Packers’ Offseason Ends with ‘Exceptional’ Talk from Woodson

The virtual offseason could have extended through June 26. “These guys are pros,” coach Matt LaFleur said.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ unprecedented virtual offseason ended this week with a message from a future Hall of Famer.

“We’ve pretty much wrapped it up,” coach Matt LaFleur told Packers.com’s Larry McCarren in a video the team released on Wednesday. “We had a great team meeting on Monday. Charles Woodson came in and talked to our guys. It was exceptional. For the most part, the rest of this week is review with the guys, then they’re on their own until we report to camp.”

#Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur discusses wrapping up the virtual offseason program & expectations for the 2020 season. #GoPackGo https://t.co/CZ1iWYGSed

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) June 17, 2020

The virtual offseason could have extended through June 26. Instead, this week's review focused on the rookie class.

LaFleur was happy with how his players handled a situation dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These guys are pros,” he said. “I think it’s safe to say they’d all rather be in Green Bay, be in the building, be around each other, going out on the grass, competing on a daily basis. But it is what it is. You’ve got to make the best of it. I thought our guys really did a great job taking advantage of it. Certainly, we know the 2020 season is going to come with some high expectations. Our guys are going to embrace that and put their best foot forward.”

LaFleur said his offseason plan had two points of emphases. One was the players taking care of their bodies so they’d arrive for the start of training camp “in the best possible shape.” Second was getting the players mentally ready so they can hit the ground running for camp – whenever it begins.

“It’s a credit to our coaches, it’s a credit to our players (and) how attentive they were,” LaFleur said. “We had great communication throughout. I really do think our guys got a lot out of this.”

After an uncertain offseason due to the pandemic, which kept players away from the stadium and wiped out OTAs and minicamp, an uncertain summer awaits. Among the questions that will be at the forefront for LaFleur: Will training camp start on time in late July? Will there be a four-game preseason or only two games? Will the 90-man roster arrive healthy? And how can the team help keep the players virus-free?

“You’ve just got to be fluid, you’ve got to be flexible,” LaFleur said. “I feel like I’ve done four different schedules already. But that’s just the circumstances that we’re faced. There’s no use in complaining about it. You’ve just got to make the best of the situation.”

One understated loss this offseason was team bonding. LaFleur consistently mentioned chemistry as a major strength to a team that outperformed expectations en route to reaching the NFC Championship Game last year. The offseason program isn’t only about learning the playbook and the beginning of competition. It’s about growing together as a team.

“I just think how connected our guys were,” LaFleur said when asked what he’d like to take forward from 2019. “I thought the camaraderie on our team was as good as I’ve ever been around. You can’t take that for granted. Every year is going to be different. You’re going to have new players on the team but that is something that we will certainly try to get back to for the 2020 season.”