Here’s What Happened at Practice 1 of Packers Training Camp

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers practiced for the first time in training camp on Wednesday. In exactly 200 days, the goal will be playing in the Super Bowl.

“Day 1, everybody gets back and first couple of days back in the building, that excitement, the energy’s there,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “We haven’t been on the field together for about a month, so it’s just exciting. There’s just a lot of energy and excitement for Day 1. It’s fun to go out there, get those little nerves out and get back to ball and have that mindset, the goals we’re focusing on, to get better every day. We get the bike tradition going. So, there’s a lot of excitement.”

Here are the highlights from the hotly anticipated first practice of camp.

Packers Injury Updates

There are seven players on injury lists and those are the seven players who did not practice. The list: linebacker Quay Walker (ankle), receiver Christian Watson (knee), cornerback Micah Robinson (knee), linebacker Collin Oliver (hamstring), running back Amar Johnson (hamstring), offensive lineman John Williams (back) and center Elgton Jenkins (back).

Jenkins is sidelined by a legit injury and is not sitting out in hopes of getting a contract extension, general manager Brian Gutekunst said.

“Elgton hasn’t missed anything mandatory for us,” Gutekunst said. “He’s here and he’s working through a back thing. Contractually, listen, there’s all kinds of guys on our team and throughout the National Football League that would like different circumstances with that, so that’s normal. It’s just a part of the National Football League.

“But Elgton’s always done right by us (and) we’ve always done right by him. We’re excited to see him move into this new position because we really do think he has an opportunity to really help our football team. He played center in college and he was excellent at it. Our football team needs as many reps with him out there as possible, but we’ve got to get through this back thing first.”

Jordan Love’s Day

Starting quarterback Jordan Love was eased into the action during a practice that lasted about 90 minutes. During live periods, he was 8-of-12 passing. Most of the action happened in the red zone. During those segments, he was 6-of-9 passing with three touchdowns and one interception.

The touchdowns came to running back Chris Brooks, receiver Romeo Doubs and receiver Mecole Hardman. Hardman’s catch was an impressive one-hander against linebacker Isaiah Simmons. If the action were fully live, maybe Simmons would have done more to prevent the catch.

The interception came on a fade to receiver Dontayvion Wicks, with All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney winning the jump ball in the back right corner of the end zone.

“Always the biggest thing is consistency,” Love said. “There’s moments in games where you have a play dialed up vs. a perfect kind of defense you want, and sometimes you don’t hit on those plays, whether it’s the footwork, missing a throw, maybe being a tick late on the read. Just those little things that keep you up at night, like, ‘Man, that was an easy one. I wish I would’ve hit that.’

“Just finding ways to hit those plays, whatever it is, being as consistent as possible and not having those moments of regret on plays is my biggest mindset. Understanding that every play is so important to the game, the larger outcome of the game, and we’ve got to be able to hit, we can’t have any missed opps.”

Player of the Day

With starting linebacker Quay Walker recovering from offseason ankle surgery, Isaiah Simmons worked with the No 1 defense alongside Edgerrin Cooper and Isaiah McDuffie.

On one of the first running plays, Emanuel Wilson made a nice cut to daylight. The daylight didn’t last for long, though, as Simmons was there to limit the play to a minimal gain.

Next, the first red-zone series started with a toss to Josh Jacobs. Simmons was there in an instant.

“First, he can run. He can run,” Jacobs said of his early thoughts on what Simmons can add to what’s already a strong defense. “He’s kind of a unicorn at that position. He can run. We can put him out on guys in the slot, he can cover guys. Really, I just can’t wait to see him in pads. I want to see how physical he is. I’ve played against him a couple times, so I know what kind of player he is, but it’s different when you see it on a day-to-day basis.”

The next play was a quick screen to Jacobs. Again, Simmons was there.

“He’s fast. Yeah, he’s fast,” Jacobs added. “You can see he’s starting to get a little more comfortable. He’s starting to fly around a lot more because he’s comfortable and he understands what he’s doing. I think he’s going to be a good addition to our team.”

Play of the Day

Early in practice, quarterback Jordan Love went play-action and fired a deep pass to Josh Jacobs. The ball was thrown perfectly and landed right in the hands of Jacobs. Cornerback Nate Hobbs, one of the team’s key free-agent additions, was there to separate Jacobs from the ball for an incompletion.

“I didn’t want to hit him,” Hobbs said. “I was in a quarter and I was playing the quarterback – had my eyes on my man and my eyes on the quarterback. I just seen him release the ball, I speed-turned, saw the ball, made a play.”

On one of the first plays of the day, Malik Willis booted to his right and completed a pass in the flat to tight end John FitzPatrick. Hobbs aggressively punched at the ball – a Peanut Punch reminiscent of former Bears cornerback Charles Tillman, who forced 44 fumbles during his career. FitzPatrick held onto the ball, but it gave a glimpse into Hobbs’ mindset.

“I’m trying to get that ball. That’s how you change games,” he said. “If you know you’re a good tackler, you’re going to get him down, that allows you to take chances, you know what I’m saying? You can make the last shot of the game, you can miss the last shot of the game. It’s about are you willing to take that chance?”

Packers offensive tackle Anthony Belton (71) pumps up fans at practice during the first day of training camp on Wednesday. | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Packers Practice Highlights

- At the start of practice, rookie second-round offensive lineman Anthony Belton got the crowd fired up. Later, he led a successful screen to tight end Luke Musgrave by delivering a key block against linebacker Kristian Welch.

- It’s easy to see why the Packers are so excited about running back MarShawn Lloyd. A third-round pick who missed almost his entire rookie season with a long list of ailments, Lloyd seemingly had nowhere to go on one run but bounced to his right, found some daylight and broke into the open field.

“We see his special abilities that he has. He’s going to help this team,” Josh Jacobs said.

- The other third-round pick from last year who barely played was linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper. On one snap, he shot through the middle of the offensive line to stop Chris Brooks for a loss.

- Malik Willis’ first two passes in a red-zone period resulted in touchdowns to rookie receiver Matthew Golden and veteran receiver Mecole Hardman. Willis went semi-sidearm on the pass to Golden, who broke away from Carrington Valentine.

“I think the defense played Cover-2,” Golden said. “I got up under the corner, ran my route, and he gave me a great ball. So, that’s all that happened.”

He added, “Definitely getting a catch or a touchdown in practice, it kind of boosts your confidence. Even if I don’t get the ball, I’m just out there trying to get better at my craft. So, whatever I can do to get better and do that, that’s what I’m out there doing.”

- A couple plays later, Willis was “sacked” by defensive tackle Colby Wooden and defensive end Barryn Sorrell. If those two can apply pressure during the regular season, the Packers will be leaps-and-bounds better on defense.

- The team’s most experienced cornerback, Keisean Nixon, had a quiet day. The only time he was tested was on Jordan Love’s shot up the sideline to Romeo Doubs during a red-zone period. Nixon’s coverage was good and the pass was incomplete.

- Kicker Brandon McManus made all six field-goal attempts, ranging from the 33-yard extra point to 46 yards.

- The final play of the day was a touchdown pass from Sean Clifford to tight end Johnny Lumpkin against rookie safety Kahzir Brown.

Packers Lineup Notes

- The first snap for the No. 1 defense consisted of Rashan Gary, Devonte Wyatt, Kenny Clark and Lukas Van Ness up front, Edgerrin Cooper and Isaiah McDuffie at linebacker, Keisean Nixon and Nate Hobbs at corner, Evan Williams and Xavier McKinney at safety, and Javon Bullard in the slot.

When the defense went to its base 4-3 look on the next play, Isaiah Simmons stepped in at linebacker and Bullard headed to the sideline. That would signal that, for now, McKinney and Williams are the top tandem at safety.

- With Elgton Jenkins out, the No. 1 line consisted of left tackle Rasheed Walker, left guard Aaron Banks, center Sean Rhyan, right guard Jordan Morgan and right tackle Zach Tom. The team also worked in Jacob Monk at center and moved Rhyan back to his customary spot at right guard.

Rhyan played left tackle at UCLA and started all 17 games at right guard last year. What does he think about center?

“I don’t mind it. It’s just a new position. I was getting comfortable at guard, but you can't get comfortable in this league,” he said.

- The No. 2 line: left tackle Anthony Belton, left guard Donovan Jennings, Monk at center, Travis Glover at right guard and Kadeem Telfort at right tackle. Belton also worked at right tackle. Glover got some first-team snaps at right guard.

- At one point, this was the No. 2 secondary: Carrington Valentine and Kamal Hadden at corner, Hobbs in the slot, and Zayne Anderson and Kitan Oladapo at safety. Receiver Bo Melton also got some second-team action at corner.

- The punt-return rotation included Keisean Nixon, Mecole Hardman, Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden and Romeo Doubs.

Packers Training Camp Schedule

The Packers will practice again on Thursday and Friday at 10:30 a.m. Maybe it was related to the forecast of heat and potential storms – neither of which came to fruition – but Day 1 of practice drew a lot fewer fans than usual.

Quote of the Day

Running back Josh Jacobs on leadership:

“One thing about being a leader, it’s not always easy and it’s not always doing what’s comfortable. Sometimes you’ve got to ruffle feathers; sometimes we’ve got to hold each other accountable. That’s something that I try to do. I try to say the things that people are afraid to say. Whether I’m talking to X [Xavier McKinney] or I’m talking to Jordan [Love], it doesn’t really matter. Everybody’s got to be held to a certain type of standard. Even myself. For me, man, I feel like the greatest teams are the teams that are the closest but also the teams that hold each other the most accountable. That’s what we try to do. We’re trying to set the standard high. To be able to do what we want to do, what we say we want to do, we’ve got to live what we say.”

Packers Training Camp Previews

The latest on injuries to Christian Watson, Elgton Jenkins and others before Day 1 of #Packers training camp.https://t.co/rt1cHOf4gs
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 23, 2025