Highlights From Practice 13 of Packers Training Camp

The Packers are getting healthier with the return of some big guns on defense. Plus, depth chart changes, the play of the day, practice video and a lot more from Monday at training camp.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – And then there was one.

The Green Bay Packers opened training camp with seven players on the non-football injury list and four more on the physically unable to perform list. With the camp debut of outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith and safety Will Redmond on Monday, only one player remains on an injured list – All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari.

After spending the first dozen practices of camp and the preseason opener on NFI, Smith returned to action and immediately returned to the starting lineup. With Rashan Gary dealing with a groin injury, Smith and Preston Smith formed the starting tandem.

Also moving back into the starting lineup was cornerback Kevin King. King came off NFI on Thursday. He took part in individual drills upon his return but didn’t play on Saturday. King’s return pushed rookie first-round pick Eric Stokes into the second unit. More on that in a moment.

Two other starters returned from weeklong absences: running back Aaron Jones and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. Both did only individual drills.

As for Bakhtiari, he remains on the PUP list. He went through an on-the-field workout on Monday but there is no stated timetable for his return.

Depth Chart Changes

Coach Matt LaFleur wasn’t happy with the play at cornerback against Houston. Offensive line coach Adam Stenavich said nobody’s taken control of the spots at guard.

That uncertainty was reflected on the practice field. At cornerback, Eric Stokes and Kabion Ento were the second-team pairing and Josh Jackson tumbled to the third unit. Ento has shown up under the bright lights. He had two impressive breakups on Family Night and an interception against Houston. Meanwhile, Jackson gave up three catches on the opening series vs. Houston and, according to Pro Football Focus, 7-of-10 passing for 91 yards on the night.

“If it’s third-and-7 and you’re playing off at 12 yards and they’re running an out route and you have outside-leverage man on a guy, you can’t be sitting that far off because it was just pitch and catch,” LaFleur said. “I think there were some other things where we got into trouble with, some of the corners kind of peeking in the backfield, looking at the quarterback, instead of focusing on the wide receiver.”

At Monday’s practice, Jackson made a splash play with an interception of Kurt Benkert.

Meanwhile, Stenavich on Sunday said he’d have a different guard combination in the starting lineup for this week. Sure enough, after going with Jon Runyan at left guard and Lucas Patrick at right guard against Houston, the No. 1 pairing on Monday was Ben Braden at left guard and rookie Royce Newman at right guard. Braden has gotten a lot of first-team reps during training camp; Newman had gotten only one here and there.

Play of the Day

It was Aaron Rodgers to the rescue for this segment of the practice report. With the players wearing helmets and shoulder pads, some of the 11-on-11 periods conducted at less than 100 percent intensity and the practice limited to merely 89 minutes, there weren’t a lot of choices. However, during a red-zone period, Rodgers made one of those Rodgers-type throws that cause jaws to drop after all these years.

With Rodgers booting out to his right, he flung the ball across the field to receiver Reggie Begelton for a touchdown. Begelton made a diving catch of what might have been a no-look pass. Rodgers’ vision and arm strength remain elite.

Packers Injury Report

New Injuries: WR DeAndre Thompkins (shoulder), QB Jordan Love (shoulder), WR Chris Blair (ankle), TE Isaac Nauta (chest), DT Dean Lowry (knee). For Lowry, who has played in 79 of a possible 80 games in his career, his absence was incredibly rare.

Old Injuries: OLB Rashan Gary (groin), WR Juwann Winfree (shoulder).

Returned to Practice: DT Kenny Clark (groin), WR Equanimeous St. Brown (hamstring), RB Aaron Jones (hamstring).

Non-Football Injury List: None.

Physically Unable to Perform List: LT David Bakhtiari (knee).

Some Quick Reads

– On the first play of a third-down period, Rodgers’ pass to Davante Adams at the sideline was broken up by Stokes. On the next play, Rodgers went deep but overthrew Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who had gotten a few steps behind Chandon Sullivan. The next three passes were directed at Stokes. On the first, Stokes went to break up a pass to Allen Lazard but Rodgers intentionally threw the ball behind Lazard for the completion. On the second, Stokes prevented a deep completion to Lazard. On the third, Rodgers found tight end Josiah Deguara for a first down.

– During his third-down period, Benkert dropped a shotgun snap but connected with Amari Rodgers. On the next play, Benkert threw high to Rodgers but he made an excellent leaping catch.

– Once again, the defense won a starters-vs.-starters 2-minute drill. Starting from the 30 with 1:14 on the clock, Rodgers got the offense into scoring position quickly. First, it was a 26-yard completion to tight end Robert Tonyan on an extended play. Next, it was a gain of 11 on a checkdown to running back AJ Dillon. After Rodgers threw away the ball because of Kingsley Keke’s pass rush, he scrambled for 11 to the 22 with 31 seconds to go. That’s where the drive stalled. A draw play to running back Kylin Hill went nowhere, Lazard won a jump ball against Jaire Alexander but couldn’t quite stay inbounds and Randall Cobb couldn’t haul in a pass at the sideline that was thrown too high. On fourth down, the pocket collapsed on Rodgers for a sack.

– Keke, who returned to practice last week, worked with the starters. He took a big step forward in Year 2, and defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery is expecting more in Year 3. “Just being more consistent in the run game,” Keke said was his focus. “Working on getting off my releases, being more strong at the point of attack. That’s why I put on a little more weight this year. I was like 293 last year and now I’m like 302, 303 but still having that explosion, still being able to rush the passer and get to him. Just put on a little more weight so I can be stronger at the point of attack.”

– Sticking with the defensive tackles, fifth-round pick TJ Slaton looks like a real find. Rodgers completed a screen to tight end Josiah Deguara but it looked like Slaton made the stop.

– Sullivan made a tremendous play in coverage. Rodgers flipped a pass into the flat to running back Patrick Taylor but Sullivan laid out for a deflection. To this point, it appears Sullivan is in complete control of the nickel spot.

– The Packers released two players before practice to reduce their roster to 88 players. Cuts are due the next three Tuesdays: to 85 players by 3 p.m. this week, to 80 players next week and 53 players the week after that. It’s not a process that general manager Brian Gutekunst likes. “I don’t think it ever gets easier having to release players and cut down because you see the time and effort these guys put into this. It’s always tough. We got away from those early cuts for a while before the pandemic hit, where we were able to keep all the players until that final cut. I think that’s the correct way to do it because when you get into that last preseason game you wanna give those guys every opportunity to kind of go out there and play because not only for us but then for also the 31 other teams in the league to evaluate them.”

Packers Training Camp Schedule

After an off-day on Tuesday, the Packers will practice against the New York Jets at 10:10 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. Those, by the way, are the final open practices of training camp.

Here is the practice schedule.