GREEN BAY – The Packers conducted a two-hour padded practice on a beautiful but blustery Tuesday at Nitschke Field.
Here are five things we learned:
- Jordan Love will play in Saturday's preseason opener in Cleveland and would love nothing more than to open 2024 with a scoring drive.
Head Coach Matt LaFleur confirmed during his pre-practice news conference that the current plan calls for Love and most starters to play against the Browns.
Entering his first year as a starter, Love played in all three preseason games last summer. He completed 21-of-33 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns (109.8 passer rating) on 57 offensive snaps.
LaFleur said he and the coaches reviewed previous seasons when Green Bay had its starters play in the preseason compared to when guys sat out and felt playing helped players prepare for the start of the regular season.
"I thought it was beneficial for us early on, especially Week 1, just to kind of knock some of the rust off," LaFleur said. "There was a lot of value of going through, getting your mind right to get ready to play a football game. Obviously, we're going to be smart with those guys. The last thing we want to do is put guys at risk. … We'll be smart with him."
Speaking after practice, Love said he's excited to play on Saturday, as it allows him to work on a few things and "get the feel of the season getting started."
This matchup with the Browns is the only preseason game this year where the Packers won't practice against their opponent beforehand. They'll work against Denver next week before their Sunday matchup prior to returning to Lambeau Field to host Baltimore.
While preseason schemes are inherently vanilla, Love sees the benefit in lining up against a defense other than your own. When asked what a successful preseason showing looks like, Love feels a productive opening series would be a nice way to start the 2024 campaign.
"Going down and scoring quickly, I think that would be nice," Love said. "Being able to put a drive together, not going three-and-out; just having a successful drive and scoring a touchdown would be nice."
- Zach Tom made his highly anticipated return to team 11-on-11 but won't play in Cleveland.
As LaFleur forecasted, Tom was back at right tackle with the No. 1 offense during team periods Tuesday. He returned to practice last week but was only cleared for participation in individual drills.
Tom, who tore his pectoral muscle during the conditioning phase of the offseason program, said his final hurdle came during Family Night when he lined up against Spencer Waege in 1-on-1 drills between the offensive and defensive line.
"I felt good out there today," Tom said. "I felt like I was moving my feet pretty well, using my hands pretty well. I think the thing with me is just getting the wind back. Other than that, I felt good being out there, taking the good footwork, I didn't feel stiff or anything. It was a good day for me."
LaFleur told reporters before practice Tom won't play in Cleveland, but the third-year tackle still got some good work in going against top edge rusher Rashan Gary in 11-on-11 during Tuesday's practice.
Taking only three snaps at a time, Tom said the goal now is to regain his conditioning and extending his appearances to six- and eight-play drives.
"Going up against (Gary), that's probably one of hardest people I'm going to have to block on a year-to-year basis," Tom said. "If you're able to block him, then that definitely does give me confidence that I could go into a game and play well. Now, it's just about getting the wind back."
- On his own comeback trail, Tucker Kraft is focused on the regular-season opener in Brazil.
Returning from his own pectoral injury, the second-year tight end practiced for the time after being activated off the physically unable to perform list.
While limited to individual periods for the time being, Kraft said he pretty much feels back to normal. As part of his physical, Kraft said a handheld meter was used to measure his strength in different positions. In each scenario, Kraft was within 5% of his strength prior to the injury or even stronger in some cases.
Kraft's original target date to return to play was supposed to be after the Browns game, but he came in ahead of schedule. Still, Kraft doesn't anticipate playing in the next two games or participating in the team's joint practice in Denver.
"Right now, we're just in a ramp-up period, so over the next two weeks there will be more and more," Kraft said. "I was in the (Hutson Center) for the last three weeks and just grinding in there. Trying to get as familiar with contact again as possible. Working in those weird positions. Positions I don't want to be in. But just working through those and see if they cause pain. We're progressing really well."
Seeing Tom return to team on Tuesday was also another indicator to Kraft that he's on the right track. With that in mind, Kraft said his goal is "without a doubt" to be back on the field for the Packers' regular-season opener against Philadelphia in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
"The end goal is Brazil, and that's what we've got our mind on," Kraft said. "It's a ramp-up period of the next few days to go and then the next two weeks I'll just get more and more and more and more into the offense and as far as comfortability with my injury. I'm confident, I feel safe, I feel strong, God gave us all the ability to endure and that's what I'm doing right now."
- Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph were dealt a tough hand with uneven wind patterns.
Both kickers went 4-for-7, as the wind wreaked havoc on the Packers' kicking periods during the second half of practice.
After both kickers went 3-for-3 on their first three attempts, they made just 1-of-4 to end practice with Carlson missing from 41, 45 and 53 and Joseph missing from 41, 42 and 53.
"Anytime you go out, it is useful, but I think today was obviously insanely windy," Carlson said. "I think what wind does, especially when it's in your face, is it really emphasizes your kicks. If they're really good, they'll stay really straight, and if they have a little bit of lean, it'll exponentially go left or right."
- The Packers mixed it up with their 1-on-1 period between the offensive and defensive line.
For the first time this summer, Green Bay simultaneously ran two separate 1-on-1 drills between the O-line and D-line with several veterans, including Pro Bowl guard Elgton Jenkins, seeing the most snaps they have all summer.
The young guys still got their work in, too. Second-year defensive end Brenton Cox Jr. took five reps against Kadeem Telfort, who's competing for the swing tackle job.
"You gotta have a will to win," Cox Jr. said. "We're both tired. We're both ready for the next guy to go, but you just gotta lock in when you're tired and try to get to the quarterback."
Rookie first-round pick Jordan Morgan did not participate in team periods after splitting his 1-on-1 reps against defensive tackle Kenny Clark. Third-year veteran Sean Rhyan handled all the right guard snaps with the first unit in Morgan's absence.
Green Bay had two new additions to its injury report: receivers Dimitri Stanley (hamstring) and Rory Starkey (calf).
