‘Sloppy’ play leads to ‘humbling’ experience for Packers but learning moments are what preseason is about

Paul Bretl | 8/9/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The NFL preseason is all about fine-tuning and cleaning up mistakes in preparation for the regular season. During this time of the year, it is expected that there are going to be miscues and things to be cleaned up.

However, while that may be true, even for the preseason, what we saw from the Packers on Saturday night against the New York Jets was some extremely sloppy football.

“Well that was a humbling experience,” Matt LaFleur said after the game. “Definitely not what we want to put out there. I don’t care preseason, regular season, it doesn’t matter to me. It was just sloppy football.

“Too many penalties, drops, missed tackles, bad decision making, and it really showed up in every phase of football. And if you do that, you’re going to get your a** kicked, and that’s exactly what happened.”

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The issues that the Packers’ team as a whole started from the jump, and it didn’t improve as the game went on.

Despite Jordan Love and most of the starting offense starting the game with a 1st-and-5 following an encroachment penalty on the Jets, a four-yard run and two incomplete passes to Romeo Doubs in tight coverage against cornerback Sauce Gardner resulted in a Packers’ punt.

The defense then surrendered a touchdown, particularly struggling to defend the middle of the field. Missed tackles turned minimal gains into modest ones and modest runs into chunk plays. The New York passing game was also very effective in finding the soft spots in the Packers’ secondary.

On Love’s second and final possession of the game, he turned to Matthew Golden–who was one of the few bright spots on the night–twice on third downs. On the first throw, Golden hauled it in for a first down. On the second target, Golden drew a penalty that moved the chains.

But the drive would quickly stall out and ended with Love taking a sack, resulting in another punt. Love would finish his outing just 1-for-5 passing for seven yards.

“So we had two drives and definitely something that I think we could’ve done a lot better on,” Love said after the game. “We didn’t move the ball very well, didn’t put up any points. There’s going to be stuff we look back on want to clean up going forward, but obviously limited action.”

Whether it was the first, second, or third team pass catchers, the Green Bay receivers struggled in this game. According to PFF’s early tracking data, the Packers’ pass-catchers had three dropped passes on just 22 total throws–which may end up on the low side–and they were just 2-for-7 in contested catch situations.

Then there were the penalties–so many penalties. The Packers ended up being flagged seven times, totaling 64 yards. Many of the penalties came against the offensive line. Second-year offensive lineman Jacob Monk was responsible for three of those penalties.

“All those penalties were a major problem, and it’s hard to get into any type of rhythm when you’re having multiple penalties,” LaFleur said. “You have a short-yardage situation, third and 1, it looks like it’s going to e an easy first down, and you get called for holding. You just can’t have those.”

When it was all said and done, the Packers surrendered 30 points and only scored 10. Their quarterbacks were just 10-for-22 passing for 64 yards, which, as mentioned, is also how many penalty yards the Packers had called against them.

Green Bay averaged just 4.0 yards per play on offense and turned the ball over twice–once on a muffed punt by Mecole Hardman and another on a strip sack of Malik Willis after Sean Rhyan was beat at the center position.

The Packers held the ball for just 21:19 and the defense surrendered 9.1 yards per pass attempt. You get the idea–it was a rough outing.

“What we put out wasn’t good enough,” said Colby Wooden. “We gotta be better. We gotta be better. That was unacceptable. 30 points for our first game, regardless of, if it’s preseason or not, that’s unacceptable. So we gotta come do better.

“We gotta look ourselves in the mirror and he said specifically, look ourselves in the mirror and do what we gotta do–make the corrections. Nobody is above the corrections. Listen to the corrections. Listen to how he’s saying it.”

After watching this performance, perspective when it comes to the grand scheme of an NFL season can be lost.

The Packers were without several key players and whether Green Bay had won by three scores and put together a clean outing or performed like they did on Saturday night has no bearing on what the regular season holds.

“I’m not going to rush to any judgment on a preseason game,” said Love. “I think that’s what it’s there for. It’s there to go out there [in a game]. We’ve been going against our defense for so long, to be able to see some new looks and to see what it’s like to go out there and execute. Sometimes you’ll go have a great game. I remember the Bengals preseason game a couple years ago. We put up a lot of points and a lot of yards.

“So there’s instances where it’s high and there’s instances where it’s low. So I think there’s a lot of areas to clean up from an offensive perspective, but it’s good tape to learn from, to grow from. But it’s Week 1 of preseason, so we’re not going to rush to any conclusions.”

With that said, as LaFleur mentioned, the Packers have to have urgency when it comes to fixing what went wrong.

So while you can put the panic button away, after a showing like that, frustration, disappointment, and some anger, are all reasonable emotions to be expected swirling about within the building.

Now, and as always, it’s all about how the team responds.

“Matt is not going to come out here and expect us to play perfect football,” Tucker Kraft said. “But what he saw, he has every right to be upset. Guys were out there and they were playing with the wrong techniques, they were getting themselves out of position, and that was costing us drives. That’s not what he coaches.

“So when you go out there and do something that he’s not coaching you to do, that’s why he’s going to be pissed off.”

Packers’ rookie WR Savion Williams flashes pready to ‘make opportunity count’

Paul Bretl | 8/9/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The playing time up to this point in training camp for Packers’ third-round draft pick Savion Williams has been a bit sporadic as he has navigated injuries. But when Williams has gotten his opportunities, his ability with the ball in his hands has popped.

Measuring in at 6-4 – 222 pounds with 4.48 speed, in a wide receiver room with a variety of skill sets, Williams brings a different element to that unit. During his final season at TCU, Williams did a bit of everything, from being targeted 83 times in the passing game to carrying the ball 51 times, along with being the wildcat quarterback when needed as well.

“I think the biggest thing is just when he gets the ball in his hands,” Jordan Love said of Williams. “I think he’s a pretty good runner and I think obviously watching his college tape, he’s a pretty hard guy to tackle. I’m excited to see what he’s going to do once we get in preseason and get some guys actually trying to tackle him and bring him to the ground.”

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Following his senior season, Williams would undergo labrum surgery. This then limited him to individual drills during offseason programs, with Williams wearing a red non-contact jersey in those practices.

He then missed a couple of days during training camp with a concussion and another practice with an undisclosed injury.

For any rookie, there is going to be a learning curve that comes with making the jump to the NFL level as they adjust to the play speed and what is a robust playbook on the offensive side of the ball under Matt LaFleur.

However, that learning curve can be extended when a player isn’t getting regular on-field reps.

“I think the same thing for is just wrapping his mind around the offense,” Love continued. “I think not having OTAs for him, it sucks because you’re missing a lot of valuable reps so you’ve kinda got to get thrown into the mix in training camp.

“But I think for him just continuing to keep understanding the offense, where he needs to be on every play and not thinking as much out there, but I’m excited to see him in preseason. He’s a good playmaker once he gets that ball in his hand.”

At this locker on Thursday, following that day’s training camp practice, Williams acknowledged that it’s been a “little bit” of a frustrating start as he’s worked through injuries, but his off-the-field work in the meeting rooms has helped him hit the ground running.

“Just keeping my head down, knowing my role,” Williams said of getting through these early injuries. “That’s it.”

Helping Williams has been having fellow rookie wide receiver Matthew Golden to go through this process with.

“I think that makes it fun and easier because you’ve got somebody else learning and going through the same thing you’re going through,” Williams said.

In these training camp practices, Williams has seen work with the first, second, and third-team offenses in what I imagine is an effort on the Packers’ part to get him as many reps as possible and back up to speed.

As Love mentioned, Williams’ ability with the ball in his hands is impressive, and the offense has prioritized getting the ball in his hands behind the line of scrimmage on quick throws or on shallow crossers, where he can have the opportunity to operate in space.

While Williams is continuing to learn the new scheme, the coaching staff is also learning how to best utilize him within the offense in order to see what he can handle and how to maximize his skill set to put him in the best position to be successful.

Saturday’s preseason game against the Jets will provide a good opportunity to see where things stand in both regards.

“When I get my chance, I’ve got to make my opportunity count,” said Williams.

A preseason game unlike any other for Packers’ Bo Melton, who is ‘hyped’ to take field as a cornerback

Paul Bretl | 8/8/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — When the Packers take the field for their preseason opener against the New York Jets, it isn’t going to be Bo Melton’s first time playing a game inside Lambeau Field.

Melton has played preseason games here before and, in fact, he’s a relatively seasoned player who is about to enter his fourth NFL season and has 22 regular-season games under his belt, which includes making five starts.

But as we know, this preseason game is going to be different for Melton than anything he’s experienced at the NFL level. Melton is going to be playing cornerback for the Packers.

“I’m hyped now,” Melton said at his locker on Thursday. “I ain’t going to lie. I’m ready to see, go against somebody else, We’ve been going against the same people every week, so I’m just excited to go out there and compete with somebody else.”

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The transition for Melton from receiver to cornerback has seemed to have gone about as well as one could have hoped up to this point. That doesn’t mean it’s been perfect or that there isn’t refinement that is needed or that there’s been splash play after splash play in practices made by Melton.

For the most part, actually, his outings have been relatively quiet. But at the cornerback position, that’s a good thing. That means the quarterbacks aren’t going after him. It means he isn’t getting beaten regularly downfield or by double-moves.

Instead, Melton has often been positioned well. He utilizes the sideline to his advantage, understands where his help is, and maintains his leverage at the line of scrimmage. None of that is flashy, but it helps take away big plays.

“Knowing depths of routes, I feel like that’s where I feel comfortable,” Melton said of how his receiver background helps him at cornerback. “When I’m back there seeing people break, knowing where the breaking points of routes are, playing receiver so long, and knowing once you get past 20 yards or 15 yards, he’s got to break somewhere unless he’s running a go. That’s where I’m kind of like getting the nuances of playing corner.”

We are likely going to see quite a bit of Melton on Saturday night. Nate Hobbs is sidelined as he works his way back from a knee injury, while Keisean Nixon had a vet rest day on Thursday, and won’t see much, if any, action in the first preseason game.

During Thursday’s practice, with Hobbs and Nixon not participating, that left Melton, along with Carrington Valentine, taking the first-team reps at outside cornerback.

In Melton’s own evaluation of his play at cornerback up to this point, he acknowledged that there are still “a lot of corrections” to be made. However, he’s also surprised himself as well.

“I definitely wasn’t expecting to make tons of plays,” Melton said of his play. “I ain’t made a million of them, but I’ve made some plays. I was like, ‘OK,’ so I did surprise myself with the skills I brought to the table, I would say. It definitely was fun, just getting out there with the boys.”

In training camp practices, there is a quick familiarity that grows going up against the same offense and wide receivers each and every day. For Melton, he’s facing a Packers’ offense on a daily basis that he’s spent the better part of two years working alongside of, he knows the playbook inside and out, and perhaps even some of the tendencies of the Green Bay wideouts.

Melton downplayed having any sort of advantage against the Packers’ offense due to his familiarity with the scheme. While he did originally think that element could exist, Matt LaFleur’s usage of motion and the variety of looks he throws at defenses makes it difficult to decipher what’s coming.

Saturday’s game against the Jets will be Melton’s biggest test up to this point. It’s an unfamiliar opponent, new players, a new offensive system, and New York is going to play their starters. But Melton is confident, excited, and ready to take the field as a cornerback.

“Definitely going to be one for the books, for the first time going out there at corner,” Melton said. “Definitely confident. I’m ready to go. I feel like they have really coached me up to the point where I am now. I feel like I’m going to get better every single day. I’m going to keep stacking, keep getting better every day. I can’t control everything, so at the end of the day, I just want to go out there, be myself and play corner.”

Packers RB MarShawn Lloyd leaning on veteran leaders in locker room as he navigates injury

Paul Bretl | 8/8/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers’ second-year running back MarShawn Lloyd is making progress as he returns from a groin injury. While not yet back to going through individual drills or the team period at practice, Lloyd was wearing his helmet and doing cutting work with a ball in his hand off to the side.

“Just going through everything they were doing out there, just going over the plays, getting back in condition shape and pretty much just going over the script, doing extra cuts and stuff like that,” Lloyd said after Thursday’s practice.

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Lloyd is working his way back from a groin injury that has sidelined him for the last week-plus of training camp practices. This setback comes on the heels of what was an injury-riddled rookie season for the Packers’ 2024 third-round draft pick.

Navigating various injuries throughout the year, including hamstring and foot injuries, along with appendicitis, Lloyd would miss a portion of last summer’s training camp and appeared in only one preseason game. In the regular season, he played just 10 snaps in Week 2 and had six carries on the year.

To help avoid the soft tissue injuries that Lloyd experienced during his rookie year, Lloyd spent time late last season at UW-Madison, going through a variety of exercises to help identify any “deficiencies,” as Lloyd put it, or specific areas that need to be strengthened to help reduce future injuries.

“Just staying in my faith, staying in a routine even though I’m hurt, was hurt, even though I was injured some, I just made sure I stayed on my routine and treated every day like I was practicing and like I was playing and then everything just rolled on,” Lloyd said about navigating injuries.

Regardless of what Lloyd has had to work through, he’s remained positive. He leans on his faith as well as some of the veteran players in the locker room.

Fellow running back Josh Jacobs would ride over to practice each day last season with Lloyd to help keep him engaged and his spirits up. In the Packers’ new-look locker room, the arrangement of the lockers and where players are positioned is, in part, by design, as Matt LaFleur said.

So it’s probably not a coincidence that to Lloyd’s left is Kenny Clark and few lockers down to Lloyd’s right is Xavier McKinney, and on the other side of the entrance that Lloyd is positioned near is Jacobs.

“It’s great, especially a guy like him,” Lloyd said about being next to Clark. “You don’t get three contracts with the same team on accident. You have to listen to him, it’s good to have a guy like that right there.

“It’s good to have another guy like that right there (looks to Xavier McKinney), it’s good to have another guy like that over there (looks to Josh Jacobs), so Josh Jacobs, Xavier McKinney, just watching them, seeing them, just observing things they do every day and just trying to take what I can from it.”

Prior to his injury, Lloyd was getting steady work as the Packers’ No. 2 back behind Jacobs. Since he arrived in Green Bay, it’s been easy to spot Lloyd’s burst and explosiveness with the ball in his hands. That juice and change-of-direction ability adds a different element to the Packers’ backfield. LaFleur also believes he can be a threat in the passing game as well.

Lloyd wasn’t going to put a timetable on his return, but he feels good and is excited about the upcoming season–ready to finally showcase what he can do on the field.

“I feel good right now, I don’t really know,” Lloyd said of this timeline. “You couldn’t tell me if I wasn’t 100 percent just the way I can move right now. Really, just whenever the strength staff and the training room, whenever they’re ready for me to go, then I’ll be ready to let loose.”

Packers’ S Xavier McKinney sidelined with calf injury; could miss remainder of preseason

Paul Bretl | 8/7/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — During Thursday’s practice, while the Packers went through individual drills as part of their daily training camp routine, off to the side without his helmet and going through various exercises with the training staff was safety Xavier McKinney.

It turns out that McKinney is working through a calf injury.

“I’ll be good,” McKinney said at his locker on Thursday. “I’ll be ready. I’ll be ready when — I’ll be ready.”

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McKinney wasn’t going to put any specific timeline on his return to the field, but he’s “probably not” going to play in any of the Packers’ preseason games. But what about Week 1 against Detroit on September 7th?

 “Week 1,” McKinney said. “Yeah, I’ll be ready.”

As McKinney described, the injury was not one that popped up, but instead has been lingering a little bit.

“I’m just kinda going with the plan,” McKinney said. “Obviously glad that we caught it when we caught it, so just kinda trying to take it slow and then the buildup obviously. But I’ll be ready when it’s time to go, for sure.”

In McKinney’s first season with the Packers in 2024, he put together an All-Pro year, which included coming away with eight interceptions, the second-most in the NFL.

McKinney quickly emerged as a leader on this Packers’ team last season. As LaFleur described, he is “an extension of the coaching staff” when he’s on the field, and his impact goes well beyond his own column on the stat sheet. His presence makes those around him better as well.

“Man, X, it gives you another confidence level at corner or at nickel or at backer,” Nate Hobbs said of playing next to McKinney. “You know you don’t have to be totally perfect. That’s the goal, to strive for perfection, but everybody knows we not perfect. So you can depend on somebody like that, a caliber player like X. I knew that since my last team at the Raiders, I seen him, played against, and knew this guy was a dude.”

Without McKinney on the practice field Thursday, Evan Williams and Javon Bullard were the two safeties when Green Bay was in their base 4-3 defense. When in nickel, Bullard moved to the slot, while Zayne Anderson lined up deep with Williams.

Packers starters expected to play in preseason opener vs. Jets; data and past experiences behind decision

Paul Bretl | 8/7/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — From the sounds of it, the plan going into the preseason opener is that most of the Packers’ starters will see some action on Saturday evening against the New York Jets. How much the starters will play still remains to be seen.

“I think it’s a lot, you’ve got to feel where your team is,” LaFleur on playing in the preseason. “My experience, I would say that I think it’s good for all of our guys to kind of go knock the rust off a little bit, understanding there’s a little bit of a risk with that.”

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That “little bit of risk” that LaFleur is referring to is potential injuries, which innately come with playing the game of football.

Ultimately, that possibility wasn’t going to be the determining factor in whether or not LaFleur played the Packers’ starters. What was a key part of that decision-making process was some data that LaFleur–and I imagine other teams–received from the NFL regarding playing in the preseason.

“There’s a lot of injury data that supports playing guys in the preseason in regards to reducing the injury risk early into the season,” LaFleur said.

He then later added, “That’s real data from the NFL. They’ll tell you, according to our medical people and our performance people, if you get X amount of reps, you’re however many times less likely to get injured within the first four to five weeks of the regular season.”

Another factor in this equation, to at least some degree, were the slow starts the Packers’ had during the 2021 and 202 seasons, when most starters didn’t play during the preseason.

On the road in Jacksonville to face the New Orleans Saints in 2021, the Packers lost 38-3 to open the season. In 2022, on the road in Minnesota, Green Bay would lose 23-7.

“We got our a** kicked,” LaFleur said about those season openers. “You try to learn from every situation. And I just think that it’s a different feel when you go out there. I think it’s every opportunity you go out there, and just the process I would say of getting ready to compete and go play a collision sport. You’ve got to get your mind right.

“What’s beautiful about our preseason schedule – you’ve got a night kickoff, you’ve got an early kickoff and then you have that late afternoon kickoff. So it kind of gets the guys a little bit prepped for what they’re going to encounter early on in the season.”

For the starters and key role players, any in-game reps and the preparation beforehand is an opportunity to knock off some rust to get ready for the regular season. But for many on the roster, these games are an opportunity to fight for playing time or a roster spot.

Of course, LaFleur wants to see each unit on offense move the ball up and down the field, while each defensive unit gets stops and takeaways. But when it comes to evaluating the performance of his team, it’ll be the little things that have LaFleur’s attention.

“I just think how guys react to every situation, both positively and negatively,” LaFleur said on what he’s looking for. “If you make a bad play, can you regroup and recover the next play? Just how guys are competing, how they’re running to the football, just all the little things they’re doing away from the ball are equally as important.”

The messaging all week from LaFleur to the players is that everyone should be ready to play on Saturday. The players have been preparing that way and are excited to get on the football field against an actual opponent.

“I think it’s always nice to get a couple preseason snaps just to put yourself back in that game mode mentality,” said Jordan Love.

On the prospect of playing, Kenny Clark would say, ” I’m ready to play. Whatever we doing, I’m ready to play. We got plans on playing, so that’s the mindset.”

‘Sky’s the limit’ for Packers’ LB Edgerrin Cooper in Year 2

Paul Bretl | 8/7/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers’ second-year linebacker Edgerrin Cooper was everywhere on the practice field on Wednesday. Run game, passing game, it didn’t matter, Cooper was around the ball.

“Ballin. Coop being Coop. That’s it,” Quay Walker said of Cooper’s performance in training camp.

On a bootleg from Jordan Love, Cooper wasn’t fooled and was instantly in the quarterback’s face. Later in practice, Cooper blitzed off the edge and batted a pass from Malik Willis. Then, in coverage, Cooper swatted a pass intended for Tucker Kraft forcefully to the ground.

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This performance from Wednesday isn’t all that different from what we’ve seen from Cooper throughout the two weeks of training camp practices. Run game, passing game, as a blitzer, it doesn’t much matter, Cooper is around the ball.

“He’s a really good linebacker,” Jordan Love said after Wednesday’s practice. “You guys seen it last year but I think the speed he has and the more he’s able to dissect plays, it’s hard for these O-line on run plays to be able to get to him sometimes because he’s so quick.

“He’s a really good player. I think the more he keeps playing, he’s going to keep getting better and better. But he’s really good.”

Like any incoming rookie last year, Cooper experienced the learning curve that comes with making the jump to the NFL level. At times, extending that learning curve for Cooper was the various injuries he had to work through during training camp last summer and early on into the season, which took away valuable practice and in-game reps from him.

However, the playmaking abilities that Cooper possesses were evident from the jump. In Week 8, he won the NFC’s Defensive Rookie of the Week award.

Then, during the latter portion of the season, no linebacker had a higher PFF grade than Cooper from Weeks 15-18. During that span, he also recorded the ninth-most quarterback pressures, the fifth-most stops, and his 5.4 yards per catch allowed was the fifth-lowest. Cooper was also just one of six linebackers to record an interception over that stretch of games.

Now entering his second NFL season, as defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley mentioned during offseason programs, two big things he wants to see from Cooper are consistency and staying healthy.

Even with all the impressive plays Cooper made as a rookie, fine-tuning the details, which include alignment, assignments, and technique, can help him play faster and reach another level.

In many respects, the experience that Cooper has gained over the last year, and having a full offseason to focus on his craft rather than the pre-draft process, can make him more sound in that regard.

When it comes to staying on the field, Cooper has added about 10 pounds of muscle over the offseason. He also cut out “bad foods,” except for the occasional Nutter Butter.

“I’m stronger. I feel I’m able to hold my ground more,” Cooper said. “Just those things I wish I had last year.

“Still same speed,” he added. “I feel like I’m still moving around. I’m just ready to get after it.”

Over the last two practices, with Quay Walker back from injury and participating in some of the team periods, he and Cooper have been the Packers’ nickel linebackers. When Green Bay is in its base 4-3 defense, Isaiah Simmons and Isaiah McDuffie have each had the opportunity to be the third linebacker.

From how Cooper positions himself in coverage to make plays on the ball to the way he diagnoses and knifes through the offensive line to make a play in the backfield in the run game to his pass rush plan when he’s tasked with getting after the quarterback, you can see the added comfort and confidence that Cooper is operating with in Year 2.

And when you couple that with his instincts and explosiveness, you get a lot of plays being made on the ball.

“I feel like the sky’s the limit,” Cooper said. “Now, I’m coming for it all. I feel like I have so much more left in my tank. Everybody’s saying how I’m this and that. I think I got a lot way more. I just don’t like to stay comfortable at all. I just want to attack it more.”

With experience under his belt, Packers’ DE Brenton Cox stacking ‘great plays’ during training camp practices

Paul Bretl | 8/6/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Two weeks into Packers’ training camp practices, it’s been very difficult not to notice the play of defensive end Brenton Cox during the team portions of practice, who is frequently finding his way into the backfield.

Now, don’t just take my word for it. Let head coach Matt LaFleur share what he’s seen from Cox.

“He’s another guy that I’m excited to watch when we get into the preseason,” LaFleur said prior to Wednesday’s practice. “Certainly, he’s had a lot of great plays throughout the course of camp. I think he’s progressed as a rusher, as you should expect.”

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Following the trade deadline last season, Cox went from barely seeing the field to becoming a regular member of the pass rush rotation after the team traded away Preston Smith.

While Smith had requested the trade a few weeks prior to it happening, the Packers were also ready to see more of Cox, given what he had shown on the practice field up to that point.

“I remember sitting here and we thought he deserved to play after he was really hard to block at practice,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said early on in training camp. “It’s just the way he is out there. He’s a physical, strong, tough guy who gives you everything that he has and he’s very disruptive.”

As that back half of the season progressed and Cox got more reps, not surprisingly, the production began to follow.

From Weeks 15-17–Cox missed Week 18 with an injury–he recorded 12 pressures and two sacks in those three games. For some context around those figures, Cox would rank tied for 10th in total pressures over that span among all defensive ends.

Cox led all defensive ends in PFF’s pass rush productivity metric and was first in win rate as well during that span.

“I would just say more reps,” Cox said of his production last season while seated at his locker following Wednesday’s practice. “I never had this many opportunities, so getting the reps. Seeing what I can do, I surprise myself sometimes. Going out there and playing hard and having fun.”

Cox and the defensive line as a whole are in a much different spot heading into the 2025 season than they were at this time last year. For one, Cox now has eight games of NFL experience under his belt compared to the five total snaps he had accumulated heading into the 2024 season.

But in addition to that, rather than Hafley’s defensive scheme being fully implemented, as was the case last offseason, Cox and his fellow defensive linemen have a full season plus an offseason of experience in that system.

“It’s always chemistry,” Cox said of defensive line play. “You need chemistry to rush on the D-line or else the quarterback will never be contained. So us having that second year and knowing what each other about to do. Just knowing who you rushing with, if I look to the left and to the right I’m comfortable with who is out there because I know them now. Just getting that chemistry together.”

A year ago, it was unknown exactly where Cox fit into the defensive end rotation. And I guess the answer was that he didn’t, with none of his defensive snaps coming before Week 11 and last year’s trade deadline.

However, during this training camp, we can see exactly where Cox stands. With Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness leading the way at defensive end, Cox, along with JJ Enagbare, have been rotated in as the second unit.

As Hafley mentioned, there’s a lot of power behind Cox’s pass rush, and you don’t just see it, but you hear it when his hands hit the offensive tackle’s pads. That strength is now being paired with a faster play-style with the added experience Cox has gained over the last year and his comfort in the now not-so-new defensive scheme.

When Cox has won his pass rush rep, he’s often done so very quickly.

“All pass rush,” Cox said of his offseason priorities. “Knock back, playing fast, running to the ball, but mainly pass rush. Just trying to get to the QB.”

Corey Ballentine returns to Packers and familiarity but expects nothing given, just how he wants it

Paul Bretl | 8/6/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — On Tuesday, Corey Ballentine found himself in a familiar place, practicing on Ray Nitschke Field and navigating the halls of Lambeau Field as he bounced from one meeting to the next. He was also around many familiar faces, welcomed back by teammates and coaches after spending the previous three seasons with the Packers.

However, while there is familiarity with the surroundings, people, and even the defensive and special teams schemes, all of which can be helpful, what Ballentine has done previously for the Packers doesn’t matter in 2025.

“Nothing is going to be given to me, just showing up here,” Ballentine said at his locker on Tuesday. “And I like that. I like that they’re going to push me to be better and hold me to a standard that I know I need to achieve, and that’s only going to help me at the end. I’m very happy to be back and glad to have the coaches that I have and the players in the locker room that’ll push me to be better.”

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For most of 2022 through 2024, Ballentine was with the Packers. This past offseason, he was a free agent, and as Ballentine acknowledged, going into Year 7 on a team that’s been the youngest in the NFL for two seasons, he wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t re-signed.

Ballentine would end up signing a one-year, $1.33 million deal with $482,500 guaranteed. But late last week, the Colts made the decision to move on from Ballentine and released him.

That is an unfortunate reality that comes with being in the NFL, particularly for late Day 3 draft picks out of small schools like Ballentine, who have to constantly prove themselves.

After being drafted by the Giants in 2019, he was waived by the team halfway through the 2020 season. In 2021, the Jets waived Ballentine late in August. He then caught on with the Lions, where he played just 48 special teams snaps.

In 2022, Ballentine was waived by Atlanta during roster cutdowns. He then signed with Arizona’s practice squad in early September, only to be released less than two weeks later before joining the Packers.

Even during the 2023 season, one in which Ballentine played a crucial role defensively as the Packers navigated injuries at cornerback, he was initially released during cutdowns before being signed back to the practice squad.

So the recent experience of being released by the Colts is something that Ballentine has navigated before. But that doesn’t mean the process of doing that is any less difficult.

“Obviously, it’s never fun getting released. So I mean it was hard,” Ballentine said. “You go through the mental battles of I guess [losing] a little bit of confidence. Because it’s like, ‘They didn’t want me,’ in a sense. Or maybe didn’t need me at the time, and it’s like, ‘What do I need to do to change that?’ And just kind of going through the emotions, going through the situations, what I can do myself to fix it, and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Ballentine’s journey during his NFL career has, in part, and at least from a football sense, helped mold him into the player he is today. He hasn’t tried to shake those past experiences of being released, but has chosen to embrace them and use those moments as fuel on the field.

“It’s been hard,” Ballentine said of his journey, “but I also think stuff like that builds character. And I think that kind of what this whole team is built on, essentially. A lot of the guys in here have been through things, have experienced hardship in their lives and we all kind of fight through it.

“We show that on the field, we kind of play like that. so I’m not trying to act like my story is any different than anyone else’s but I feel like that’s kind of part of me and I try to embrace that and show that on the field as much as I can.”

During his nearly three full seasons with the Packers, Ballentine has been a core special teams player. Last season, this included contributing to five of the six different phases.

Ballentine’s role on defense was mostly small, filling in when the Packers were dealing with injuries at cornerback. However, in 2023, he did play 488 snaps that season while making six starts, one of which came in a must-win game in Minnesota in Week 17.

The Vikings went after Ballentine in that game, targeting him eight times, but he allowed just two receptions for 13 yards while forcing an interception and a pass breakup.

In 2024, Ballentine remained a key special teams contributor, but played just 75 snaps on defense. Admittedly hard on himself and always expecting more, heading into the 2025 season, Ballentine is focused on being more positive when things go awry.

“My goal for this year would just be more positive,” Ballentine said. “When things don’t go my way or if I have a short mindset when I make a mistake or something like that. Not getting so down on myself mentally when I know I could be better or do better and it doesn’t work out. I think I could be a little better with that.”

Ballentine’s familiarity with Jeff Hafley and Rich Bisaccia’s systems will help him reacclimate quickly to Green Bay, but there will still be a learning curve he has to navigate, as Ballentine acknowledged.

His return provides added help on special teams and boosts the cornerback depth while the team is without Nate Hobbs. Outside of Hobbs, Keisean Nixon, and Carrington Valentine, Ballentine is now the fourth-most experienced player in the cornerback room in terms of regular-season defensive snaps.

Looking at this Packers’ cornerback room, one can see a path for Ballentine to make a roster push. But Ballentine isn’t worried about that right now. Instead, he’s fixated on the day-to-day process, controlling what he can control, and of course, making plays.

“I mean, what anybody has to do — make plays, be where I’m supposed to be, execute, not make the same mistake twice, and just show up every day with a good attitude, honestly,” Ballentine said of making the team. “Sometimes the road gets hard, things don’t go your way, not getting down on yourself, coming back the next day and fixing all the issues and executing, really. And helping the team in whatever way we can to win games.”

Packers LB Quay Walker returns to team drills and reacclimates to Mike role; not concerned about contract status

Paul Bretl | 8/5/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — For the first time during training camp on Tuesday, Packers’ linebacker Quay Walker participated in the team’s 11-on-11 portion of practice in a limited fashion.

Walker initially started training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. He was activated from there on July 23rd, but had been ramping up, only going through individual drills up to this point.

Oftentimes, during the team periods prior to Tuesday, you would see Walker on the other side of the field, in line with the linebackers, and watching the play unfold as he got his mental reps in.

“Honestly just trying to take it a day at a time,” Walker said at his locker on Tuesday. “This is my first time that I’ve been through this type of procedure within like having surgery and stuff like that, so I’m just trying to take it day-by-day.”

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What had sidelined Walker throughout offseason programs and early on into training camp was an ankle procedure that he underwent during OTAs.

Walker had been working through the injury during the early portion of the offseason, but it never quite improved. Ultimately, he decided to get the procedure done so it didn’t linger into the season.

“I thought it was just a high ankle,” Walker said of the injury. “So I thought it was just something that just was lingering on at the moment and then I came back for OTAs and tried to do something and I just knew something ain’t feeling right.

“I didn’t want it just to linger on throughout the season, so I was like, I think the smart idea, probably go in and have surgery during OTAs and get it out the way.”

Entering the final year of his rookie deal, the Packers declined Walker’s fifth-year option for the 2026 season earlier this offseason. If picked up, this would have been a one-year deal in 2026 worth $14.751 million.

However, despite declining the option, GM Brian Gutekunst has said on a few occasions that the team would like to re-sign Walker and “have Quay around here for a number of years,” as he put it at the beginning of training camp.

“I ain’t really gotta prove nothing; I just gotta prove myself right,” Walker said. “Ever since I got drafted, I been in this situation where people may feel otherwise, but I ain’t really quite worried about it. Everything will take care of itself.”

Being the Mike linebacker last season was the first time that Walker had assumed that role at the NFL level. Naturally, with it came a learning curve, but as he got more experience as the season progressed, Walker’s confidence grew, and he began making a lot of plays during the second half of the season.

Prior to sustaining an ankle injury against Seattle in Week 15, Walker was doing a bit of everything in this Packers’ defense.

From Weeks 12-14, along with calling the plays, making pre-snap adjustments, ensuring that everyone is set properly, and all the other duties that come with being the Mike linebacker, Walker also generated the second most quarterback pressures of any linebacker in the NFL during that three-game span, according to PFF.

In addition to that, his 20 tackles were tied for the fifth-most, and while tackles can sometimes be a misleading stat, the 11 stops that Walker generated on those tackles–the seventh-most among linebackers in those three games–illustrates the quality of those plays.

“He is the quarterback of the defense,” Matt LaFleur said on Tuesday. “So, anytime you’re missing that piece, that’s a big piece. We know what type of player Quay is and the level that he can play at. I thought there was a stretch last season where he was playing some really good football. He was getting more comfortable within our scheme, what we were asking him to do, and he was playing at a high level.

“So, it’s been a while since he’s played football, so he needs to get back ingrained into that. Obviously, the more reps he gets, the more comfortable I think he’ll feel and the better he’ll play.”

Upon his return to the practice field on Tuesday, Walker was right back into his middle linebacker role, with Edgerrin Cooper and Isaiah Simmons to his left and right initially. Isaiah McDuffie was rotated in as well for Simmons.

When it comes to Walker’s availability for Week 1 against Detroit, he has “no doubt” that he’ll be ready.

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