Everything I Saw From Packers-Cardinals Joint Practice, Including One Big Win

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ joint practice on Wednesday began with Jordan Love slicing and dicing the Arizona Cardinals’ defense and ended with the Cardinals preening in front of a photographer’s camera.

That really was the one big takeaway from the practice. For all the talk about the Packers needing to finish better after getting routed in the fourth quarters down the stretch last season, it was the three-win Cardinals who finished the day in dominating fashion.

“I definitely felt good after the first couple team periods. I thought everyone was making plays,” receiver Christian Watson said. “I thought throughout the day, even in the 2-minute, I felt like there was opportunities there. But we’ve just got to kind of continue to find a way to finish, especially with that having been our emphasis throughout the off season going into camp.”

Let’s dive into our last training camp report of the summer.

Packers Training Camp Injury Report

The big news was the return of Javon Bullard, who had missed a couple weeks with a foot injury. After the long layoff, he took part only in individual drills. After missing Monday’s practice with a hamstring injury, Benjamin St-Juste did individual drills, as well.

New injuries: None.

PUP: Edge Micah Parsons (knee), LS Matt Orzech (calf), TE Luke Musgrave (neck), DT Jordon Riley (Achilles).

Old injuries: edge Collin Oliver (calf), WR Savion Williams (ankle), TE Thomas Yassmin (knee), DT Warren Brinson (calf).

Asked collectively if the injuries could keep Oliver, Williams or Brinson out for the start of the regular season – which could impact roster decisions – Packers coach Matt LaFleur said: “Definitely potentially, but I think all those guys are making good progress, so we’ll see where they’re at.”

For his part, Oliver said he “100 percent” would be ready for Minnesota.

“Obviously, I'd love to be out there, but I am very happy with the work that I put in up to this point,” he said.

Returned to practice: S Javon Bullard (foot), CB Benjamin St-Juste (hamstring), Arron Mosby (illness).

Getting Sweaty

Meanwhile, the Cardinals activated Josh Sweat from the PUP list. That had to be done before Sunday’s roster cuts and had nothing to do with auditioning Sweat for the Packers. The Cardinals are being cautious with one of their best players as he battles a longtime issue with his knee.

Obviously, this being his first practice of training camp, he was limited to individual drills.

“It was great to have him out there,” Arizona coach Mike LaFleur said. “You get some of those pieces out there and you can feel it with the other guys, too. It's according to plan. It's right on schedule.”

A couple weeks ago, for what it’s worth, Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort said, “We have no interest in trading Josh.”

Which Unit Won the Day?

Neither, because Green Bay’s offense and defense both started fast and then fizzled.

So, we’ll hone in on one specific area and that was Green Bay’s third-down offense. Here was the series of plays from its one overwhelming victory of the day:

On third-and-10, Jordan Love went deep to Matthew Golden for a 45-yard touchdown. More on that play in a moment.

On third-and-9, Love threw a rocket over the middle to Jayden Reed on a deep slant for another big gain.

“J-Reed ran a fantastic route,” Love said. “He’s kind of running that middle route. He gave a little double-up to kind of get the DB on his back hip and just give me a little room where to put the ball.”

On third-and-8, it was Love to Golden at the sideline for another first down.

On third-and-6, Love fired a slant to Christian Watson. The two Cardinals defenders collided after the catch, so Watson might have been off to the races.

On third-and-4, Love threw a quick pass into the flat to receiver Skyy Moore. It appeared tight end Josh Whyle’s block was good enough to get Moore the first down.

It would have been a perfect drill but, on third-and-3, Chris Brooks dropped a pass over the middle.

Green Bay finished second on third down last year, so this was a strong step for that critical phase.

Play and Player of the Day

The Play of the Day was that third-down play, the Jordan Love-to-Matthew Golden touchdown. Golden got behind cornerback Denzel Burke and longtime star safety Budda Baker. Love’s pass floated over the defenders and to Golden, who made a tumbling catch.

“M.G. ran a great route and I just put it out there,” Love said. “I think for him, he did a great job just kind of being able to go down with the ball, secure the catch with two guys closing in on him. It’s one of those bang-bang plays, but it’s really just good execution all around on that one.”

The final Player of the Day of camp goes to Brandon Cisse, who had an interception (perhaps a pick-six) when he read a pass from Jacoby Brissett on third down.

“Just third down and trying to get to the sticks and, obviously, I have a lot of God-given ability when we call man coverage to take on that role, making plays like that,” Cisse said. “Obviously, saw the ball come out, happened to get out of my break and just tried to go make an exceptional play.

“I hold myself to a high standard. Those aren’t easy plays to make, but those are plays that I really want to make a lot of. It's a lot more room to grow, so I'm excited for it.”

Cisse gave up the touchdown to Marvin Harrison to end a 2-minute drill. However, whenever Cisse has taken his lumps, he’s learned his lesson. He is Green Bay’s best cornerback, plain and simple.

Up next? Justin Jefferson and the Vikings.

Training Camp Lineup Notes

– The No. 1 line was left tackle Jordan Morgan, left guard Aaron Banks, center Sean Rhyan, right guard Jacob Monk and right tackle Zack Bako-Bewele. Jager Burton and Donovan Jennings got some run at left guard and Anthony Belton took some snaps at right tackle.

Here’s what Bako-Bewele said after practice.

I asked #Packers RT Zach Bako-Bewele if he feels ready for Week 1. This was his response:@fox11news pic.twitter.com/KMBDCAEDso
— Michael Gross (@MichaelSGross) August 26, 2026

– The No. 1 defense for the start of 2-minute had Barryn Sorrell, Karl Brooks, Devonte Wyatt and Lukas Van Ness across the front, Brandon Cisse and Keisean Nixon as the corners, Kamal Hadden in the slot and then the usual linebackers (Edgerrin Cooper and Zaire Franklin) and safeties (Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams).

– The No. 1 kickoff return started with Dani Dennis-Sutton, Brenton Cox, Nick Niemann, Kitan Oladapo, Barryn Sorrell and Josh Whyle across the front, Ty’Ron Hopper, Chris Brooks and Isaiah McDuffie behind them, and Skyy Moore and Bo Melton as the returners.

– The No. 1 kickoff consisted of Brooks, Melton, McKinney Hopper and Niemann on one side and McDuffie, Karl Brooks (yes, Karl Brooks) Cisse, Williams and Sorrell on the other.

– The No. 1 punt consisted of Hopper, Sorrell, snapper Cal Adomitis, Arron Mosby and McDuffie on the line, Chris Brooks and Whyle as the slots (wings) and Niemann as the personal protector. The first gunner reps went to Melton and Oladapo.

– It seems like the No. 1 and No. 2 punt returns were jumbled together.

Big Plays from Training Camp

– Practice started with Packers receiver Bo Melton and Cardinals cornerback Max Melton getting a one-on-one rep in front of both rosters. Bo Melton won the brother battle.

“That was big time,” Christian Watson said. “That just set the tone early, get the vibes up, get the energy up early. I know that it means a lot to Bo to be able to have an opportunity like that. Obviously, not only play with his brother and you get to compete against him and everything. I know it's big for them, so definitely set the vibes.”

Said Max after practice: “It was a one-on-one in the red zone. He ran the slant. I mean, we have some opinions on the slant, but it was cool. He caught the ball, man. I’m just going to leave it at that.”

– With my eyes focused on where Green Bay’s offense was practicing, these will be focused on that unit.

– Watson had a terrible drop during individual periods. No worries on that. He caught passes on two of the first five plays of practice, including a downfield grab when he angled across the field and caught the ball at the sideline.

Later, Watson had a good block on a swing pass to MarShawn Lloyd.

– Kyle McCord threw an interception on his first pass and missed a wide-open J. Michael Sturdivant on the second. So, no, he’s not going to beat out Tyrod Taylor.

As general manager Brian Gutekunst said of Taylor before practice: “He’s obviously got a lot of pelts on the wall. I think Kyle’s done an incredible job and I’m excited to see him not only today but he’s going to get a ton of work on Friday night. But we brought Tyrod in here for a reason and we’re very happy we have him.”

– We hit on this in Winners and Losers, but it was not a good day for punter Daniel Whelan. He’s got a monster leg but pinning opponents inside the 20 is not the strength to his game. Whelan finished last year with the third-fewest inside-the-20 punts and the fourth-most touchbacks.

– Jordan Love threw interceptions when targeting tight ends Drake Dabney and Josh Whyle. Dabney didn’t make much of an effort to prevent the interception.

– Bo Melton missed a chance for a deep touchdown early in practice but caught back-to-back passes on each sideline.

– In red zone, Love was 2-of-5 passing. He missed Kraft on a post for what should have been a touchdown and was almost intercepted by safety Andrew Wingard – that seemed like a turning-point play for practice. Next, he hit Kraft over the middle, and he YAC’d his way for a touchdown, and Lloyd but short of the end zone. Finally, he had to throw it away with rushers in his face and Aaron Banks and Anthony Belton on the ground.

“We had a throw that I missed just a little bit to the end zone today with him,” Love said of the play to Kraft. “Something we’ll clean up and find a way to get that in the future going forward. Anytime you miss a lot of time in training camp, and especially with him missing OTAs, missing last season, there’s going to be a little time to be able to get back, get back feeling like yourself, get in that rhythm, but I think he’s done a good job.”

– During his red-zone plays, McCord threw a screen to Jaden Nixon for a touchdown and hit J. Michael Sturdivant at the pylon for another touchdown, which he punctuated with a backflip.

– Banks was on the ground again in the next period, with Love sacked by Jordan Burch. After that, Lloyd was tackled in the backfield on the next play by Budda Baker and Love threw the interception that was intended for Whyle. After Love hit Golden on an out to convert third-and-7, Love was sacked again.

– Get ready to ride the rollercoaster of a rookie kicker. Trey Smack made just 2-of-5 attempts. One of the misses was an extra point.

– With the No. 2s up, it was a five-play train wreck: Jager Burton and Taylor botched a snap, Taylor missed Strong who was open on a wheel route, holding was called on a run by Damien Martinez that went nowhere, Kisean Johnson was flagged for offensive pass interference and Martinez was tackled in the backfield.

– We talked about the 2-minute drill here. With the No. 1s, there were five penalties, with the Cardinals guilty of two for pass interference, one for unnecessary roughness and offside on fourth-and-6.

Of the inability to finish, Watson said: “I think that everyone has the right mentality. It'll be something that we have to continue to enforce and continue to have in the back of our minds because, obviously, you can talk about it as much as you want, you can rep it as much as you want, but it’s got to show when it matters the most. You’ve got to continue to emphasize it and let it show on Sundays.”

Packers Training Camp Schedule

Training camp is over. Here’s what’s next:

– The Packers will play the Cardinals in the final preseason game on Friday night, with a 7 p.m. kickoff. The starters are not expected to play. The Packers are 1.5-point favorites at FanDuel Sportsbook. The over/under is just 35.5.

– Roster cuts are due at 5 p.m. Sunday.

– Waivers ends at noon Monday. Once the waiver claims are sorted out, teams can form practice squads of 17 players (including one international player).

The Last Word

Tucker Kraft is done with rep counts.

“I felt free out there today. I really didn’t have anyone counting my reps or trying to pull me out of stuff. Because I’ve gotten to the point now with my attitude for my health now where I feel good and I’m confident where I’m going to stay out there, and you guys take me out when I need to come out, when I’m tired. If not, I’m not doing the rep count stuff anymore. You can pull me off the field. I’m going to try to be out there as much as I can.”

The one big takeaway from Packers-Cardinals joint practice: ⬇️https://t.co/RGJF9B3nc8
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 27, 2026

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