Packer Central

Packers Rookie Jacob Monk Has Odd Allergy

Offensive lineman Jacob Monk, a fifth-round pick out of Duke, told his story after being drafted by the Packers on Saturday.

Bill Huber

Jacob Monk
Jacob Monk / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Every New Year’s, hearty souls trek to the Door County community of Jacksonport to run into the icy waters of Lake Michigan. New Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Jacob Monk won’t be participating.

In a 2022 interview on Duke’s athletics site, GoDuke.com, he spilled the beans on his first trip to the cold tub.

“I’m very allergic to cold water,” he said. “So, a quick story, before we played Alabama my freshman year, I decided it would be a good idea to hop in the cold tub. I was like, ‘This is really cold!’ I didn’t know it would be that cold. I get out of the cold tub and go shower, and I’m just itching. I’ve got a lot of hives everywhere, and then after I get out of the shower, I end up passing out in the locker room.”

Many players swear by the wonders of the cold tub in aiding their recovery from practice and games.

Not Monk. He probably swears at the cold tub.

On Saturday, Monk – a fifth-round draft pick by the Packers – shared a more tepid version of the story during a Zoom call with Packers beat reporters.

“So, before my first start, first-ever game against Alabama, I got in the cold tub and found out I was allergic to cold water,” he said. “I ended up getting some hives before the game, before we flew out. Yeah, that was something to learn, I guess.”

Don’t worry: Monk said he’ll be fine in the cold and snow of Green Bay.

“I can drink cold water. I can be in the snow and all that,” he said. “I think I probably just stayed out there for a little too long. It’s always been a dream of mine to play in the snow. I’m not afraid of the cold. I’m not afraid of cold water. I feel like the temperature had to be just right for me to sit there for that long. But I’m not worried about being in the cold at all, honestly.”

Good thing. The Packers usually get at least a couple cold-weather games every season. And with hopes high entering the 2024 season, they’re hoping to chill out at Lambeau for the playoffs.

“I heard about that,” Packers vice president of personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan said. “Not a concern for us. Let’s just make sure he doesn’t go ice fishing.”

Michael Pratt
Michael Pratt / Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

Packers at the 2024 NFL Draft

Our Day 3 draft grades | Five takeaways

Day 3: Live Updates | Evan Williams | Jacob Monk and Travis Glover

Day 2: Javon Bullard | Edgerrin Cooper | Marshawn Lloyd | Ty’Ron Hopper

Our Day 2 draft grades | National Day 2 draft grades | National Day 1 grades

First Round: Jordan Morgan | Short arms | Our grade

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.