Backup QB Change? Highlights From Practice 14 of Packers Training Camp

Was Sean Clifford demoted? From Jordan Love’s day to the play and player of the day, here’s what you need to know from Tuesday’s practice at Green Bay Packers training camp.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Michael Pratt (17) throws under heavy pressure against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Since the moment Jordan Love started practicing at Green Bay Packers training camp, Sean Clifford had taken the second-team reps.

After Clifford threw a couple interceptions on Tuesday, rookie Michael Pratt took the No. 2 reps for the final two periods of the day.

Here is everything you need to know about the 14th practice of Packers training camp.

Jordan Love’s Day

Fresh off throwing a 65-yard touchdown pass at Cleveland, Jordan Love went 10-for-20.

His first pass of the day was a bullet to Dontayvion Wicks on a deep in-breaking route for a gain of about 20.

During his next period, Love was 3-of-6 passing but with two more big gains. First, he connected with Bo Melton along the sideline against Jaire Alexander. One play later, he threw a strike to Jayden Reed in the hole behind Javon Bullard, who was trailing, and Xavier McKinney, who was coming from center field, for a gain of 35 or 40.

Up next was an unscripted move-the-ball drill. It almost ended in disaster. On first down, Love tried to hit Romeo Doubs on a slant but didn’t see linebacker Kristian Welch, who should have grabbed the interception. On second down, Love’s deep pass to Romeo Doubs was a bit underthrown and broken up by Eric Stokes.

However, a Love to Luke Musgrave screen moved the chains. Moments later, Love’s wobbly bomb to Melton hung in the air and was broken up by safety Anthony Johnson, but rookie safety Evan Williams ran over Melton for pass interference. Finally, on third-and-3, Love had nowhere to throw the ball and chucked it to the goalpost to set up a chip-shot field goal.

Up next were two end-of-half periods.

First, the offense got the ball on the defense’s 18 with 22 seconds and no timeouts. On first down, Love hit Wicks on a slant for 16 yards. Bullard made the “tackle” and Love clocked the ball with 9 seconds to go. On the next play, Doubs lined up on the inside of a three-receiver set to the right. He motioned right, ran an out and was wide open for the touchdown.

Finally, a 2-minute drill ended the day. The offense started at the 45 with 40 seconds to go but went nowhere. Alexander almost picked off Love’s pass to Wicks on the first down, Preston Smith pressured Love into a throwaway on second down and Love overthrew AJ Dillon on a bomb against Eric Wilson on third down.

Love and the Packers will practice again in Green Bay on Wednesday before the joint practice at Denver on Friday. Love is not expected to play in the game on Sunday night.

“I think we’ll treat it the same way even if we were playing a couple of snaps,” Love said. “Just try and go get the most out of practice. The practice is pretty good, I think, just to be able to go play against somebody else for a little bit. You get some different periods, get to see some pressures and different things from a different scheme. It’s good, but you treat it the same way.”

Players of the Day

If you’re a player on the roster bubble, time is running short to make your mark.

Linebacker Kristian Welch had a couple noteworthy plays. First, he leveled big running back Ellis Merriweather in the hole on the first play of the team-run period. Merriweather, who is a handful at 220 pounds, ran smack into No. 54 and hit the turf. Welch has done that a few times this summer.

Later, he almost intercepted Jordan Love by getting in the passing lane on a pass directed to Romeo Doubs.

Welch, a native of nearby Iola, Wis., was a three-year standout on special teams for the Ravens. The Packers added him to their practice squad after final cuts last year, and he contributed six tackles on special teams during the regular season and one in the playoffs.

Tight end Ben Sims showed some grit and potential after being claimed off waivers from the Vikings after final cuts last year.

At Tuesday’s practice, Sims made his mark with two big receptions. First, Sims got open on a bootleg by Michael Pratt for an explosive catch. Later, during a 2-minute drill, he made a really good all-hands catch on a wayward pass for a gain of about 25 to set up a field goal.

Play of the Day

Jordan Love’s second pass of the day was a thing of beauty.

Not so much the pass, though. Love’s bomb to Christian Watson was a bit of a wobbler, which hung in the air and forced Watson to step off the gas.

Watson, however, adjusted and used every bit of his 38.5-inch vertical to make a leaping grab against cornerback Eric Stokes. Watson hung onto the ball even after losing his helmet.

“I think he’s had a great camp,” passing-game coordinator Jason Vrable said on Monday. “He feels really, really good, really confident. He’s hitting his speeds. We keep track of GPS to see where guys are at with numbers. He’s had a couple days where he’s up in the high 21s. When you’re 21.9 (mph) in practice and you’re doing that for five straight reps, that’s flying on the football field.

“He’s made some plays. I think early in the camp, they were hit or miss where we were getting the ball, but we’ve hit on some down the field, we’ve hit on them underneath. I think the trust and timing with Jordan with him has only grown down the field, and I was really pleased with where he’s at. The most important thing is him feeling confident with himself and I think he’s there right now.”

Packers Injury Report

New injuries: RB Jarveon Howard (ankle).

Also missed practice: None.

Dropped out of practice: LB Quay Walker (undisclosed), G/C Jacob Monk (undisclosed).

Returned to practice: WR Dimitri Stanley (hamstring), DE Deslin Alexandre (lower leg), LB Ty’Ron Hopper (ankle), G Donovan Jennings (knee), RG Jordan Morgan (shoulder).

Old injuries: RB MarShawn Lloyd (hamstring), CB Carrington Valentine (hamstring), DE Keshawn Banks (groin), LB Edgerrin Cooper (hip).

In response to injuries, the Packers signed a linebacker and running back.

The five players who returned were limited to individual drills.

Packers Practice Highlights

- Coming off an impressive preseason game at Cleveland, Sean Clifford was intercepted by safety Zayne Anderson and cornerback Kalen King. Late in practice, rookie Michael Pratt took Clifford’s place during the final two periods.

Perhaps that was part of the script and pure coincidence, but it was noteworthy seeing Pratt throwing the ball to the likes of Bo Melton and Malik Heath rather than undrafted rookies. If nothing else, it would seem to indicate the team in intrigued enough by Pratt to want to see him line up with and against better players.

“He did good” in Saturday’s game, Jordan Love said of Pratt on Tuesday. “It was his first NFL game, there’s definitely going to be a lot of nerves and jitters there, but I think he didn’t show any of that. He was locked in and very confident.

“You’ve seen a lot of good things from him in practice, so to be able to transition that to the game, he was able to make a lot of good throws, a lot of dimes, picked up a block on one of the runs, which is really cool. He’s a gamer, he loves it. He’s just going out there and having fun and enjoying this opportunity he’s getting. I love to see it.”

- Rookie kicker Alex Hale, who made 5-of-6 field goals in his practice debut last week but didn’t get any opportunities in the game, made his first four field-goal attempts on Tuesday. Then, it all went haywire.

At the end of a move-the-ball drill, he was wide right from 56 yards. Then, in a field-goal period, he was wide right from 47, hit the right upright from 54 and was wide right from 50. Finally, he made a 44-yarder to cap a 2-minute drill.

- Sticking with special teams, undrafted rookie snapper Peter Bowden had a pair of low snaps to punter Daniel Whelan.

- Green Bay’s linebackers continue to be excellent. The day started with Ralen Goforth stopping an end-around to Jayden Reed and Isaiah McDuffie thwarting a run by Josh Jacobs.

- On the next play, AJ Dillon took advantage of left guard Elgton Jenkins’ block to get into the open field.

- On his first pass of the day, Michael Pratt connected for about 20 to Jalen Wayne, who is the cousin of former NFL star Reggie Wayne.

- Running back Josh Jacobs had nowhere to go, despite back-to-back jump cuts that had the fans on the sideline excited, because safety Javon Bullard was waiting in the hole.

- A jet sweep to Reed didn’t go anywhere, either, because Keisean Nixon beat his blocker. With the offense going back to the huddle, Nixon did a Dikembo Mutombo-style finger wag. Moments later, Nixon had great coverage on Reed. Jordan Love tried to float it over Nixon but the window was too small and the ball fell incomplete.

- On the next play, Love hit Bo Melton on the sideline against Jaire Alexander. After a rough performance on Saturday, Melton was back to being Melton. Melton added another catch during the offensive drill that started at the defense’s 18 with 22 seconds left.

- Love’s swing pass to AJ Dillon produced a nice gain because receiver Dontayvion Wicks had a superb block against Corey Ballentine.

- On the next play, a sweep to the right by Jacobs went nowhere because rookie safety Evan Williams – despite a 114-pound weight disadvantage – showed incredible physicality in beating guard Luke Tenuta.

- Clifford was sacked on back-to-back third-down plays by linebacker Christian Young and blitzing nickel corner Kalen King.

- On the final play from scrimmage, after a Pratt-to-Ben Sims completion put the offense in scoring position during a 2-minute drill, Brenton Cox roared around the corner for a “sack.” Hale made the field goal to end the day.

Packers Lineup Notes

- With first-round pick Jordan Morgan limited to individual drills in his return to practice, Sean Rhyan was the No. 1 right guard.

- Once again, the No. 1 safeties were Xavier McKinney and rookie Javon Bullard. Coach Matt LaFleur, however, wouldn’t say Bullard has won the job.

“I think that all those guys are doing a pretty good job,” LaFleur said before practice. “So, I think we'll let them play out. I know you guys want to know like yesterday, but I told you, don't pay attention to those depth charts. They don't mean squat right now.”

- The No. 2 line consisted of Andre Dillard at left tackle, Royce Newman at left guard, Jacob Monk at center, Lecitus Smith at right guard and Kadeem Telfort at right tackle. When Monk dropped out due to injury, Smith moved to center and Luke Tenuta moved in at right guard.

- With Quay Walker and Ty’Ron Hopper not taking any 11-on-11 reps and with Edgerrin Cooper taking mental reps from 40 yards behind the defense, the No. 1 linebackers were Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Wilson and undrafted rookie Ralen Goforth.

“It’s been great,” Goforth said of the added opportunities. “Praying for those guys to heal up, get better. But I'm going to continue to work, and whatever coach and them will require of me, I'm willing to do.”

Packers Training Camp Schedule

The Packers will practice again at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday. After a walk-through on Thursday, the team will hold a joint practice at the Denver Broncos on Friday before playing them in the preseason on Sunday.

“We talked again yesterday and we feel like we’re in a pretty good spot and we’re on the same page and ready to roll,” coach Matt LaFleur said of practicing against Sean Payton’s Broncos. “But we talked a few times. You do it so frequently that a lot of these practices are mapped out. They’re pretty similar.”

The team’s final two practices of training camp will be held next week: 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday and 10:30 a.m. on Thursday against the Baltimore Ravens.

Quote of the Day

Why does Jordan Love wear No. 10?

“My dad wore No. 10 when he was in high school, so that was like a tribute to him. When I was younger, I started wearing 10. I think like sixth grade or seventh grade I started wearing 10 and it just kind of stuck with me. But, yeah, definitely a tribute to my dad. He wore No. 10.”

More Green Bay Packers Training Camp News

With MarShawn Lloyd and Jarveon Howard out, the #Packers have brought back a familiar face. ⬇️https://t.co/j4VJZIqZX4

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 13, 2024

Latest news and analysis: Packers sign running back | Packers sign linebacker | 53-man roster projection (Westendorf) | Waiting game: Love vs. Williams | Injury updates | No. 1 receivers and vomit | 53-man projection (Huber) | Gold, silver and bronze after Week 3 of camp | Why three kickers? | Monk gets massive opportunity | All-newcomer team | Power rankings | New kicker’s crazy story

Packers vs. Browns: Winners and losers | Stock report | Two bubble players excel | What’s plan against Broncos? | Packers 23, Brown 10 | Four takeaways in victory | Live updates | Five things to watch | Players who need a big game | How to watch

Training camp highlights: Practice 13 | Practice 12 | Practice 11 | Family Night | Practice 9 | Practice 8 | Practice 7 | Practice 6 | Practice 5 | Practice 4 | Practice 3 | Practice 2 | Practice 1