The Green Bay Packers begin their organized team activities today. It’s three weeks of workouts wrapped around the mandatory mini-camp next month. The team will practice three times a week with just one practice per OTA session open to the media for viewing. The first open practice will be Tuesday. This will be the first time veteran players will be joined by the rookie class for on-field work and it will be the first time Jordan Love takes snaps as the number one quarterback. Outside of the mandatory mini-camp, the OTA practices are voluntary for veteran players however several have off-season workout bonuses tied to their contracts and stand to lose a considerable amount of money if they stay away. Participation thresholds vary by each contract but for the most part, players need to be in Green Bay better than 75% of the time to collect. David Bakhtiari, Jaire Alexander and Kenny Clark all have $700,000.00 workout bonuses, Elgton Jenkins, Preston Smith and Aaron Jones are at $500,000.00, De’Vondre Campbell has a $400,000.oo workout bonus and Rasul Douglas and Keisean Nixon are at $300,000.00.
Almost all of the attention will be on Love however, as he takes over the quarterback leadership role and begins building connections with the youngest wide receiver corps in the NFL. Last year’s top draft picks, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Samori Toure are joined by a trio drafted in April, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks and Grant Dubose. The chemistry building for the passing game will take the first steps this week, a process Head Coach Matt LaFleur hopes to accelerate through the completion of the off-season program and into training camp.
Other things to keep watch on are how and where the offensive linemen are lining up. Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said competition is wide open from center to right tackle.
On defense, where top pick Lukas Van Ness is integrated will be noteworthy as will seeing who lines up at the starting safety position opposite Darnell Savage.
The September 10th opener is a long ways off but it’s time for the Packers to start getting organized for 2023.
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