before another three-practice stretch from Friday to Sunday. The team will continue its three days on, one day off schedule until August 3rd, the day the Packers’ Family Night scrimmage will be played at Lambeau Field.
At the moment, there’s still no sign of a Jordan Love extension. The quarterback remains dressed down at practice, but he is involved in meetings with the team. Hopefully, this hold-in will end sooner rather than later, as the Packers have a little over two weeks to prepare for their first preseason game of the summer: a road match versus the Cleveland Browns on August 10th.
Participation
As promised, Jayden Reed (toe) is back at practice.
Welcome to day of #PackersCamp
If it rains, Wes riots. pic.twitter.com/jsUVyUwxpV
— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) July 24, 2024
Receiver Jayden Reed was activated off of the non-football injury list today, as he’s apparently recovered from the toe injury that he sustained during a youth camp he was hosting. Aside from the Reed news, the only real change in participation today was that offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins was given a veteran rest day.
Cornerback Corey Ballentine (NFI, hamstring), safety Kitan Oladapo (NFI, toe), offensive lineman Donovan Jennings (PUP, hamstring), tackle Caleb Jones (PUP, hamstring), tight end Tucker Kraft (PUP, pec) and running back MarShawn Lloyd (hip) remain out with injuries.
Offense
The new 1-2 punch in the #Packers backfield for the start of camp, Josh Jacobs & AJ Dillon pic.twitter.com/Xx2hDyw7dc
— Mike Spofford (@mikespofford) July 24, 2024
In walkthroughs, the starters at receiver were Reed, Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks, per Packer Report’s Andy Herman. This means that early signs point to Romeo Doubs being the odd man out in the four-man rotation. Obviously, there’s plenty of time between now and Week 1 for Doubs to change that, but this was how the “starters” looked for the first time that Reed was on the field during training camp.
Herman also noted that the starting offensive line during walkthroughs were Rasheed Walker, Sean Rhyan, Josh Myers, Jorgan Morgan and Zach Tom (left to right) with Jenkins out of the picture. Walkthroughs are worth mentioning because Tom still hasn’t participated in team drills, as he’s rehabbing a pec injury.
In place of Tom at right tackle in team drills was actually former practice squadder Kadeem Telfort, rather than Andre Dillard — who previously was taking those reps. Dillard has been struggling through the early training camp practices, giving up multiple sacks to Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare on Tuesday.
The second-team offensive line (left to right) was made up of Dillard, Royce Newman, Jacob Monk, Lecitus Smith and Luke Tenuta. This means that the only non-starter on the first two teams today, aside from injured players, was sixth-round tackle Travis Glover. The rookie project might be closer to a practice squad candidate in 2024 than a player who hangs onto the 53-man roster.
Defense
For the third straight practice, the defense has won the day. With Love out of practice, the Packers’ backup quarterbacks threw four interceptions to the secondary after the pass rush demolished the team’s pass protection on Tuesday.
Before practice, head coach Matt LaFleur hinted that the team might not have a full-time starting safety opposite of Xavier McKinney, as the squad could use several players in different packages to pair with McKinney at different downs and distances. Today, after rookie fourth-round pick Evan Williams got the nod on Tuesday, rookie second-rounder Javon Bullard got the “start” at safety.
Anthony Johnson Jr., who was featured with the first-team defense the most at safety prior to training camp, appears to be falling down the depth chart. Still, both he and Williams, working in rotation with the first team, were the safeties to record interceptions in today’s practice.
At linebacker, Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie were the team’s “starting” linebackers in nickel sets, but rookie second-round pick Edgerrin Cooper was also rotating into the lineup. The one top-100 pick the Packers made last April who does not seem to be gaining ground at this point in camp is third-round rookie linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper, who has rarely been heard of this spring and summer.
Former first-round pick Eric Stokes remains the starter at cornerback opposite of Jaire Alexander, a position he’s held for virtually all of the team’s practices so far in 2024. Stokes made two interceptions today, so it’s going to be hard to take him off the field when he’s producing. Carrington Valentine, who made 12 starts as a rookie last season, might just find himself being the first cornerback off the bench to start the 2024 campaign.
Per Herman, only two defensive backs were working with the slot corner group today: “starter” Keisean Nixon and rookie seventh-round pick Kalen King. King was able to record a tackle for loss in a team period from the position, which is a sign that he’s taking those lessons into live action. King will probably have to battle with Ballentine, who is currently injured, for the final cornerback spot on the team’s 53-man roster.
Special Teams
Running back Josh Jacobs worked with the kick return group today, something we’ve seen in previous practices this offseason. How serious the team is about letting their full-time starters return kicks with the new rule changes has yet to be seen.
The Packers have also been working an odd rotation with their kickers so far in training camp. James Turner, the player that the team added following minicamp, has been featured as the lone kicker to get reps during the Monday and Wednesday practices, while Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph split snaps on Tuesday. Turner went 4 of 6 today, bringing his camp total to 8 of 12. Green Bay generally gives kickers three attempts per kicking period, and Turner has gone two of three on all four opportunities that he’s been given.