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Green Bay Packers Minicamp Preview

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers will hit the practice field on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for the mandatory minicamp.
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – With Aaron Rodgers on the practice field, these early stages of the Green Bay Packers’ 2022 season will get a reality check with the start of the three-day, mandatory minicamp on Tuesday.

Rodgers made that clear when he talked to Christian Watson after the Packers traded up to get the talented rookie in the second round of the NFL Draft.

“He wanted to make sure that I knew that he was looking out and that, when he stepped in the building, that it was time to work,” Watson said.

It’s time to work for Rodgers, too. He skipped the first two weeks of the voluntary organized team activities. That means this week’s practices will mark his first time slinging passes in Green Bay since the playoff loss to San Francisco.

“There were a lot of things last year that were unexpected, for sure,” Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show during the draft. “It definitely wasn’t the smoothest year, at times. But I do feel good about where I’m at with Green Bay, my relationship with Brian (Gutekunst) and Russ (Ball) and Matt (LaFleur).”

The Packers are coming off three consecutive crushing playoff losses. A surprise entrant in the 2019 NFC Championship Game, the Packers were crushed at San Francisco. As the No. 1 seed in 2020, they hosted the NFC Championship Game but lost to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a nearly empty Lambeau Field. They were the No. 1 seed again last year but were shocked by the 49ers in the divisional round.

Since then, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett became head coach in Denver and quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy became offensive coordinator in Chicago. And, of course, the Packers traded All-Pro Davante Adams. Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown are gone, replaced by three rookies and veteran Sammy Watkins.

“It’s different but we’ve got a great group of men working there” Rodgers continued. “I’m excited to get back there and get things going. We’ve got a lot to play for, a lot of exciting things.

“Obviously, our defense is going to be really good and defense wins championships. Offensively, we didn’t do our part last year in the playoffs, and we’ve got to live with that and find a way to get it done next year when we’re in that position.”

The first small steps to getting back in that position will take place this week – and in front of the fans on Tuesday and Wednesday, with start times of 11:20 a.m. This not only will be Rodgers’ offseason debut, but cornerback Jaire Alexander, outside linebackers Rashan Gary and Preston Smith, and Watkins presumably will practice for the first time, as well.

That should make LaFleur happy. He was irked that so many players were absent last week. Players who skip these practices will be subject to fines.

“Each guy has that right to make that choice,” LaFleur said before practice last week. “If you’re asking me, I want everybody here. So, I think some of the thought process may have changed over what’s transpired over the last two years, especially with our COVID situation where we didn’t have OTAs. But my thing to our guys is, well, neither did anybody else. So, everybody had the same circumstances that they were dealing with. With everybody being open, you'd like to see as many guys as possible here.”

The highlight of the three days will be Rodgers attacking the team’s top-notch trio of cornerbacks. The Packers used first-round picks on Alexander in 2018 and Eric Stokes in 2021, then used Adams to help get those players ready for prime time. This time, they’ll use Alexander, Stokes and Rasul Douglas to give the new receivers the trials by fire necessary to get them ready for September.

Neither Watson, Romeo Doubs nor Samori Toure will be deemed a boom or a bust after this week. But these three days – and perhaps the final week of OTAs next week, depending on who sticks around – will help get the rookies ready for what lies ahead in training camp and beyond.

“Obviously, this isn’t real football,” LaFleur said. “Although you try and get it as close to real football as possible, these guys aren’t playing with pads. I just think it’s so important to lay the foundation for training camp, for when we put pads on, for when we get into those preseason games. And we do want to stress them right now. We’d rather stress them now than when they’re out there on a Sunday.”

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