Desperate Times, Desperate Measures, And More From Day 2 of Packers Minicamp

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Between the significant injuries from last season and the attrition from three weeks of offseason practices, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur had to do something he dislikes during Day 2 of minicamp on Wednesday.

“Definitely, it’s going to impact the practice,” LaFleur said before practice of having four defensive tackles and three tight ends sidelined by injuries. “You guys know I don’t want to love seven on seven. We’re going to have a seven-on-seven period. So, you just got to adapt and adjust.”

At defensive tackle, veteran addition Javon Hargrave and second-year player Warren Brinson took part in the first two weeks of OTAs but have not practiced this week. At tight end, Luke Musgrave dropped out of Tuesday’s practice.

Musgrave was riding an exercise bike as LaFleur spoke to reporters.

“We got a couple guys that, I’m not going to get into the specifics, but we got a couple guys that were out that have been out so we’re just trying to be cautious with,” LaFleur said.

Here’s everything you need to know about Day 2 of Packers minicamp, which was held inside the Don Hutson Center due to heavy storms on Wednesday morning, and we might as well start with the injury report.

Packers Minicamp Injury Report

A total of 17 players did not practice on Wednesday. It’s the same 16 players as Tuesday with tight end Luke Musgrave, who dropped out of Tuesday’s practice, added to the list.

Receiver: Skyy Moore.

Tight end: Tucker Kraft (knee), Luke Musgrave, Drake Dabney.

Offensive line: RT Zach Tom (knee), LG Aaron Banks, C/G Jacob Monk (bicep).

Edge: Micah Parsons (knee), Collin Oliver.

Defensive tackle: Devonte Wyatt (ankle), Javon Hargrave, Warren Brinson, Jordon Riley (Achilles).

Linebacker: Isaiah McDuffie.

Cornerback: Benjamin St-Juste, Domani Jackson, Kamal Hadden (ankle).

New to injury report: Musgrave

Returned to practice: None.

Tom, who suffered a partially torn patellar tendon in the season-changing loss at Denver in mid-December, said his goal is to be back for the start of training camp.

Of the surgery, which he had after the season, he said, “They clear up kind of like the damaged tissue, and then as you recover, it kind of heals back on its own.”

Packers tight end Tucker Kraft spoke at length at minicamp on Wednesday on his comeback froma torn ACL, when he’ll return and what’s ahead contractually.https://t.co/0i3wAj8qM6
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) June 10, 2026

Opening Fireworks

On the second play of 11-on-11, Jordan Love booted out to his left, stopped, and threw deep to the right. It was a perfect strike to Jayden Reed, who got behind linebacker Edgerrin Cooper for a touchdown of about 70 yards.

One play later, Love went to Watson outside the numbers but Javon Bullard got under the route and made a leaping interception.

More Minicamp Highlights

– The Packers are preaching finish, with the hope that finishing every play will lead to finishing every game. How’s this for finishing: On a zone-read, quarterback Tyrod Taylor ran to his left but was chased down by linebackers Ty’Ron Hopper and Kristian Welch, edge Nyjalik Kelly and cornerback Shemar Bartholomew for no gain.

– Lukas Van Ness was a force on Tuesday. On one of his first snaps on Wednesday, he flushed Jordan Love out of the pocket.

“I think he’s shown a ton of growth,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “It’s reflective in his work and how he prepares. He’s always prepared the right way, I think, but for a lot of these rushers it takes them some time to get going. But I’ve been really happy without pads on in terms of what he’s been able to do.”

– An end-around to Jayden Reed went nowhere against Barryn Sorrell and Carrington Valentine.

– Jordan Love hit Christian Watson at the sideline. The completion was made possible by left tackle Jordan Morgan, who was a brick wall against Dani Dennis-Sutton.

Slow-mo Christian Watson. pic.twitter.com/RZc7HCms2o
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) June 10, 2026

– Kyle McCord’s quick pass to Bo Melton was stymied by Kitan Oladapo. Oladapo broke up a pass later.

– Josh Jacobs lined up at wide receiver and caught a crossing route from Love for a nice gain.

– Taylor’s quick pass to rookie receiver J. Michael Sturdivant produced an explosive gain due in part to rookie tight end R.J. Maryland’s block at the point of attack.

– In seven-on-seven, undrafted rookie quarterback Kyron Drones ripped three consecutive big-time completions. First, he hit Sturdivant at the sideline against good coverage by Johnathan Baldwin. Next, he hit Isaiah Neyor for a good gain against M.J. Devonshire. Finally, it was a long double-move touchdown pass to Sturdivant.

– Back to 11-on-11, rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse continued a strong day by breaking up a pass to Neyor.

Brandon Cisse pic.twitter.com/sJJORzYWHs
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) June 10, 2026

– Taylor threw the best ball of his brief time with the Packers. With Dennis-Sutton beating left tackle Brant Banks and applying pressure, Taylor hit Will Sheppard over the middle for a gain of about 15. Sheppard made a nice leaping grab.

– Taylor one-upped himself moments later with a long touchdown pass to Neyor, who got behind Cisse.

– Rookie left guard Dillon Wade was guilty of two false starts and John Williams was flagged for one. Williams also snapped one over Taylor’s head.

Kicking Competition?

There’s no doubt the Packers want Trey Smack to be their kicker. They didn’t trade away two draft picks to draft him, nor did they release Brandon McManus after paying his roster bonus, just to stash him on the practice squad.

After Smack had a nice bounce-back performance on Tuesday, Lucas Havrisik got his first attempts in front of reporters this offseason. Following the same script as Smack on Tuesday, Havrisik made all eight field-goal attempts on Wednesday, with the kicks ranging from 33 yards to 58 yards.

The only difference – and it was a big one – is that Havrisik got to kick inside the Don Hutson Center.

The “Starting Lineup”

Here were the lineups for the first snap of the day.

Offense: LT Jordan Morgan, LG Jager Burton, C Sean Rhyan, RG Anthony Belton, RT Darian Kinnard, quarterback Jordan Love, running back Josh Jacobs, receivers Matthew Golden, Christian Watson and Jayden Reed and tight end Josh Whyle.

With starting left guard Aaron Banks out, Burton, the rookie fifth-round pick, got the No. 1 reps again.

“Jager’s been great,” Banks said. “He’s a really smart guy. He’s picking up the playbook really well. He has a really good foundation of fundamentals coming into the league. I think he understands the game pretty well – for a young guy, especially. He’s always asking questions. He’s always listening intentionally and asking follow-up questions, really just trying to get better every day.”

Defense: Edges Lukas Van Ness and Barryn Sorrell, defensive tackles Karl Brooks, Nazir Stackhouse and Chris McClellan, linebackers Edgerrin Cooper and Zaire Franklin, cornerbacks Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine, and safeties Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams.

During OTAs, McClellan, the rookie third-round pick, had gotten the No. 1 reps at nose tackle. With starter Javon Hargrave down, McClellan took his spot at defensive tackle and Stackhouse stepped in at nose tackle. That versatility is exactly why the Packers drafted McClellan.

More Minicamp Lineups

– When Jager Burton left with what appeared to be a cramp, John Williams, a seventh-round pick last year who missed his rookie season with a back injury, stepped in at left guard with the starters.

– The No. 2 offensive line mostly consisted of left tackle Brant Banks, left guard Dillon Wade, Williams, right guard Karsen Barnhart and right tackle Travis Glover. Donovan Jennings also got some work at center.

– The No. 2 defense remained unchanged with Dani Dennis-Sutton and Brenton Cox on the edges, Jaden Crumedy, Jonathan Ford and Anthony Campbell as the defensive linemen, Ty’Ron Hopper and Nick Niemann at linebacker, Jaylin Simpson and Brandon Cisse at cornerback, and Kitan Oladapo and Mark Perry at safety. In nickel situations, Johnathan Baldwin entered the lineup.

– Cisse was sprinkled in with the No. 1 defense.

Special Teams

The kickoff-coverage unit consisted of Xavier McKinney, Chris Brooks, Bo Melton, Ty’Ron Hopper, Javon Bullard, Nick Niemann, Evan Williams, Arron Mosby, Kitan Oladapo and Mark Perry joining whoever was kicking.

The kickoff-return unit consisted of Perry, Mosby, Niemann, Oladapo, Barryn Sorrell, Johnathan Baldwin, Hopper, Brooks and Kristian Welch joining returners Savion Williams and Bo Melton. The No. 2 return tandem was running backs Jaden Nixon and Pierre Strong.

It obviously wasn’t full speed, but Melton took the final kickoff return to the house, with all of his teammates trying to keep up with the speedster on the way to the end zone.

Packers Schedule

The three-day minicamp will conclude on Thursday with one final practice at 11 a.m.

With that, coach Matt LaFleur will send the veterans home. The offseason program will conclude next week with one final week of OTAs, which will be dedicated to the team’s younger players.

“Work,” is Jager Burton’s plan between the end of OTAs and the start of training camp. “Same thing, pick something every day. They’re going to have a plan for us. Follow that and stay on it just like I’m here and be prepared to come back and get right into training camp, preseason and all that.”

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