What We Learned Before First Practice of Packers Training Camp

xAnd we’re off!

The Green Bay Packers are going to be on the practice field in mere moments, but before that, their leadership spoke to the reporters in Green Bay to give insight to what their thoughts were as they start camp today.

One thing was clear from both General Manager Brian Gutekunst and Head Coach Matt LaFleur, expectations are high in Green Bay, as they always are.

Here are some things that we learned from both the Head Coach and General Manager from their media availability today.

No shortcuts

When Brian Gutekunst spoke to the media before the offseason began in earnest, he spoke about the team needing to have urgency and that they needed to start competing for championships.

The prevailing thought from that quote was that Gutekunst was going to be aggressive in free agency and on the trade market to acquire difference makers for the stretch run.

With all due respect to Aaron Banks and Nate Hobbs, those are not the names that came to mind when Gutekunst talked about urgency.

As it turns out, that’s not what Gutekunst meant. He believes his team is championship caliber, but they need to follow all the steps to become a championship level team.

“Well, I think we had a lot of talented guys in that room.” Gutekunst said.

“I think, you know, before you're a championship-caliber team, you got to go through a lot, right? We're just, you know, it's day one, day one practice. So every year is a different year. Certainly these guys have the capability of turning into that. There's no doubt of it, that's the goal. And we're excited to get started. But there's a lot of work that has to happen before we get to that point where they're a championship caliber team.”

The Packers, of course, were not a championship caliber team a season ago. They were 0-6 against the teams in the NFC with the three best records, including a season ending loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

This year? They’ll have a chance to right the ship immediately with the Detroit Lions coming to Lambeau Field for the season opener.

Bo Knows Corner

The day the Packers released Jaire Alexander, they had a viral moment across the internet.

Wide receiver Bo Melton spent time with the cornerbacks, which was something that he had been doing during the offseason, but had not been seen in a public setting.

Now, Melton’s experiment at cornerback is going to be much more prevalent as camp begins.

Melton, according to Gutekunst is going to change jersey numbers and moving to the defensive side of the ball primarily

That will help Melton’s chances of potentially making the roster as the Packers’ receiver room is loaded with 12 players that are healthy, and Christian Watson not scheduled to practice during training camp.

“No, I think it's going to be really good competition and you know. I think certainly we know what he is as a receiver and what he can do for us as a receiver on special teams,” Gutekunst said.

“I mean, he's been obviously a very important part of our football team the last couple of years. And we're excited to see what he might be able to do at corner for us on defense. So I think we switch his number to 16 because that looks a little bit better than the 80, he was running out of there in camp, but he will spend most of his time.”

First Round Receiver

It’s hard not to feel the excitement surrounding Matthew Golden. Of course, the roar from the crowd gathered at Lambeau Field following his selection in April’s draft could have told anyone that.

That excitement, however, appears to have gone to both his General Manager and the coaching staff.

Brian Gutekunst talked about his ability to adapt to playing in Green Bay early in his career. Matt LaFleur talked about the ability they have to move him around.

“Yeah, hopefully obviously he played at a fishbowl at Texas, and obviously they were in the playoffs,” Gutekunst said.

“And so hopefully he experienced some of that stuff that will help him. But I think hopefully we got a pretty good support system here with the PR guys, and they'll help him out a little bit. But no, I think he's, like I said, he's pretty resilient.

“But yeah, that's part of the National Football League. That's part of getting used to playing in Green Bay, Wisconsin and the spotlight that's on this organization. So, but I'm pretty confident he'll be able to get through that.”

One thing is certain with Golden; he will have opportunities to prove himself. The competition at receiver should be the most fierce throughout camp.

Kraft Stock Rising

If there was ever a question as to what the Packers think of Tucker Kraft, Matt LaFleur gave it away this morning.

Kraft was one of the team’s best weapons a season ago, and has steadily improved since getting his first extended cameo as a rookie.

Kraft was underutilized a season ago, and the team appears to know that. They’ve talked about wanting to feature him in the offense, and LaFleur believes that he has earned opportunities to become a featured player.

“Yeah, I think he’s an ascending player. It’s not by surprise. The guy works his ass off every day. He was here the entire summer working with our guys, putting the work in. So, I think it’s a credit to him.”

New Locker Room

One of the big unveilings yesterday on social media was the newly remodeled locker room the Packers will now enjoy.

It’s a nice addition to the team, as players expressed in the annual NFL survey that they felt an upgrade was needed, but Matt LaFleur wanted to make sure his team knew to keep football the primary focus.

I think it's nice, but like I told our guy it gives us zero wins,” LaFleur said.

“You gotta go out--nothing's changing with that football field. You gotta go do it out there. Although it is a great luxury, I just want our guys to understand, I told them yesterday, we got all these sexy facilities, but understand there's nothing sexy about the process. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, sacrifice, pain to get to where you want to go. Hopefully at the end of it there's a payoff.”

Packers Training Camp Previews

In 2023, he started slowly but finished the season as hot as any quarterback in the league.

In 2024, he was injured and, again, inconsistent.

As #Packers training camp begins today, all they need is Love. A really good story here by @JacobWestendorf. ⬇️https://t.co/gR437PX5xA
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 23, 2025