GREEN BAY – The entire Packers' defense got quite the Christmas gift after Saturday's practice.
Waiting for the players back at Lambeau Field after their final workout of the week were personalized electric scooters, courtesy of outside linebacker Preston Smith.
Earlier this season, Smith mentioned he wanted to get everyone on the defense something special as he was on pace for a career year, and this is what he ultimately came up with.
"It's my gift to them for us having a good season right now, we're 11-3 and going to the playoffs," Smith said. "I just wanted to treat the guys and show my appreciation for them.
"Guys are playing well, playing hard, we're working together. It's like brothers, like a family, and I just want to show my appreciation for them."
Word had leaked out several weeks ago that the defense might be getting Rolexes from Smith, but no one seemed to be complaining about the scooters.
"Yeah, it was weird how that slightly got tweaked," said linebacker Blake Martinez, half-jokingly. "I'm not mad. I'm not a big watch guy, so I'll take this. I love these things.
"I've ridden these around off the app, but it's awesome to obviously get one."
Each player was allowed to personalize the scooter, which Smith said led to some "creative nicknames," and they also got to pick the color. Most of the players chose black or white, but some had pink scooters, which Smith said wasn't necessarily what they wanted.
"When I gave them the list, white, black and rose was the color, not pink," he said. "When they looked at the picture, I don't know if there was enough ink in the printer to help them see that it wasn't the color they were expecting. It's looking more pink than what they might have hoped for."
But again, no complaints.
"Guys are having fun, riding around, acting like big kids," Smith said. "Even though (we're) a lot of grown men, you saw kids come out of guys today. I just want to let them be happy and share a moment with them I knew they would enjoy."
