Paul Bretl | 7/31/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Following an off-day on Wednesday, the Packers were back at practice on Thursday. The last time they took the practice field, Rasheed Walker–and a few teammates–ended up running a lap.
Matt LaFleur wants his football team to be more physical this season. Adding Nate Hobbs to the secondary was a part of that equation. However, there’s also a line that comes with that, especially on the practice field.
“Just continue to try to educate them on the expectations. I never want to let a few moments overshadow the work our guys are putting in, because they really are doing a great job of doing all the little things the right way. Sometimes those things happen. I just think it’s always important to remember that if you do anything in the game, you’re going to get penalized for it, and it’s going to hurt the team.”
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With that said, as Rich Bisaccia put it on Wednesday, you’d rather have to pull the team back when it comes to playing with some physicality than be on the other end of things and have to push them.
As always, with Thursday’s practice and locker room session now wrapped up, here’s a look at what took place.
Injury updates: Back at practice today were Aaron Banks (back), Savion Williams (concussion), and Dontayvion Wicks (calf). Banks would participate in some team reps but was on a snap count. Williams and Wicks would go through the individual periods. Of note, Jayden Reed was off to the side stretching and riding the bike during the team period.
Not practicing today were MarShawn Lloyd (groin), Christian Watson (knee), Collin Oliver (hamstring), and John Williams (back).
Adam Stenavich said that with the offensive line getting healthy, we were going to see more of Jordan Morgan at left tackle, and that was very much the case on Thursday. After Rasheed Walker was with the starting offense at left tackle during the first two series that the starters were on the field, Morgan would handle the starting reps there for the next three series.
“I like what I’m seeing from Jordan,” Stenavich said on Wednesday, “and he’s competing at the tackle spot and the guard spot, and he’s looking pretty solid.”
Stenavich then later added, “Again, I’m really excited from what he’s shown on tape from both positions, guard and tackle.”
We again saw some one-on-ones. Here are some of the notable outcomes from the receivers vs. defensive backs and the offensive line vs. the defensive line.
- Enagbare beats Walker
- Clark beats Morgan
- Monk beats Wooden
- Brooks beats Rhyan
- Alexandre beats Telfort
- Rhyan beats Brooks
- Cox beats Tom
- Walker beats Enagbare
- Wooden beats Monk
- Wyatt beats Jennings
- Kraft beats Williams
- Brown beats Junior
- Melton beats Sheppard
- Hardman beats Bullard
- Heath beats Hadden
- FitzPatrick beats Anderson
Luke Musgrave had two impressive receptions on Thursday. The first came on the left sideline with what was a beautifully placed ball by Jordan Love. With Xavier McKinney tight in coverage, Musgrave dove for the ball, made the catch, and kept both feet in bounds. As McKinney walked back to the huddle, he acknowledged how good of a catch it was.
The next big catch by Musgrave came to a few plays later on a corner route. Carrington Valentine was also close by, but another good anticipation throw by Love and an adjustment by Musgrave led to a completion.
“I think they were just both perfect examples of there’s no defense for a perfect ball,” Musgrave said at his locker. “I think both balls were delivered exactly where they needed to be for the defense. So, I think all that goes to Jordan. All that – spectacular.”
It’s a crowded receiver room, as we know, so the ceiling for these two players is likely the practice squad, but Cornelius Johnson continues to catch everything thrown his way, while Sam Brown Jr. has shown the ability to create separation as a route runner.
Musgrave credited Love for those two passes, but overall it was a good day for the quarterback. Ball placement, efficiency, decision-making, and navigating the pocket were all on point.
Speaking of good days, we can put Warren Brinson in this category. Against both the run and pass, there were three or four plays in total where Brinson was in the backfield being disruptive. In a little over a week, Brinson has gone from mostly playing with the 3s to being what I would say is a rotational defender with the 2s.
“I feel like I’m getting better every day and that’s the goal is to keep getting,” Brinson said afterward. “I’m trying to help this team be a contender. I’m trying to play. I’m not coming here to ride the bench.”
Along with Brinson, fellow defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse has been getting some steady looks with the second defensive line unit as well. Although known for his run-stuffing abilities at Georgia, the Packers are using Stackhouse in some third-down, passing-situation packages as well.
On a windy day in Green Bay, Brandon McManus had his first missed field goal in the team portion of practice. On a 49-yard attempt, kicking directly into the wind, McManus’ ball hit a wall and fell right of the uprights. Prior to this attempt, he had made 25 field goals in a row since the start of training camp.
“Today was by far the toughest day,” McManus said. “Pretty windy out there today, but no, it’s always good to be kicking well and feeling confident. I had a confident stroke going.”
The heavy rotation at safety between Evan Williams and Javon Bullard continues. We regularly see both lined up deep next to McKinney, while Bullard also has slot duties when Nate Hobbs isn’t lined up inside. On paper come Week 1, there will be a starter, but I see both have steady roles that will likely be matchup dependent.
We know Brenton Cox has the power pass rush game, but there have been some reps he’s won over the last few days where he’s done so with speed.
“He’s a physical, strong, tough guy who gives you everything that he has and he’s very disruptive,” Jeff Hafley said on Wednesday.
There are a few candidates for play of the day, mainly the two aforementioned receptions by Musgrave, but I’ll choose another throw made by Love, this one to Romeo Doubs. With Hobbs’ blitzing, Love had another beautifully placed ball on a back shoulder throw to Romeo Doubs up the right sideline. Doubs would make a nice adjustment to complete the catch–one that the defender had little chance of contesting. Also on that play, a really nice blitz pickup by Chris Brooks to buy time for Love.
“I thought Bullard did his absolute best playing his best coverage there,” Doubs recalled. “It was just a great ball, a great catch. It’s something that we were working on during the individual before we got to that point.”
On another play during the two minute period, Brooks had a second really good pass pro rep, this time against Enagbare. That ability to help out in the pass game, specifically as a blocker is incredibly valuable and will help earn him a roster spot.
“Obviously, you want guys that are versatile, guys that can catch the ball out of the backfield,” LaFleur said of the backup running back role. “Certainly, in the passing game, they’ve got to be back to pick up protections and just be productive, being consistent, doing all the little things, playing with the right fundamentals, the right eyes, being able to read it one gap at a time. I think that’s all imperative of great running back play.”
Another day, another Lukas Van Ness pressure. This is becoming the norm for him. Rashan Gary also had two strong pass rush reps against Tom in the one-on-ones.
Anthony Belton continues to work at left tackle with the 2s and right tackle with the 3s as the Packers continue to cross-train him. For now, the Packers will keep Belton at tackle, said Stenavich.
Two-minute drills. To set the situation, the offense had the ball at their own 35-yard line, were down seven with no timeouts, and 1:40 was on the clock.
Love’s drive started slow, and a potential sack by Enagbare may have derailed the possession had it been a live game. But the big play that gave the offense a chance was a downfield completion to Mecole Hardman on a crossing route.
However, the next two pass attempts didn’t amount to much. At the opponent’s 33-yard line and with 10 seconds left, Love leaves the pocket and looks to Musgrave in the end zone, but the ball falls incomplete. Several defenders were nearby to contest the throw.
Malik Willis’ attempt while facing the same scenario ended after three plays due to an interception by Valentine. By my count, that is Valentine’s third interception of training camp. He’s done an excellent job of being around the football.
“He’s doing a great job,” LaFleur said of Valentine. “He continues to grow as a player. It’s amazing where he was when he first came in to where he is now in terms of, he’s transformed his body. I think he’s really talented. He played a lot of meaningful snaps for us a year ago and made some critical plays. So that’s a great sign. He just continues to bring competition to that room.”