Inbox: This is a big deal for this city on so many levels

Jeffery from Brooklyn, WI

Hey guys, is it 2025 yet?

It is finally happening! What a wonderful day for the city of Green Bay and Packers fans everywhere.

Mike from Algoma, WI

Congratulations Green Bay! Well-deserved selection, April '25 should be a blast!

This is a big deal for this city on so many levels. The event not only brings the NFL back to its roots but also shines a bright light on our great city. I commend the hardworking men and women inside the Packers organization for their vision, patience, and persistence. I know there was a lot of midnight oil burned in this relentless pursuit.

George from North Mankato, MN

Glad to see the 2025 NFL Draft will be in Green Bay. Do you think the economic impact to the region would be on par with hosting a Super Bowl? Will we get to see a "Three Things" from the draft inside Lambeau?

Oh, I'm sure there will be several new installments. Economically, hosting the NFL Draft is as close as it gets to a Super Bowl. Mark Murphy told Larry McCarren the estimated economic impact is $94 million, which is roughly six times more than the average home game at Lambeau Field. Mark was quick to credit all individuals involved, including late treasurer Mark McMullen, but he, too, deserves his flowers. Securing the draft has been eight years in the making and Murphy continually fought at the highest levels of the NFL in support of Green Bay's bid.

Steven from Alexandria, MN

Not a question, but a comment. It was refreshing to read that the Green Bay Packers voted against the new TNF flex rule. Seems to me like taking the stance the Packers did communicates that the organization values its players' health above profit, in this case at least.

I'm proud Mark held his ground on that, too. Again, I can't imagine how problematic that could be for out-of-town and international fans trying to plan trips to Green Bay.

Tom from Dollar Bay, MI

Good morning, and welcome to probably the busiest Inbox since Week 18! Two-parter. Is Spoff on vacation? And will owners get any draft privileges? (early ticket opportunities, special functions)

Mike thought about it…and evidently that was enough to trigger breaking news. I don't have any specifics yet on the draft itself but I'm sure more information will be released in the coming days.

Mike from Dubuque, IA

The new third QB roster rule sounds great, even better than the previous one. Do you see any negatives to it?

No, it should've never gone away in the first place. I found it odd last year that we created a provision for an eighth offensive lineman to be active, so teams could carry 48 players on their gameday roster. I thought the league could've easily brought the emergency quarterback back then, too.

Arnie from Kirkwood, MO

Why is it that I am more excited for the upcoming season following an 8-9 record vs. following a 13-3 season with an early exit in the playoffs? The unknown or the overall potential of this team?

Yes.

Matt from Cottage Grove, WI

Which offensive rookie will have the most immediate impact in the 2023 season?

There's an open runway in this offense for a player of Jayden Reed's caliber. The two rookie tight ends could play a lot this year, too, but Reed can impact this team in so many ways.

Dale from St. Cloud, FL

Could the young receiving corps be a problem for a young QB? It seems to me with such a young core it could hinder Love's growth.

If the entire group were rookies, maybe…but Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs know the standard. They've played with Aaron Rodgers and learned from two of the best practitioners of their position in Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb. Doubs also shares a coach with Love during the offseason and worked extensively with his new QB1. Whether they're in Year 1 or Year 10, players have to grow together. The transition won't be seamless, but I also think it'll be smoother than some might expect considering how "NFL-ready" rookie receivers are nowadays.

Jeff from Indian Lake, NY

Do you guys have access to the OTA practices? Just curious if Lukas Van Ness will be lining up with the ones right off the bat, a la Darnell Savage a few years ago.

We'll be there today. As far as LVN, I could see it go either way. Comparing today's OLBs to the safety room in 2019 is apples and oranges, though. Back then, it was a forgone conclusion Savage would start next to Adrian Amos. Remember the Packers finished the 2018 season with Tramon Williams doing a midseason shift to the back end after Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was traded. As much as the Packers miss Rashan Gary, they're in a better spot with their outside linebackers (Preston Smith, Kingsley Enagbare and Justin Hollins) than they were at safety in 2019.

Jeffery from Brooklyn, WI

Hello II, OTAs baby, it won't be long now until we see Hercules X2 battle it out on the edge. Wouldn't it be a vision to have a package of them on each side attacking the QB?

It's a tale of two Hercules, though. Van Ness is expected to make a Year 1 contribution whereas Kenneth Odumegwu didn't know what a line of scrimmage was a little more than a year ago. Pass-rush specialist Jason Rebrovich even talked last week about how gratifying it's been coaching Odumegwu because you can't take anything for granted in the classroom. It's going to be a long journey but certainly one worth taking for all parties.

John from McHenry, IL

My concern this year on defense is the pass rush. Adding Lukas Van Ness is a big help but how is Rashan Gary looking? I see the two of them as a real threat to opposing quarterbacks if Rashan is healthy.

Everything appears to be headed in the right direction with Gary and Eric Stokes, but I have not seen either in-person yet. We'll see if they're rehabbing during practice today.

Randy from Raymond, IA

I see the ESPN "experts" just released the NFL power rankings. They have GB ranked 25th out of 32 teams. Last in the NFC North, just behind the Teddy-Bears. I realize we have an unproven QB, but if the Inbox didn't have the "Bushwood Rules," I would bet the farm they finish higher than that! Thoughts?

I get everyone has a job to do, but why must we always rank what we do not know? It's like ranking my favorite breakfast cereals and I haven't eaten half of them. You could rank the Packers first or last, but it's all filler in my book.

Matty from Durango, CO

Someday I'd like a draft room executive to tell the doubters what we already suspect: "We spend more time, collectively, on analyzing our seventh-round picks than you spent on any first-round pick." Do you think Todd McShay spent hours watching, rewinding, watching in slow motion, every Aaron Rodgers and Brian Brohm pass?

I want to set one thing straight here. My intention was not to drudge up any hard feelings towards McShay. He knows stuff, too. It's just showing how difficult it is to get the pick right, especially for draftniks. NFL GMs and scouts not only have a wealth of knowledge on prospects, but they also invest their lives into determining which players fit best into their system. Brian Gutekunst had a great quote after the draft about how the college scouts take as much pride in signing college free agents as they do the draft picks themselves. Because there's a great deal of pride in finding the next Tramon Williams, Sam Shields or Lucas Patrick for this football team.

Brian from Waukesha, WI

After three years of understudy, why is it that so many apparently suggest QB Jordan Love needs a reduced or "simplified" playbook? By now, the playbook should be "all on the table." 2023 is JL10 showtime...the curtain will go up shortly.

The full playbook will be on the table and Love is ready for it, but Matt LaFleur and his coaches will also practice patience with their young quarterback in order to put Love in the best position to succeed as a first-year starter. LaFleur has been in this position before. He knows the best path forward.

Tom from Dade City, FL

Hello to you II! I have a couple questions about TV money to the NFL. With the amount of cord cutting happening, how can the networks keep up the number of payments for NFL games? And do the games get broadcast or streamed in Europe? I think that the amounts will go down and that the salary caps will have to adjust accordingly. Your thought please?

Live sports are king, and networks are willing to pay for it because A) having NFL rights provide a huge revenue stream and B) they want to hold off streaming platforms. I'm not sure how games get streamed throughout Europe, though. Maybe our international fans could help me out on that one.

Bill from Arlington, VA

Gilbert Brown and B.J. Raji were fun to watch on the field and off. Who are some of your favorite big guys? Anyone on the current roster who might fit their mold?

As a child, John Jurkovic. As a packers.com writer, Christian Ringo. Today, I very much enjoy T.J. Slaton. I've yet to see him without a smile on his face.

Shannon from Ovilla, TX

Reading about deferring or taking the opening kickoff and all the stats being discussed reminds me of one thing. Data can be manipulated any way you want to. Data needs context to be worthwhile, data alone is just a bunch of numbers. Humans need to make the most informed decisions they can and not let the numbers completely dictate those decisions.

Here's how I view statistics and analytics – let's dial it back to 1993 when coaching and scouting were skewed toward intuition, knowledge, and cognitive bias, and very little to analytics. That ticker has slowly moved more and more towards analytics since then, but there is a law of diminishing returns involved in that process. Football still requires the human element – on the field and sidelines. If you gear everything towards statistics, a team might as well hire ChatGPT to do the job. In my opinion, all statistics must be applied to the understanding of your team. On a micro level, I feel there's more advantage to getting the ball to start the second half than the possibility of scoring on the opening drive. It's often about who scores first – not touches the ball first.

Craig from Appleton, WI

Will this be the first year since at least 1997 that we start a season without a single player owning a Super Bowl ring? How far back does that streak stretch?

Rasul Douglas, Justin Hollins and Danny Etling each have Super Bowl rings, my guy. If you're talking about a Super Bowl ring won with the Packers, I don't believe there was anyone on the roster with one from 2008-10.

Derek from Coal Grove, OH

II, I know I'm in the minority as a football and racing fan. This past weekend, NASCAR ran its All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. This track was taken off the NASCAR schedule in 1996. As few as four years ago, it had weeds growing through cracks in the surface. Government funding and a good deal of effort brought the track back to the top racing series in America. If you could pull strings and bring back a professional sports venue, which one would you bring back?

The Boston Garden.

Scott from Sauk City, WI

Spoff, you missed the bus, and nobody called looking for you? They just left without you? How many other people's lunches do you steal? 80% cab fare...I see what you did there.

So techniccccccally, we left without Spoff. That is true, BUT there is more than one bus, which is why I didn't think anything of his absence until ours left and my boss, Kregg Shilbauer, asked me, "Have you talked to Spoff?" I hadn't…until I texted him…and realized he didn't know there had been a time change…and wasn't on any bus. We've since improved our pre-boarding communication. That was par for the course in Winnipeg, though. I could probably write a book on that trip. It was something else.

Kevin from Savage, MN

With all the questions related to streaming, a scary thought came to mind. Is there any chance II gets moved behind a paywall? I am very unlikely to ever pay for a streaming service based on its NFL options. And as painful as it may be, I am also very unlikely to ever pay for II. I know (and accept) I am not in any target demographic. But I am part of the small population likely to become extinct (as a viewer) as the costs go up (and up). I guess I'll just enjoy it while it lasts...

I don't cut the checks around here, but I don't see Inbox ever going behind a paywall. We're fortunate to have a wonderful sponsor – Thank you, Cenex! – but this Q&A is a service for the loyal-est of Packers fans…at least that's my approach to it.

Doug from Neenah, WI

Good morning, Wes. What's the penalty for leveling one of those guys wearing a red jersey during practice?

A pink slip.

Dave from Waterford, OH

I grew up in Ohio and I was barely old enough to vaguely remember seeing Jim Brown on TV near the end of his career. He did have strength and great balance; absolutely one of the greatest of all time. But, he played for one of greatest offensive minds of all time and played behind a terrific O-line. He was also as big as some the linemen of that era, or nearly so, and he was bigger than most linebackers. And, he dwarfed the defensive backs. One team he never fared well against...our Packers.

Lombardi's Packers teams went 3-0 vs. Cleveland during the Jim Brown era, including a major victory in the 1965 NFL Championship. What a time to be alive – a burgeoning sport, superstars on both sidelines, and two football-mad cities.

Bob from Kennesaw, GA

John from McHenry asked if Larry was a mean guy. I attended several tapings of "Locker Room" and "The Mike McCarthy Show," which he also hosted. He often came out to warm up the crowd before taping. One time, he asked me about my "54" Packers game jersey. It was a gift from my wife, 54 being my birth year, and it had MY name on the back. He graciously agreed to sign the front of it for me anyway. He's a warm and friendly guy with a great sense of humor, and he was a real pleasure to meet.

Larry McCarren is lowkey one of the funniest humans I've ever met.

David from Janesville, WI

Gents, I got a kick out of the conversation regarding packers.com being seen as Insider Inbox. It reminds me of the Kwik Trip reference, "Hey, the banana store also sells gas!" While the Inbox is what brings me to the site regularly, if folks aren't taking advantage of the other great information on packers.com they are really missing out. Basic facts and figures, featured stories, historical perspectives, videos, photos, podcasts, whew! And that's the offseason! Tell the team to keep it up.

I think of our website as a buffet of Packers content, whether the consumer wants hard news, features, videos, podcasts, or a daily Q&A. If you like the Packers, we hope you'll find something on this website you'll enjoy. We are here to inform, and Insider Inbox is simply a conduit to making that happen.

Bruce from Travelers Rest, SC

Michael Block is Exhibit A as to why we love sports.

…and local television commercials.

Dennis from Beavercreek, OH

Wes, what does yours and Mike's OTAs consist of and are they voluntary or mandatory?

If you're asking whether it would be voluntary or mandatory, you've already been cut. But they would include a T-shirt with No. 88 on the back, timed sprints from shared refrigerator to cubicle, and transcription exercises. Have a great Tuesday.