Here’s What Happened at Practice 3 of Packers Training Camp

Here’s what happened on Friday at Green Bay Packers training camp, a quiet day from a competitive perspective.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jul 28, 2023 3:23 PM EDT

In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers practiced for 1 hour and 21 minutes on Friday. There wasn’t a single competitive play. The closest to real football was Pat O’Donnell punting 14 times, so there were no post-practice push-ups or up-downs based on the winner of the third-down or red-zone periods.

“There’s a different theme each day in terms of what we’re trying to get accomplished,” coach Matt LaFleur said before Friday’s practice of those competitions. “But I do think there’s a lot of benefit in terms of you can feel the intensity raise up a little bit. Guys are talking a little bit more trash to one another and that naturally heightens the intensity. These guys want to compete and we’re competing in every period, but we just have a consequence for the loser that doesn't win the competition period, including myself. I’m always the loser.”

Here are the highlights – a word used loosely – from Friday.

Jordan Love’s Day

Starting quarterback Jordan Love’s day was filled with handoffs and lobbed passes, so he didn’t build upon his 12-of-28 passing totals from the first two practices.

Player of the Day

Credit to coach Matt LaFleur for locking the public out of practice. While the 50-percent-speed practice was valuable to LaFleur and his coaches as they continue to install their scheme, it would have been terribly boring for the fans in attendance.

Plays of the Day

Again, these were half-speed drills. However, quarterback Jordan Love had struggled with his deep ball through two days. Late in practice, though, he threw a perfect pass to undrafted rookie receiver Malik Heath, who was open on a deep corner route.

A couple snaps earlier, on a third down, Love threw a bubble screen to running back Aaron Jones, who was lined up as a wide receiver. Linebacker Quay Walker diagnosed the play perfectly and signaled Jones short of the first down. The result wasn’t important. What was important was Walker sensing exactly what was coming and being in the right spot.

Injury Report

New Injuries: None.

Returned From Injury: None.

Out With Injuries: OLB Rashan Gary (PUP list; knee), CB Eric Stokes (PUP list foot), WR Grant DuBose (Non-Football Injury List; back), WR Dontayvion Wicks (concussion).

Left tackle David Bakhtiari, who was given a day off on Thursday, was back at left tackle on Friday and will be there again on Saturday.

“I feel good,” Bakhtiari said. “I’m not going to be like a fortune-teller or anything, but I think we’re finally in a spot that I think the team and I understand what we need to do. We’re on the same page. Trust is a big thing.

“And then, like I’ve said, finally having an offseason of not having surgeries, the ability to let everything kind of calm down, settle in, train, put on muscle, protect the knee. I’m very grateful and thankful for where I’m at and I’m just kind of excited to see what happens. Football is football. It’s not the healthiest thing in the world, so we’ll see when we get out there.”

Transaction

The Packers released 2020 seventh-round pick Jonathan Garvin. An outside linebacker his first three seasons, he had been moved to the defensive line. It was Garvin’s birthday, but it was his choice to skip offseason practices for a second consecutive year.

Lineup Notes

- The No. 1 offensive line had Yosh Nijman at right tackle rather than Zach Tom for most of practice. Tom had gotten most of the No. 1 reps the past two days.

- With the second unit, Rasheed Walker was the left tackle and Caleb Jones the right tackle; a flip-flop from Thursday.

- First-round pick Lukas Van Ness has moved up a notch. He had been running with the third unit at outside linebacker but swapped spots with La’Darius Hamilton. The top pairings were Preston Smith and Justin Hollins with the starters and Kingsley Enagbare and Van Ness with the twos.

- It’s a wide-open competition at safety. Darnell Savage got snaps alongside Rudy Ford, Jonathan Owens and Tarvarius Moore. It was Moore’s first real allotment of first-team snaps.

“Great opportunity here,” Moore said. “Defense is very similar to what I’m used to, just even more so just letting me play freely. It’s a great scheme, playing behind a great group of guys: great D-line, great linebackers and just a great secondary. They’ve made it really easy for me just to transition here, picking up the playbook, just welcome me in and be part of the group.”

- The Packers did a lot of “two spot,” which features the starters and key backups on one side of the field and everyone else on the other side. While second-round tight end Luke Musgrave has been running with the starters, Kraft was with the “others.”

- Jayden Reed and Keisean Nixon took most of the reps as the punt returner, though Samori Toure got a couple chances, too. They fielded all their opportunities.

Practice Highlights

- The only thing that wasn’t done at half-speed was punting. Veteran Pat O’Donnell punted 14 times – young challenger Daniel Whelan had zero. His first eight averaged 49.4 yards with 4.19 seconds of hangtime, highlighted by back-to-back bombs of 59 and 55 yards.

The last six punts were from near midfield so he resorted to Aussie-style punts that sacrifice yardage for placement. Those were excellent. His first two kicks went to the 5- and 10-yard line; the other four were inside the 5.

Packers Training Camp Schedule

The Packers will re-open the doors to their fans on Saturday for a 10:30 a.m. practice. Sunday is a mandatory day off. After that, the Packers will practice in front of the railbirds at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday before Saturday’s Family Night.

Coach Matt LaFleur said the team would go in pads for the first time on Monday.

Quote of the Day

Left tackle David Bakhtiari on pairing with left guard Elgton Jenkins to form a potentially powerhouse pairing:

“The ability to stack weeks together. I can tell Elgton’s a lot more confident in himself with his health, moving around really well. Kind of got a sour taste in his mouth and his ability now to come out and play starting Week 1, which is nice for him, and then not having to move around [to other positions]. Hopefully, getting in one spot and staying in one spot.

“It’s just like even with team meetings, he can’t help himself. He always was in a different seat every time. I feel like that’s exactly how he is on Sundays; can’t just keep him in one spot. Sometimes, it’s the coaches and what we need done with the line but sometimes it’s also just him. I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re so good, just stay in one spot and everything will take care of itself.’ I’m really excited to see what he can do and see what he can put together and what we can string together. Like the theme I’ve stated before, the standard is the standard, the brand of ball we want to put out there come hell or high water, rain or shine.”