Here’s Everything That Happened During Practice 3 of Packers Training Camp

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Practice 3 of Green Bay Packers training camp started with a roar.

After watching the first period on Friday, tight end Tucker Kraft celebrated his activation from the PUP list by running along the sideline and slapping hands with the fans.

“Yeah, had to get the crowd juiced up, for sure,” Kraft said. “Most importantly, I don’t want anyone to get their expectations too high. I’m not going to be doing anything too crazy here for a while, but as long as our GM and our training staff, the coaches, everyone’s on the same page, I’ll just get phased in period by period until you guys see me out there taking team reps.

“So, that’s the goal. We’re on that ramp-up phase right now to get ready for Week 1.”

Kraft focused mostly on run-blocking drills on Friday; he was blocking position coach John Dunn and not another player. His return to the practice field came almost exactly nine months after he suffered a torn ACL against Carolina on Nov. 2.

Kraft said there was no hesitation to practice while waiting for a contract extension.

“I understand other peoples’ worries in that facet,” he said. “However, I myself, I’m just worried about getting back to who I was pre-injury. I had a great meeting this morning with the guys from the (UW) Badger Lab, who told me my knee looks spectacular. Almost like he had never seen rehabilitation like mine. So, the fact that we’re getting those results, the data will speak for itself and my comeback is ever-ascending day by day.”

Tucker Kraft pic.twitter.com/F27DdsD983
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 31, 2026

Player of the Day at Training Camp

Matthew Golden was rolling.

There are high expectations for last year’s first-round pick, especially in Green Bay’s slimmed-down receiver corps. After two solid days to start training camp, Golden was spectacular on Friday.

Early in practice, Love found Golden about 15 yards downfield between Carrington Valentine and Xavier McKinney. Love threw the ball a bit high, but Golden made a leaping catch. Later, during a 2-minute drill (or a 1-minute drill, to be more accurate), Golden took a crossing route for a gain of 14.

Later, Valentine broke up a pass to Golden at the sideline. No worries. Three plays later, Love on third-and-4 went deep to Golden. Golden slowed down, used his strength to hold off Keisean Nixon, then used his strength and leverage to create late separation for a big gain. It was high-level stuff for a receiver whose claim to fame coming out of Texas was his speed.

Play of the Day at Training Camp

On Thursday, new Packers cornerback Benjamin St-Juste said he had changed his game. No longer was he trying to bait quarterbacks or chasing big plays in hopes of ramping up his interception production. Instead, he was content using his size to prevent completions.

Late in Friday’s practice, backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor threw a pass to the sideline to Savion Williams. St-Juste jumped it for an interception that he would have returned for a touchdown had left tackle Jordan Morgan – who was not in for the play and was standing behind the offense – not gotten in his way.

St-Juste explained his thinking on third-and-short.

“I gave myself a little more space and I can see it’s quick game, so I’m reading the quarterback, then to the receiver, and I saw (Taylor) take one step and then open up getting ready to throw. So, I put my eyes back on the receiver and saw that he broke and was able to break before him and make the play. Third down, on defense, got to get off the field. Those are the plays I need to make.”

St-Juste was excellent last season for the Chargers but has only two interceptions in five NFL seasons. The Packers signed him to a two-year contract in free agency, but he sat out the offseason practices with a shoulder injury. That made the interception his first big play with the team as he competes with Brandon Cisse and Carrington Valentine for a starting job.

“That’s basically it, you know? Don’t get discouraged,” St-Juste said of the ball production. “I didn’t really see any action the first couple of days of training camp. I was still in the right spot, but I wasn’t chasing the play. Like, ugh, I’m not making any plays and all that stuff. Finally, the ball came and I was going to go capitalize. If I dropped the ball, that’s on me, but I was able to catch it. That’s it. Let it come to you and make the play that you need to make within the defense.”

Which Unit Won the Day?

Christian Watson scored a couple touchdowns during a red-zone period at the end of practice but let’s make the defense 3-0 this summer.

Jordan Love led an end-of-half sequence in which the offense started at the 35 with 1:00 remaining. Love hit Jayden Reed for 23 and Matthew Golden for 14 to move the ball to the defense’s 28. However, Keisean Nixon made a spectacular breakup on a deep shot to Watson on first down, Carrington Valentine broke up a pass to Savion Williams on second down and Nixon struck again on third down to break up a pass near the goal line. (Maybe he was there early.)

Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon blitzed from the start of practice, with Nixon coming off the edge to force an incompletion on the first play.

Packers Training Camp Injury Report

Only nine players did not practice.

Returned from injury: LG Aaron Banks (knee/maintenance), TE Tucker Kraft (knee).

Old injuries: Edge Micah Parsons (knee), RB Chris Brooks (hamstring), CB Kamal Hadden (ankle), LS Matt Orzech (calf), C/G Jager Burton (hamstring), OT Brant Banks (hamstring), TE Luke Musgrave (neck), DT Jordon Riley (Achilles), DT Javon Hargrave (knee).

According to coach Matt LaFleur, there’s no “long-term concern” for Burton, who barely got started on Day 1 of camp.

Hadden is “close” to coming off PUP.

“He certainly looked really fast on Marlon’s interception as he was streaking down the sideline. We made a joke of that in the team meeting as I showed that one. I was like, ‘Key, Kamal, you look pretty good.’ He said he’s ready to go but, ultimately, that’s a medical decision.”

New injuries: None.

Transaction: WR Brenden Rice (hamstring) was released for the addition of Kaden Prather. Prather was wearing Rice’s No. 89 and in his old locker.

Lineup Notes

– While left guard Aaron Banks returned to practice, Jacob Monk took almost all the first-team reps. The No. 1 line for the third consecutive day had Jordan Morgan at left guard, Monk, Sean Rhyan at center, Anthony Belton at right guard and Darian Kinnard at right tackle. Donovan Jennings replaced Monk for the final period.

– Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon and his position coaches have created all sorts of combinations. Collin Oliver has worked mostly with the No. 3 defense. He took a few first-team reps, though, opposite Barryn Sorrell or Lukas Van Ness.

– Similarly, the No. 1 defense started the day with Karl Brooks and Nazir Stackhouse getting the first-team reps. Later, Anthony Campbell – an undrafted free agent last year – joined Warren Brinson and Chris McClellan with the starters. Campbell batted a pass that was almost intercepted.

– During the aforementioned 2-minute drill, the edge players were Van Ness and Brenton Cox. Cox is going to be a key player in replacing Micah Parsons to start the season.

– When the deep backups had their chance in 2-minute, the edge players were Cox and Nyjalik Kelly.

– Will it be Jonathan Ford or Nazir Stackhouse rounding out the defensive tackle group on the 53? With Devonte Wyatt limited to individual drills and Javon Hargrave on PUP, they are getting extended looks, including alongside each other. They’ve both been strong against the run.

Big Plays

– The day started with Keisean Nixon blitzing from the corner and forcing an errant pass by Jordan Love. On the next play, Jayden Reed had a good perimeter run because of the downfield blocking by Josh Jacobs and Matthew Golden.

– On the next play, with Christian Watson motioning hard from left to right, Love used play action and dumped the ball to Watson. With a full head of steam when he caught the ball, the result was a chunk gain. They used the play later during a red-zone period for a touchdown.

– Brenton Cox on back-to-back plays had a big-time pressure and then stopped a running play at the line.

– On the next play, right tackle Travis Glover was flagged for a false start. Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich, using more colorful language, suggested the offense lock the heck in.

– How’s this for a sequence by the No. 1 defense. A tackle for loss by defensive tackle Chris McClellan, a batted pass by defensive tackle Karl Brooks, a pass breakup by Carrington Valentine, a running play in which defensive tackle Jonathan Ford was probably held and a tackle for loss by Lukas Van Ness that was set up by Brooks.

– A couple plays before Benjamin St-Juste’s interception, his blitz forced an incompletion.

– Johnathan Baldwin got burned deep by Tyrod Taylor’s pass to Bo Melton but had a sack one play later. It was his second sack of the day.

– On the next play, the quarterback who was sacked, Kyron Drones, took a zone read for a big gain because of his excellent athleticism. On the next play, he threw a superb pass on third-and-6 to J. Michael Sturdivant, but it was dropped. Sturdivant dropped and did knuckle pushups.

– The No. 1 offense’s final five snaps were in the red zone. From the 9, Love hit Watson on the aforementioned play-action pass. On the next play, Love went deep to Josh Jacobs but Edgerrin Cooper had excellent coverage for the breakup. On the next play, Love had nowhere to go and threw it out of the end zone. Finally, it was Love to Watson on a 100 mph slant for a touchdown against Valentine. It was an elite-level connection, from Watson’s release, hands and footwork to stay inbounds and Love’s pinpoint accuracy.

– Taylor and Kyle McCord also had opportunities in the 1-minute drill, with the ball on the 35 and one timeout.

Taylor went first. On third-and-1, he hit Sturdivant for 8. Next, on a third-and-22 created by a false start and a sack by Baldwin, it was Taylor to Sturdivant again for what was ruled a gain of 22. The whistle blew but Sturdivant, who might not have even been touched, took the ball the distance. The play was ruled dead at the 33, the clock kept running and the drill ended.

“Every time I touch the ball, I’m trying to score, so I was trying to score right there,” Sturdivant said after a productive day. “I didn’t think I was down, but Coach made the final say. He said I was down. So, we had to work the drill, get the ball back to the ref for the center and then move on.”

Love and the starters were next, which we’ve already covered. Finally, McCord converted a third-and-3 to tight end RJ Maryland. After breakups by defensive lineman Anthony Campbell and cornerback MJ Devonshire, McCord hit Savion Williams for 14. On third-and-1 with less than 10 seconds left, Jaden Nixon took a handoff for a first down. There was time on the clock but the drill was stopped.

Packers Training Camp Schedule

Saturday is an off-day. After pre-camp conditioning tests on Tuesday and practices on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the NFL has a mandated day off.

The Packers will be back at it on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, with all three sessions starting at 10:30 a.m. Monday will be the first day in full pads.

The Last Word

What has Tucker Kraft learned about himself over the last nine months?

“Really just the endurance through resilience. Rich Bisaccia used to say, every decision you make has an impact on your team. So, when I’m sitting there feeling sorry for myself, drenched in sweat, maybe a little doubtful of my ability at the moment, I can really just lean into the pain knowing that what I have ahead of me is these 53 guys really relying on my ability when I return to play.”

Johnathan Baldwin is back home and making plays at Packers training camp. ⬇️https://t.co/ylCTFF9IcT
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 31, 2026

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