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Go To: FlashUpdate / August Update Main Page
| Green Bay Packers | |||||||||
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Go To: Off-season Team Review
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| Most Recent News Updates: | |||||||||
| GBP -- Doubs Still Slowed By Hamstring Injury (9/01/13:35 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- Is This The Year Dillon Moves Ahead Of Jones In Packers Backfield (8/31/12:53 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- Gutekunst On Interest In Taylor; It's Not A Knock On Jones, Dillon (8/30/19:33 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- Report: Packers Were In Discussions With Colts About Taylor (8/30/10:28 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- Love Continues To Impress In Exhibition Closer (8/26/19:18 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- Love, Starters To See Some Time In Exhibition Finale (8/24/14:56 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- LaFleur Names Clifford As QB2 Behind Love (8/24/11:40 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- Love Thinks He's Ready For Week 1 (8/20/21:12 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- Love Sharper This Week Than He Was In Exhibition Opener (8/20/00:07 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- Rookie TE Musgrave Making Strides In Camp (8/17/18:44 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- Love Making A Strong Impression On Teammates (8/17/00:01 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- Love Shows Promise, Chemistry With Young Receiving Corps (8/15/00:11 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- Dillon Finally Ready TO Pick Up The Pace This Season? (8/10/00:36 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- Packers Add RB McCrary (8/08/00:26 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- QB2 For Packers Not Necessarily On The Roster Right Now (8/08/00:15 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- Love Has An Uneven Performance In First Major Scrimmage (8/08/00:05 CT) | |||||||||
| GBP -- Initial Issues And Injuries Of Note (8/08/00:00 CT) | |||||||||
Current News Updates
9/01 The Green Bay Packers don’t have to release an injury report until Sept. 6, which is the Wednesday before Week 1 against the Chicago Bears. “You want the injury report?” coach Matt LaFleur said after Wednesday’s practice. He wasn’t about to provide it. According to SI.com What was evident during the media viewing portion was five players did not practice: receivers Romeo Doubs (hamstring) and Dontayvion Wicks (hamstring), left tackle David Bakhtiari (knee/precautionary), offensive tackle Luke Tenuta (ankle) and linebacker De’Vondre Campbell (ankle). LaFleur wasn’t going to talk about Doubs’ hamstring. Nor, really, was Doubs, who was coached up on the proper way of addressing injury questions a week-and-a-half before the first game. “Everything’s fine. I’ll leave those answers up to coach, however, just taking everything day by day,” said Doubs, who didn’t do anything beyond the opening stretch. ... It's been an ongoing issue for Doubs, one you'll want to watch going forward.8/31 According to ESPN's Dan Graziano, we shouldn't be surprised if this is the year A.J. Dillon overtakes Aaron Jones in the backfield. ... Graziano went on to acknowledge the Packers love Jones, and they love using Jones and Dillon in tandem. And Dillon did disappoint a bit last season, when the Packers were imagining a bigger passing-game role for him that never came to fruition. But Jones is 28, which is an age at which the numbers tell us running backs start to decline, and he played through some ailments last year. Dillon is 25 and fits better long term with the young offensive core that Green Bay is building around quarterback Jordan Love. Given all that, Graziano contends at some point this season, it wouldn't be surprising if Dillon is starting to get a bigger share of the workload than Jones, who has one non-guaranteed year left on his contract after this one and carries an untenable $17.17 million salary cap charge for 2024. (Of course, much of this changes if the Packers find a way to trade for Jonathan Taylor, whom they are/were interested in.) 8/30 Following up on the ongoing story. ... Though Jonathan Taylor remains with the Colts for now, Green Bay was reportedly talking with Indianapolis about a trade for the running back before Tuesday’s “deadline. ..." GM Brian Gutekunst was asked about his team’s interest in Taylor on Wednesday. With tongue planted firmly in his cheek, Gutekunst recited some common clichés to effectively decline to answer. “Well, let’s get the checklist out,” Gutekunst said in his press conference. “First of all, I can’t talk about players on other teams. We try to be in every conversation. So, you know, anytime we have good players available to us, we’d like to make the Green Bay Packers better and we’ll look at those opportunities. So, that’s about what I’ve got to say about that.” Gutekunst said he’s not sure how some reports get out there and doesn’t really care, even if a rumor might make a player feel some kind of way. In this case, Gutekunst was asked if it’s an issue that A.J. Dillon may think he was a part of the trade talks and therefore might not be a part of the team’s future. “AJ’s part of this team and he was going to be regardless,” Gutekunst said. “But, we’re not doing what we’re supposed to be doing if we’re not investigating these things and at least listening to things. But, yeah, it’s the nature of the world now. There’s all kinds of things out there. Some are true, some aren’t. ...” Gutekunst added that he doesn’t really want to react to reports and rumors, but he acknowledge the Packers have always viewed running backs as “very valuable.” With that, Aaron Jones and Dillion are both expected to be a significant part of Green Bay’s offense. “We’re excited about what this group can do,” Gutekunst said. “Again, there’s some young faces on offense but we’re expecting guys like Aaron and A.J. kind of being the leaders in there to carry it. So, we’re excited about that.” 8/30 In addition to the Dolphins, the Packers also were in discussions with the Colts regarding a potential trade for running back Jonathan Taylor, according to Stephen Holder of ESPN.com. Per Holder, it “remains unclear what the Packers offered or what their level of interest might be moving forward. ...” As Profootballtalk.com suggests, the fact that the Packers were even in the conversation is surprising. They have Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon. Would one of them have been shipped to the Colts for Taylor? Presumably, yes. The Packers could still get back into the conversation, between now and October 31, when the window closes on any and all potential trades for the 2023 season. PFT went on to suggest it would be the kind of move that is not characteristic of the Packers. They’re a draft-and-develop team. The fact that they were even in the conversation shows that they’re willing to consider other options for constructing a roster — and that they don’t view themselves as a team that can’t contend in the NFC, post-Aaron Rodgers. 8/26 As NFL.com's Brenna White notes, Jordan Love gave Green Bay an intriguing preview in Saturday's win over the Seahawks. Whether Love was sending the ball to one of his many receivers or running it himself, the Packers quarterback made his preseason time count. The 24-year-old was calm, cool and collected, leading the Packers offense on a 15-play, 80-yard in his final drive of the preseason, punctuating it with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson. Love marched down the field on the opening possession, too, with an 11-play, 44-yard drive that ended in a field goal, but it was the TD drive that had Lambeau buzzing in the first half. Watson is pleading his case to be one of Love's main targets this in 2023, however, it won't be the only viable option. Rookie Malik Heath had four receptions for 35 yards and was one of Love's more favorable targets on the day. Love finished completing 9 of 16 passes for 63 yards and a TD and looked to be in full control of the offense throughout. As the Packers end their preseason with a win and a QB that makes plays happen, the possibilities are seemingly endless in Green Bay. ... WR Romeo Doubs didn't play because of a hamstring injury. Packers LB De'Vondre Campbell was out because of an ankle injury. ... Rookie kicker Anders Carlson made two field goals — a 43-yarder in the first quarter and a 57-yarder in the final minute of the first half — and had an extra-point attempt blocked. The Packers drafted Carlson out of Auburn in the sixth round to take over for Mason Crosby, the franchise’s career scoring leader. ... The Packers open the regular season Sept. 10 at Chicago. ... You can access complete stats for Saturday's Week 3 exhibition finale via our exclusive Fantasy BoxScore. 8/24 Jordan Love will get one more chance for a tune up before the regular season begins. HC Matt LaFleur said in his Thursday press conference that his team’s starters will be on the field for Saturday’s preseason finale against the Seahawks. “Everybody will play,” LaFleur said, via Ryan Wood of PackersNews.com. “As far as how many snaps, it’s going to be case by case.” LaFleur added that exact playing time will be a “gut feel.” As Profootballtalk.com notes, Love was on the field for 12 snaps in Green Bay’s preseason opener against Cincinnati and 17 snaps in last week’s matchup with New England. He’s completed 12-of-18 passes for 130 yards with two touchdowns so far in the preseason. 8/24 According to USA Today, Matt LaFleur stated the obvious on Thursday: Rookie Sean Clifford, a fifth-round pick out of Penn State, will be the team’s backup quarterback behind Jordan Love in 2023. “I think it’s safe to say Sean is our No. 2 quarterback,” LaFleur said. “A lot of it is just his mental makeup. You saw it in the Cincinnati game in terms of his ability to rebound. The game’s not too big for him.” LaFleur said Clifford has been “calm, cool and collected” in tough situations, especially recent two-minute drills in games and practice. Last week, the rookie quarterback led a drive for a field goal before the half against the New England Patriots. Overall, Clifford has completed 33 of 45 passes for 345 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions during two preseason games. The only question now is the Packers’ No. 3 quarterback, which will likely be stashed on the practice squad to start 2023. Alex McGough is the only other quarterback on the roster, but he was a late addition this offseason after winnng MVP of the USFL and has played a limited number of snaps in preseason games. Clifford has handled almost all the snaps behind Love during the exhibition schedule. LaFleur said it was “extremely difficult” situation for McGough, who signed in late July and jumped right into installs of the offense without the benefit of the offseason workout program. LaFleur said the Packers needed to give Clifford the reps as a rookie learning the NFL game. 8/20 Following up on the previous item. ... Jordan Love turned in a solid preseason performance on Saturday night, and he says he has no doubts that he’s ready for his first season as a starting quarterback. Love said he thinks the five series he has played in two preseason games against the Bengals and Patriots have been enough, although he’ll be ready to play in the third and final preseason game if Matt LaFleur wants him to. “I’m definitely ready for Week One and carry on throughout the season. I think these first two games we did a lot of good work, getting the practice in with Cincinnati and the Patriots as well. Playing in that last game would just be getting more reps, getting more comfortable with seeing new looks against another team, so I don’t think it would hurt,” Love said. In two preseason games, Love is 12-for-18 for 130 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. No one really knows how ready he is to take over the job that has been held by Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre for the last three decades, but Love sounds confident that he’s going to be good to go. 8/20 According to NFL.com's Nick Shook, the first home game of the Jordan Love era carried some added buzz, and the Packers did not disappoint. Love looked sharper than he did in Week 1, dropping a 42-yard pass into the arms of Romeo Doubs along the sideline and sparking a scoring drive that ended in a dart of a touchdown pass to rookie Jayden Reed. Love wasn't the only standout, either: Undrafted free agent running back Emanuel Wilson shined, ripping off gains of nine, four and 14 yards on his first three attempts and finishing with 63 yards on 15 attempts. But the overriding theme here? Perhaps the transition from Aaron Rodgers to Love won't be so difficult after all. 8/17 Nothing in rookie TE Luke Musgrave’s stat line from the preseason opener screamed instant superstar; he had one catch for 8 yards. But three of Jordan Love’s first six passes in the game were targeted for the rookie tight end. According to ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky, it has been that way for most of training camp. In that same practice following the preseason opener, Love completed 17 of 23 passes, and four of those went to the second-round pick from Oregon State, who caught three of them for 46 yards. The only one they missed was broken up by cornerback Rasul Douglas in the end zone. The Packers are starved for a big-play tight end, and Musgrave’s combination of size (6-6, 253 pounds) and speed (4.61 40-yard dash, fourth fastest among tight ends at the combine) give them their best chance since perhaps Jermichael Finley a decade ago. They haven’t drafted anyone at the position as high as Musgrave (No. 42 overall) in more than two decades -- Bubba Franks, 14th overall in 2000. Musgrave knew the opportunity would be there for him, considering how high he was drafted and what the Packers lost at the position in free agent departures Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis. But he didn’t know what to expect from Love or the offense. “I tried to come in with little expectations,” he said. “I’m really thankful. Jordan’s been doing an amazing job. I couldn’t ask for a better guy because he’s super approachable and he gives me opportunities, and I do mess up. The whole thing’s been awesome. It’s been pretty ideal.” 8/17 Jordan Love has started only one career regular-season game and played only 157 regular-season snaps. But he isn’t your typical first-year starter, having sat behind future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers for three seasons. And the Packers are expecting more of Love than a typical first-year starter. “Definitely a higher standard,” Packers left tackle Bakhtiari said on The Jim Rome Show, via NFL Media. “He’s had three years to understand the math of the offense, which is very fortunate for any first-round quarterback to get to watch and see how a first-ballot Hall of Famer and generational talent and a guy who borderline changed the quarterback position and how it’s played. And even the mechanics of even throwing the football. You’re able to see that for three years and then now coming in, so yeah, his baseline for me is way higher. ...” Love opened the preseason going 7-of-10 for 46 yards and a touchdown Friday night. “I’ve been very pleased with what I’ve seen from him,” Bakhtiari said. “And I think he’s also understanding that he’s not going to be judged, either, by a first-year quarterback, which is great. I think he’s going to be competitive right out of the gate. I’ve seen his development in practice. I’m really excited to see it translate into the game, and him to get those game time and hours logged in. And really see how he adapts and corrects himself mid-game and game to game. ..." As Profootballtalk.com notes, Love was the last of four quarterbacks drafted in the first round in 2020, following Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert. He is the last to get his chance, but the Packers have seen enough to move from Rodgers and hand the keys to Love. It’s his team and his time now. 8/15 The good news? Jordan Love showed promise and chemistry with his rookie teammates in their exhibition opener last Friday. Love and the Packers starters (minus David Bakhtiari and a few others) played for two series, and the results continued a theme we've heard from training camp: mostly very good. Love completed 7 of 10 passes for 46 yards and a touchdown, hitting Romeo Doubs for a pretty 9-yard score on their final snaps of the night. Most of Love's passes were quick, but Matt LaFleur let his new QB1 air out a few longer passes and roll out of the pocket some. Two early targets of interest were rookies, tight end Luke Musgrave and wide receiver Jayden Reed. Love looked for Musgrave three times, including twice on his first four throws, and the big tight end moves really well, folks. Reed made a pretty adjustment to a high throw from Love and later drew a pass interference flag on a nice slot fade. Both rookies are going to play a lot this season, and if Love shows the same poise, command and feel -- even with a few off-target throws -- the Packers could be in better shape than we realize. The ball went where it should have gone on every throw, it seemed, and Love and Christian Watson almost hooked up on what would have been about a 43-yard connection. 8/10 Running back A.J. Dillon enters a pivotal 2023 campaign, the final year of his rookie contract. The 2020 second-round pick known as Quadzilla wants to be even more punishing. "I think I just really need to play just a little bit more -- it's hard to put a word on it -- but like passionate," Dillon said, via the Associated Press. "I think I need to go out there and just play a little bit more reckless, so not trying to play perfect, not trying to play perfect football. Nobody does. Just kind of go out there and for a lack of words, kind of make defenses feel me." Dillon elaborated on his plan of leaning on defenses. "Even though we might be running and there's only four yards here to get, make it a hard four yards," he said. "Make sure the next time running the ball, those defenders feel that, they think about it next time, and just kind of deliver the blow a little bit more. ..." As NFL.com noted, in his first three years, Dillon has primarily sat in the sidecar as Aaron Jones drives the backfield production. Dillon has made just five starts in 45 games played. He's earned 187 and 186 carries in the past two seasons, respectively. At 6-foot, 247 pounds, Dillon is a load to bring down for defenses and owns the ability to churn out extra yards. However, he struggled to make much of a dent last season, generating 770 yards rushing with seven touchdowns. Per Next Gen Stats, Dillon generated -0.2 rushing yards over expected per carry, tied for seventh worst among all backs with 100-plus carries in 2022. "I'm not satisfied with really how I performed last year," Dillon said. "Let's look back at when I have been really successful and how I approached the game and, yeah, looking back a little bit, looking back at those highlights, going back to what was my mindset when I was in college when I was dominating the ACC, what was that like and trying to just get to that mindset. ..." With Jordan Love taking over the offense and a very young pass-catching corps, Matt LaFleur could run things through his backfield more in 2023, which means Dillon should get those opportunities to punish defenders. 8/08 Green Bay signed RB Nate McCrary, the team announced on Monday (8/7). McCrary was with the Browns until he was let go a few days ago. He recorded three carries for 5 yards in the Hall of Fame Game against the Jets, playing four offensive snaps and 10 special teams snaps. Since entering the league in 2021 as an undrafted free agent out of Saginaw Valley State, McCrary has also spent time with the Ravens, Broncos, and Panthers. He appeared in one regular-season game for Baltimore in 2021 and took a carry in one of his two offensive snaps. 8/08 Following up on a previous item. ... According to ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky, it's possible that the Packers' No. 2 quarterback isn't even on their roster yet. If neither rookie Sean Clifford nor ex-USFL MVP Alex McGough shows enough to warrant the job, general manager Brian Gutekunst could still consider bringing in a veteran. Carson Wentz is probably his best option in that scenario. But with Gutekunst's penchant for keeping draft picks on the roster, it's hard to imagine him not retaining Clifford. However, McGough has gotten more reps than the usual No. 4 QB in camp, which likely contributed to the Packers releasing Danny Etling on Sunday. 8/08 According to The Athletic's Matt Schneidman, Jordan Love had an up-and-down performance when the Packers held their annual Family Night practice at Lambeau Field (on 8/5). Per Schneidman, Love initially struggled during team periods. He completed only one pass of five attempts, and the connection came on a busted play. One attempt was broken up by cornerback Jaire Alexander. Three others resulted in misfires by Love. The rest of the way, Schneidman writes that there “wasn’t much spectacular or terrible from Love.” Things got a little eventful when a bungled center-quarterback exchange killed a two-minute drill. Coach Matt LaFleur restarted the drill at that point, and Love caught fire — with a 30-yard completion to tight end Luke Musgrave, a 20-yard throw to receiver Christian Watson, and a 21-yard touchdown pass to Watson, on a 50-50 ball. So, as Profootballtalk.com suggested, "It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t horrible. And there’s still a very long way to go before anyone knows whether Love will justify his namesake emotion, or a different feeling entirely. ..." In a semi-related item: The Packers released Danny Etling on 8/6. The Packers now have three quarterbacks on their roster, with Sean Clifford and Alex McGough behind Love. 8/08 All eyes are on Jordan Love. ... The former first-round pick sat for a couple of years behind the franchise icon, Aaron Rodgers, who ultimately leaves to join the Jets and opens the door. As it happened for Rodgers with Brett Favre, the pattern repeats with Love and Rodgers. Rodgers actually waited three years before his shot, then passed for 4,038 yards with 28 TDs (and 13 interceptions) as a first-year Green Bay starter in 2008. Four MVP awards and a guaranteed gold jacket followed for No. 12, while the story is just beginning for Love. No pressure. Love only has one start under his belt as he takes over an offense that finished 14th in points and 17th in yards in 2022 and then lost WRs Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb and TE Robert Tonyan in free agency. Love will have one of the NFL's youngest receiver rooms with Christian Watson (24), Romeo Doubs (23) and draft picks Jayden Reed (23) and Dontayvion Wicks (22), but the Packers felt confident enough to give their new starter an extension.
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 Team Review
Fantasy Grade: C
It's the dawn of a new era in Titletown. After Aaron Rodgers was traded to the New York Jets, the Packers became Jordan Love's team. And given the two decades of Hall of Fame-caliber play that the Pack has enjoyed, Love has some big shoes to fill. Love may not have Rodgers experience, but Packers offensive coordinator Shane Stenavich said that he's confi-dent that the entire offense will be at Love's disposal. "Obviously he doesn't have the playing experience that Aaron had, but from a piaybook standpoint, I think pretty much all of it's on the table,' Stenavich said. "He's been around for three years and has really attacked it. Even last year, you could see him come into his own, felt a lot more comfortable, so this year he's really hitting it on all cylinders so I'm really excited to see what he's going to bring." Love doesn't have an especially imposing group of wide receivers at his disposal, but Jacob Gibbs of CBS Sports believes that Christian Watson could emerge from that group as a breakout star in 2023. 'Christian Watson has the recipe to be a yardage mon-ster," he said. 'There is a ton of uncertainty baked into his outlook — an unreliable collegiate data set to draw from, a relatively small rookie season sample size (just 269 routes), and an unpredictable offensive environment amid a likely QB change, to name a few things— but the framework is there for him to continue to produce ridiculous efficiency metrics." Outside Watson, there's not a ton there fantasy wise in Green Bay — Romeo Daubs and second-round rookie Jayden Reed are penciled in as starters. But Love will have a two-headed ground game of Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon. Jones topped 1,100 rushing yards last year and was easily the more valuable of the two backs in fantasy last year, but Tommy Garrett of Pro Football Network cautions that offensive struggles in Green Bay could hurt the value of both backs. "Rather than a low-end RI31. Jones is a mid RB2 for PPR fantasy formats in 2023, as I have a hard time seeing any of his stets improving in his age-28 season with a DB mak-ing his first starts in the league at the helm," he said. 'As for Dillon, he is one of the highest-valued handcuff RBs for 2023 that will carry standalone value in the upper-to-mid RB3 range with touchdown upside. While Jones has a higher ceiling, Dillon should be a valuable asset, too.' Now, its possible that Love will be everything the Packers hoped when they traded up to draft him in 2020. But That's far From certain — and it adds risk to drafting any Packers players in 2023. | |||||||||
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2023 Off-Season News & Views
Click here for Complete set of News & Views
Click here for earlier off-season items |
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