In Rarity, Packers Leaving Wisconsin for Part of Training Camp

There will be no sheep on the field and no in-practice fishing trips for coach Matt LaFleur when the Packers practice at the Cincinnati Bengals.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – This summer, the Green Bay Packers will convene for their 78th training camp. Training camp is big business, not just for the Packers but for the community. With about 90,000 visitors, the estimated economic impact is more than $9 million.

Nonetheless, the Packers will leave Green Bay and hold a joint practice with the Cincinnati Bengals before they meet in the preseason. That will mark just the second time the Packers have left Wisconsin for camp.

From 1951 through 1953, camp was held in Grand Rapids, Minn., at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station (presently Itasca Community College).

“They had goats and sheep grazing on the field at night and we’d practice on it during the day,” defensive tackle Dave Hanner said in a remarkable story by Packers.com’s Cliff Christl.

That meant goat and sheep droppings. And mosquitoes. And perhaps spies.

There will be no farm animals on the field when the Packers open the preseason at the Bengals. That game will be played on Friday night, Aug. 11. Following Wednesday’s OTA, coach Matt LaFleur said the team will have a “light practice” in Green Bay on that Tuesday before flying to Cincinnati. The joint practice will be held on that Wednesday.

The following week, the Packers will host the New England Patriots on Saturday night, Aug. 19. The teams will practice that week at Ray Nitschke and Clarke Hinkle fields.

“It changes up the monotony of camp of guys going against each other,” LaFleur said. “What’s great about going to Cincinnati is it’s going to give us a little bit of a longer bonding trip for our guys to hang out together. We think it’s going to be a really valuable experience.”

Bonding was not top of mind for Packers coach Gene Ronzani in 1951.

Recalled linebacker Deral Teteak in Christl’s story: “The funniest thing was we were about halfway through practice one day – that was when Ronzani was the coach – he was gone. ‘Where the hell did he go?’ All of a sudden, he comes by in a car, gets out of the car and says, ‘Have a good day. I'm going fishing.’ And he left and went fishing.”

Teams like joint practices because of their controlled nature. While tempers can boil over, they are considered a safe alternative to preseason games. Quarterbacks are off-limits and live tackling is limited or nonexistent.

With at least a couple opportunities to attack opposing defenses in almost-live settings, could LaFleur keep first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love out of the preseason lineup – or at least limit his reps?

“You know what? We’re not there yet,” LaFleur said. “I’m really open to anything this preseason. Certainly not going to shut the door on anything right now. It’s going to be a feel for where we’re at and what we need to get accomplished. If we feel like he needs time, then we’ll throw him in there.”

More Green Bay Packers News

Highlights from Practice 5 of OTAs

Disgruntled David Bakhtiari?

The money line from The Athletic’s Rodgers Exclusive

The biggest offseason battle

Inside the bet: Packers favored in five games

Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs embrace “strange” reality

Do the Packers have the youngest roster in the NFL?

Defensive improvement must start at linebacker

Packers have one of worst skill-position groups*

With Jordan Love, expect Packers to be blitzed