Green Bay, Wisconsin — The Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos will hold a joint practice on Friday before the team’s second preseason matchup on Sunday night.
The Packers will rehearse in full pads on Wednesday after practicing in half-pads on Tuesday in Green Bay. On Thursday morning, they will have a walkthrough before departing. The majority of the starting lineup will work out in joint practice on Sunday night, according to coach Matt LaFleur.
Here are 10 things to know from Tuesday’s two-hour practice at Ray Nitschke Field.
1. Though he still needs to improve, quarterback Jordan Love hit on a few more long passes at practice on Tuesday. On the third play of the preseason opener, Love connected with wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks for a 65-yard touchdown. Love completed 34.7 percent of his passes that traveled at least 25 yards in the air last season, which was good for 15th place in the NFL, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Adam Stenavich, the offensive coordinator, stated on Monday that he aims for a percentage of about 50. On Tuesday, Love lofted a beautiful pass between pursuing safety Javon Bullard and safety Xavier McKinney down the left sideline for roughly thirty yards to receiver Jayden Reed.
In a similar vein to Love’s 57-yard pass to Christian Watson on the opening play from scrimmage against the Lions on Thanksgiving, Love also hit a bomb down the middle to the wideout with cornerback Eric Stokes in coverage as Watson’s helmet came off. However, the ball was underthrown, and the completion was more indicative of Watson’s ability to win a jump ball. Then, on a deep pass, Love threw wide receiver Romeo Doubs short down the left sideline, and Stokes twisted his head just in time to break up the pass. Love has the instincts and arm talent to pull these plays off, but more refinement is still required.
“I think just working it, just getting more reps at it, understanding who my guys are out there, who I’m throwing it to, obviously trying to put the ball in there where they have a chance to catch it,” Love said. “But understanding who’s out there — a guy like Christian, maybe not put as much air on it because he’s gonna run fast, but I think it’s just work, just continue to work it, get more comfortable, get more confidence throwing it.”
2. throughout the red zone and end-of-half drills that concluded practice, rookie quarterback Michael Pratt, selected in the seventh round, was under center with the No. 2 team for the first time throughout camp. Sean Clifford threw two interceptions earlier in practice, so it is unclear if Pratt replaced him with the group due to an injury, poor performance, or the Packers simply wanted to see Pratt with the twos. Regardless of the reason, it was a noteworthy change because Pratt’s deep completion to tight end Ben Sims down the seam set up kicker Alex Hale’s game-winning field goal, which took place at the end of the drill.
When asked about Pratt’s performance in the first preseason game, veteran quarterbacks coach Tom Clements of the Packers responded, “He did a terrific job when he went in there,” on Monday. He continues to develop and learn. After you have done it several times, the game eventually slows down and you start to see things almost in slow motion. He works hard, but I do not think he is quite there yet. He worked hard in his studies and accomplished some nice things.
3. Linebacker Quay Walker left practice early and observed from the sidelines, but there is no reason to believe that his absence is concerning. In his absence, rookies Edgerrin Cooper and Ty’Ron Hopper—who practiced in some capacity—were nursing injuries, so Eric Wilson, Isaiah McDuffie, and undrafted rookie Ralen Goforth played with the starters. When the starter quarterback launched a throw across the middle off play action, Welch had a perfect opportunity to intercept Love, but he missed it.
4. The cornerback Keisean Nixon used a fantastic play on Reed to make a Love pass attempt incomplete at the seam. This is the reason behind Nixon’s tweet, “lol I am the nickel get over it,” which was followed by two laughing emojis. Although it is unclear exactly what Nixon was responding to, it could have been requests for Bullard to start at nickel following Nixon’s big gain against the Browns on Saturday when he was in coverage. Bullard has been playing dime during practice, with Nixon following him in the slot, and rookie safety Evan Williams is back deep alongside McKinney.
5. Williams has shown himself to be one of the standout players in camp so far, and even if he does not start ahead of Bullard, he may put pressure on the coaching staff to get him playing time. Though he forced a fumble in the first exhibition game against the Browns and intercepted four passes in practice, it was his run defense on Tuesday that made an impact on a single play. Williams held off a Josh Jacobs outside run for little to no gain by fighting through a block to close up the edge. Following the play, Williams enthusiastically celebrated. He will get additional opportunities to make an impression on Friday during joint practice and Sunday during the game against Bo Nix, his college quarterback.
“Really sure tackler. Smart,” Stokes said of Williams. “Aggressive and always around the ball. You love those intangibles as a safety, so it’s perfect.”
6. Despite not practicing, second-round rookie linebacker Cooper is fascinating to watch. Cooper wears a helmet, stands far behind the secondary, and does not wear any pads during team drills. After the snap, he assumes a play-like stance and either steps forward or backward. LaFleur declined to provide any information this week regarding Cooper’s anticipated comeback date. Due to a hip ailment, he has missed around two weeks of practice.
7. After Greg Joseph and Anders Carlson failed to kick on Tuesday, undrafted rookie Alex Hale once again took up all of the reps for the day. To put it mildly, the Packers may soon need to bring in a new kicker on the practice squad. In the event that the Packers believe Carlson or Joseph will be claimed after they release one in two weeks, then it is assumed that Hale is trying out for that position. With makes at 26, 33, 41, 44, and 46 yards and consecutive misses at 47, 51, 54, and 56 yards—the 56-yarder missing roughly ten yards wide right—Hale finished 5 for 9 on field goal attempts. Although LaFleur referred to Carlson and Joseph’s recent difficult day as a “tornado,” the wind on Tuesday was nothing near that intensity.
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8. Jaire Alexander, the cornerback, resumed practice after being absent from the game on Saturday due to a personal issue. While running back Jarveon Howard’s ankle is a new ailment, offensive tackle Donovan Jennings, Hopper, right guard Jordan Morgan, and defensive end Deslin Alexandre also made some progress in their return to practice. MarShawn Lloyd, another rookie running back, missed practice due to a hamstring injury he sustained in Cleveland. When asked if Lloyd would not exercise on Tuesday or for the entire week, LaFleur simply replied, “He will not be practicing,” even though he had a sleeve on his left leg. In the locker room, rookie offensive lineman Jacob Monk also skipped practice, but he remained silent about why, merely stating, “It is nothing major.” Everything is well.
9. Near the conclusion of practice, during the backups’ red zone drill, defensive tackle T.J. Slaton had an incredible swat on Pratt’s pass. As the young defensive lineman for Green Bay continue to have an outstanding camp, Slaton had his opportunity on Tuesday following big plays on Saturday by fellow defensive linemen Lukas Van Ness, Devonte Wyatt, and Colby Wooden against the Browns.
“Once we go live and that rush comes alive, I mean … I feel it now just in practice when I’m not live, so I’m definitely excited to see them in games going against different quarterbacks,” Love said. “I know they’re going to give QBs a lot of fits and so I’m very excited to see that.”
10. What looked like an end-of-half drill ended with the ball at the opponent 18-yard line, 22 seconds remaining, no timeouts, and a 0-0 score. It took the No. 1 offense just two plays (with a spike in between) to score a touchdown. Love found Doubs wide open in the flat for a 2-yard score after hitting Wicks for 16 yards on an in-breaking pattern. Doubs celebrated the play with a high-five on the bench. The following practice drill’s conclusion, nevertheless, was not quite as successful. With 40 seconds remaining and no timeouts, the offensive had the ball at its 45-yard line. After Love was unable to sufficiently guide Wicks on another deep in-breaker and Alexander broke, the Love-led team went three and out.
(Photo: Jeff Lange / USA Today)
