Here’s What Happened at Practice 15 of Packers Training Camp

Here’s what happened on Tuesday at Green Bay Packers training camp, including a major lineup change, Jordan Love’s day, the Play of the Day, Player of the Day and much more.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Men Without Hats sang “The Safety Dance,” which reached No. 3 on the Billboard charts in 1983. Among the lyrics:

We can dance, we can dance
Everybody’s taking the chance

In the competition to find a safety to start alongside Darnell Savage, the Green Bay Packers have, indeed, danced. They’ve danced with returning veteran Rudy Ford. They’ve danced with free-agent additions Jonathan Owens and Tarvarius Moore. They’ve taken a chance on rookie Anthony Johnson.

On Tuesday at Packers training camp, the dance went back to the start. Just like Day 1 of camp, it was Ford and Savage forming the No. 1 tandem.

“I never lack confidence,” Ford said after practice. “My goal is to play like I’m a starter. I am a starter. I don’t control the rotation and stuff like that but, as far as when I’m in there, I just try to play my best, give my best to the team. I don’t control the rotation. But my preparation, I’ve got goals and I’m going to live up to my goals.”

Ford had fallen to the third unit for several days, with Owens generally taking the No. 1 reps. On Saturday against New England, Ford got the start. The coaches like what they saw, which was why Ford was back with the 1s on Tuesday.

“Instincts. My instincts really kicked in,” Ford said of the Patriots game.

Ford supplanted Savage for a few games last season. In starting a career-high six games, his three interceptions were as many as Savage and Adrian Amos combined. It was no surprise that he opened camp as a starter; it was a stunner to see him paired with undrafted rookie Benny Sapp last week.

Ford “absolutely” was surprised at times by his place on the depth chart.

“For me, man, it just goes with gut and grit,” he said. “You’re going to lose in life. What are you going to do? Who I’m out there with, make sure we’re all on one cord. That’s line up, play football, let’s go execute these plays. No sense in being down. (Shoot), we’re already here. …

“I’ve been through a lot of things in my life that’s way worse than that. I seen that Deion (Sanders) quote. He was like, ‘Everybody is going to have their opinion on me. As long as you don’t have that opinion of yourself.’ I control the things I can; the things I can’t, I can’t. No matter what it is, (shoot), there is no tears to be shed. The stuff I’ve put into this, I want it to be shown, like anybody else. I just truly believe in myself.”

Rudy Ford (Photo by Tork Mason/USA Today Sports Images)

Jordan Love’s Day

It’s going to be a rollercoaster with Jordan Love as a first-year starting quarterback. That was evident on Tuesday. The surface numbers were quite good: 16-of-23 passing with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. The reality was something different.

Take, for instance, a get-back-on-track period that started with second-and-long before moving into third down. Love completed 3-of-5 passes but none of his third-down passes moved the chains. During the final period, he threw a terrible receiver screen that was almost intercepted by Innis Gaines. His next pass was a beauty to Samori Toure for a gain of about 15, the ball perfectly placed between two defenders so Toure could make the grab without getting his clock cleaned.

The touchdowns were a 20-yarder to Christian Watson against Keisean Nixon, who slipped and fell; a receiver screen in which Aaron Jones went untouched for 70 yards; and a 60-some-yard bomb to Jayden Reed. More on that one later.

Player of the Day

After being limited to individual drills during his first two weeks of practice, Rashan Gary took part in his first live action.

Plays of the Day

Rookie Jayden Reed is going to be an instant-impact performer on Sundays because that’s what he’s been throughout training camp. The second-round receiver from Michigan State had a typical day. Lined up one-on-one against Keisean Nixon in the slot, Reed got a couple steps on Nixon and hauled in a deep pass from Jordan Love for what might have been a 61-yard touchdown. Rashan Gary applied pressure and might have had a sack.

Alex McGough, the USFL MVP who is fighting to stick around past final cuts next week, made his best throw of camp with a perfectly thrown deep shot up the right sideline to Jadakis Bonds. Bonds beat Kiondre Thomas, caught the pass in stride and hit the jets for a 90-yard touchdown.

Packers Injury Report

Cornerback Eric Stokes did not practice as he battles back from last year’s foot injury. With just a week until final cuts, it’s looking increasingly likely he will open the season on the PUP list, meaning he’d miss the first four games.

“I just try to take it day by day, see how the foot is going to feel tomorrow and, if it feels great tomorrow, then I’m going to take it up another level,” Stokes said. “But, so far, it’s looking on the come already. That’s all I can say, it’s looking on the come and it’s looking great.”

Left tackle David Bakhtiari did not practice on Tuesday but fellow offensive tackle Caleb Jones returned to action.

New Injuries: WR Dontayvion Wicks (hamstring), S Tarvarius Moore (knee), FB Henry Pearson (knee), DT Jason Lewan (back). All of those injuries were sustained against the Patriots on Sunday.

Old Injuries: CB Eric Stokes (PUP list foot), RB Lew Nichols (shoulder), RB Tyler Goodson (shoulder), LB De’Vondre Campbell (ankle), OT Luke Tenuta (ankle), WR Bo Melton (hamstring).

Returned From Injury: CB Corey Ballentine (stinger), S Innis Gaines (quad), OT Caleb Jones (calf).

Lineup Notes

Kingsley Enagbare (Photo by Wm. Glasheen/USA Today Sports Images)

It’s always interesting to see how the team lines up after a preseason game.

- Without David Bakhtiari, Rasheed Walker stayed as the No. 1 left tackle after an excellent performance vs. the Patriots. Zach Tom, as usual, was the No. 1 right tackle.

- Even with the return of Rashan Gary, Kingsley Enagbare got more first-team snaps than usual after a two-sack performance against the Patriots.

- Back from injury, Innis Gaines took the No. 2 reps in the slot.

- Back from injury, Caleb Jones took the No. 2 reps at left tackle while Yosh Nijman manned right tackle.

- With the backups, Royce Newman worked at left guard and right tackle.

Practice Highlights

- Anders Carlson’s training camp has been like a yo-yo. On Tuesday, he made 2-of-6 attempts. He was good from 33 and 47 yards with a miss from 45 in between. Later, he missed wide right from 51, wide right from 52 and wide left from 53. For what it’s worth, Carlson missed all three kicks with Daniel Whelan as the holder.

- What a bleep show. On one play, Luke Musgrave motioned left, stopped and got hit by Josh Myers’ shotgun snap. Given the conversation from the coaches, Musgrave probably was to blame. Tight end Tucker Kraft was guilty of a false start and removed from the action. Later, there were back-to-back pre-snap penalties. And another day, another botched snap that involved one of the young backup center candidates. That’s terrible for the 22nd day of August.

- During one-on-ones, Myers needed to hold TJ Slaton to prevent getting run over by the big defensive tackle. Healthy again, Caleb Jones beat Kingsley Enagbare at left tackle and Brenton Cox at right tackle. Guard Sean Rhyan notched a pair of wins against Chris Slayton.

- During 11-on-11, Enagbare had an excellent rush against Rasheed Walker but Christian Watson made a leaping catch.

- Feeling pressure, Jordan Love stepped up in the pocket and flung a sidearm pass to Romeo Doubs for a nice gain. As it’s been throughout camp, when things break down, Love is looking for Doubs.

- Slot Innis Gaines delivered a well-timed blitz and swatted down Love’s pass to AJ Dillon.

- Back in the “Jordan Love’s Day” section, we mentioned a 70-yard touchdown to Aaron Jones. This was teach-tape offensively. Jones lined up in the left slot, caught a middle screen and followed a convoy of blockers for the score. No defender laid a finger on Jones.

- The offense was given the ball at the defense’s 20 with 17 seconds and no timeouts. Love hit Watson for a touchdown on his first pass. Sean Clifford got a short completion to Malik Heath, who got out of bounds with 13 seconds remaining, before firing in the flat to Jayden Reed, who couldn’t get out of bounds and time ran out.

- Later, Reed produced a big gain on a crossing route from Love.

- The final pass of the day was Love going deep to Reed. The pass was just a touch underthrown, which allowed a pair of rookie defenders, Carrington Valentine and Anthony Johnson, to make a leaping deflection along the sideline.

- Rashan Gary, Justin Hollins and Kenny Clark probably had sacks.

Packers Training Camp Schedule

Wednesday’s practice will be the final one open to the fans. If you planned on going, take note: Because of the heat, coach Matt LaFleur moved up the start of practice from noon to 11 a.m. According to Weather.com, it will be about 87 for the start of practice and 92 for the end of practice. Running back Patrick Taylor even encouraged reporters to be well-hydrated.

The team will practice on Thursday before Saturday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.

Quote of the Day

How does first-round pick Lukas Van Ness feel about his comfort in the playbook?

“As a lot of guys has said, this is kind of the routine part of camp where every day our coaches like to say, ‘The playbook’s pregnant.” It’s always growing. There’s something new every day whether it’s a different look, a new formation, but I feel a lot more comfortable and I’m excited to see how that plays out.”

More Green Bay Packers News

Rashan Gary returned to 11-on-11 action today for the #Packers. Here's ...

- What he did on the field.
- What he said afterward.
- Video from the locker room and some slow-motion practice.https://t.co/LXpGs2pKcv

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 22, 2023

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