TRAINING-CAMP PRACTICE BEGINS IN GREEN BAY
The Packers will hold their first practice of the 2021 training camp on July 28 at 10:10 a.m.
- 2021 marks the 13th summer that Green Bay will practice at Nitschke Field, just a short walk or ride away from the team facility.
- While fans will be permitted to attend training-camp practices, certain fan elements of the traditional Training Camp have been changed, including the American Family Insurance DreamDrive. The modified version of the storied training-camp tradition will prevent players from riding kids' bikes and interacting with them directly, but many players will continue biking to practice on brand-new Schwinn bicycles and fans of all ages will be able to line up along the bike path and cheer as the players ride past. For more details on the modified DreamDrive as well as other fan family friendly activities during training camp, please go to www.packers.com.
- The Packers will welcome the New York Jets to town for a couple of joint practices (Aug. 18-19) that will both be open to the public.
- Due to safety concerns, there will only be a limited number of media allowed at each practice.
- Media availability will be conducted with a combination of in person for a limited number of media and via Zoom.
- Family Night returns after a year hiatus and will take place on Saturday, Aug. 7, at Lambeau Field.
- This year also marks the return of preseason games after the NFL canceled all preseason contests last year due to COVID-19. There will be three preseason game played to tune up for the first year of a 17-game regular season.
ST. NORBERT AND THE PACKERS
The Packers will not be using their customary training-camp arrangements at St. Norbert College this summer due to protocols put in place by the NFL that has clubs maximizing use of their own facilities to mitigate exposure to the pandemic.
- The Packers will use their facilities at Lambeau Field for their entire training-camp operations, including practice, meals and meetings. Housing arrangements are in the process of being finalized.
- Prior to 2020, St. Norbert College had hosted the Packers for training camp since 1958, with players residing in an on-campus residence hall and eating dinner in the college's commons. It brought a pause to a 62-year streak, which was the longest continual use of any training-camp facility by an NFL team.
- St. Norbert, founded in 1898 by Abbot Bernard Pennings, borders the Fox River, enrolls around 2,000 students, and was a 6.62-mile commute that took an estimated 11 minutes each way.
SAVE THE DATE
Important dates to remember (all times CT):
- Wednesday, July 28 – First practice, 10:10 a.m., Nitschke Field
- Saturday, Aug. 7 – Family Night, presented by Bellin Health, 7:30 p.m., Lambeau Field
- Saturday, Aug. 14 – First preseason game, vs. Houston Texans
- Tuesday, Aug. 17 – Roster reduction to a maximum of 85 players by 3 p.m.
- Saturday, Aug. 21 – Second preseason game, vs. New York Jets
- Tuesday, Aug. 24 – Roster reduction to a maximum of 80 players by 3 p.m.
- Saturday, Aug. 28 – Final preseason game, at Buffalo Bills
- Tuesday, Aug. 31 – Roster reduction to a maximum of 53 players by 3 p.m.
- Wednesday, Sept. 1 – Upon receipt of the personnel notice, clubs may establish a practice squad
- Sunday, Sept. 12 – Regular-season opener at New Orleans Saints, Caesars Superdome, 3:25 p.m.
- Monday, Sept. 20 – Home opener vs. Detroit Lions, Lambeau Field, 7:15 p.m.
COACHING-STAFF CHANGES
Throughout the offseason, Head Coach Matt LaFleur saw some departures from the coaching staff and used a combination of promotions and new hires to fill those roles.
- Joe Barry was named the defensive coordinator, bringing 19 seasons of experience as an NFL assistant coach, including four as a defensive coordinator. He came to the Packers after serving as the assistant head coach/linebackers for the Los Angeles Rams from 2017-20. In his four seasons with the Rams, Barry was part of a defensive staff that helped the team rank No. 2 in the league over that span in in sacks (192.0), tied for No. 2 in takeaways (104) and interceptions (63), No. 7 in overall defense (329.9 ypg) and No. 9 in scoring defense (21.5 ppg). Last season marked the first time in franchise history that the Rams led the league in both scoring defense (18.5 ppg) and overall defense (281.9 ypg). The Rams also led the NFL in pass defense for the first time in franchise history and ranked No. 2 in the NFL in 2020 with 53.0 sacks.
- Maurice Drayton was promoted to special teams coordinator after spending the previous three seasons as assistant special teams coach for the Packers. Over the past few years he has worked with K Mason Crosby, who made all 16 field-goal attempts last season to become the first player in franchise history (since 1938) to never miss a field goal in a single regular season (min. two FG att.). From 2018-20, Crosby ranked No. 6 in the NFL over that span (min. 60 att.) with a field-goal percentage of 88.3 (68-77). Prior to coming to Green Bay, Drayton worked as the assistant special teams coach for the Indianapolis Colts from 2016-17. In 2016, he assisted P Pat McAfee in earning his second career Pro Bowl selection after leading the league in punting average (49.3) and ranking No. 3 in net punting average (42.7). After McAfee retired, Drayton helped P Rigoberto Sanchez finish No. 4 in the NFL in net punting average (42.6) in 2017 and earn a spot on the Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie team.
- Jerry Gray, who is entering his 34th season in the NFL (nine as a player and 24 as a coach), was promoted to defensive backs/passing game coordinator. He joined Green Bay in 2020 as the defensive backs coach and helped the Packers to a No. 9 ranking in total defense (334.0 ypg) and a No. 7 ranking in pass defense (221.2 ypg) last season, the first time Green Bay ranked in the top 10 in both categories since 2010. Under Gray's tutelage, third-year CB Jaire Alexander earned second-team All-Pro honors from The Associated Press, becoming the first Green Bay CB to earn All-Pro honors since Charles Woodson in 2011. Alexander was also named to his first career Pro Bowl in 2020, making him one of three CBs in franchise history to make the Pro Bowl in his first three seasons (Herb Adderley, 1963, third season; Willie Buchanon, 1973, second season).
- Adam Stenavich (STEN-uh-vitch) was promoted to offensive line/run game coordinator. He served as the offensive line coach for the Packers for the past two seasons. Last season, Stenavich coached a line that blocked for an offense that ranked No. 1 in the league in scoring (31.8 ppg), giveaways (team-record 11) and time of possession (32:29), tied for No. 2 in sacks allowed (21), No. 5 in total offense (389.0 ypg) and No. 3 in yards per play (6.29). Green Bay allowed one sack/zero sacks in a league-high 13 games in 2020, tied for the most in a season in team history (2004).
- Rayna Stewart (ruh-NAY) was promoted to to assistant special teams coach after working as the special teams quality control coach for Green Bay over the last two seasons. Prior to joining Green Bay in 2019, Stewart spent four seasons at Vanderbilt, first as director of player development (2015-17) and then as special teams quality control coach (2018). Stewart was a defensive quality control coach with the Tennessee Titans from 2009-11, a graduate assistant at Northwestern University from 2007-08 and a training-camp intern for the Indianapolis Colts in 2004.
- Connor Lewis enters his sixth season with Green Bay and was promoted to special teams assistant/game management specialist after working as an offensive quality control coach in 2020. He originally joined the Packers in 2016 as a football technology analyst intern before being elevated to football technology analyst in 2017. Over the past five seasons, he has assisted the offensive coaching staff in data analysis, playing rules and game management. Prior to joining Green Bay, Lewis was an independent consultant for the Oakland Raiders (2015) and worked in the football analytics and information department for the New York Giants (2014).
- John Dunn was hired as a senior analyst. He is in his fifth season in the NFL and his first with the Packers. Dunn previously coached tight ends for the New York Jets (2019-20) and was a football assistant (2016) and offensive assistant with the Chicago Bears (2017), working with the wide receivers and quarterbacks as well as helping to install the offensive line protections. Between those two stops in the NFL, he was the offensive coordinator at the University of Connecticut in 2018.
- Justin Hood joined Green Bay as a defensive quality control coach after working as the secondary coach and defensive pass game coordinator at Kent State in 2019-20.
- Ryan Mahaffey and Tim Zetts were both hired as offensive quality control coaches. Mahaffey comes to Green Bay after coaching in college since 2013, most recently as the offensive coordinator (2019-20) at Northern Iowa, his alma mater. Zetts joined the Packers after serving as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks for Austin Peay (Clarksville, Tenn.) in 2019-20.
