news-engine

← american_football

The Good, Bad And Ugly From The Packers’ 12th Training Camp Practice

Forbes · Rob Reischel · 2026-08-16T18:43:14+00:00 · nguồn gốc

The Green Bay Packers held their 12th practice of training camp Sunday on a sticky, 85-degree day. The practice lasted 2 hours, 10 minutes, just the second one of camp to exceed two hours. The Packers are off Monday, have an open practice Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., and a closed practice Wednesday. Green Bay is then at Denver Friday at 8 p.m. (CST) for preseason game No. 2. Here’s the good, bad and ugly from practice No. 12. THE GOOD KRAFT RETURNS: Just 9 ½ months — 287 days to be exact — after tearing his right ACL against Carolina, Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft took part on 11-on-11 drills at practice. “I think you could be in for a treat today,” Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur said before practice. It was certainly a treat for Green Bay. Kraft’s first catch in team drills came when he beat Edgerrin Cooper on a stop route for about 8 yards, and the crowd went wild. Later Kraft caught out routes for 12 and nine yards, then he hauled in a 12-yard touchdown grab after winning on a slant route. “Certainly, the impact that he has on our football team, not only as a player but as a leader, is very important to us,” Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst recently said of Kraft. Kraft was in the middle of an All-Pro season in 2025 when he tore his right ACL against Carolina on Nov. 2. Kraft had been doing only individual drills in practice the first 2 ½ weeks of training camp, but when asked recently if he had any hesitations to going full bore, he said, “absolutely not.” “Gute and I have talked about how he’s essentially protecting me from myself because I’m all gas,” Kraft said of general manager Brian Gutekunst. “Like a tricycle, I don’t come with brakes. It’s really just helping me establish that mindset of consistency through a slow ramp-up and that’s it.” Kraft started all eight of the games he played in 2025 and posted 32 receptions, 489 receiving yards and six touchdowns. He was the only tight end in the league with 30-plus receptions, 475-plus receiving yards, six-plus receiving touchdowns and an average of 15-plus yards per catch through Week 9. He also became just the fifth tight end since the 1970 merger to hit those marks in the first eight games of a season, joining Kellen Winslow (1980), Antonio Gates (2010), Jimmy Graham (2013) and Rob Gronkowski (2015). After Kraft went down, though, the offense wasn’t close to the same. Green Bay averaged 27.6 points the first seven games when Kraft went the distance. The Packers then averaged 19.8 points per game the final 10 games after Kraft was injured. A recent ESPN poll that surveyed NFL executives, coaches and scouts ranked Kraft as the No. 6 tight end in football. That might not be high enough. After Week 9 last season, Kraft led all NFL tight ends in yards per reception, yards after the catch (344), yards after the catch per game (43.0), yards after the catch per reception (10.8 avg.), was tied for No. 1 in explosive receptions (12) and ranked No. 2 in explosive-reception percentage (37.5) through Week 9. Kraft ranked No. 3 in the NFL among tight ends in receiving yards and No. 2 in receiving yards per game (61.1) through Week 9. He was also tied for No. 2 among tight ends in receiving touchdowns and posted a touchdown reception in five games, which tied for the NFL lead among tight ends through Week 9. Kraft joined Paul Coffman (1983) as the only Green Bay tight ends since the 1970 merger to have two games in a season with 120-plus receiving yards. And his passer rating of 148.6 when targeted ranked No. 2 in the NFL at the time of his injury. “He’s in a great spot,” Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love recently said of Kraft. “He’s been working all offseason to get to where he’s at now.” Which is back doing 11-on-11. LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL: Three days after shining in the Packers’ preseason opener, rookie kicker Trey Smack went 4-for-4. Smack connected from 43, 38, 33 and 28 yards during somewhat windy conditions. In Green Bay’s 28-9 loss to Pittsburgh in its preseason opener, Smack went 3-for-3 making kicks from 58, 38 and 37 yards. Smack also made another 58-yarder that the Packers took off the board following a Pittsburgh penalty. Smack is now 27-for-35 on all kicks, and his success rate of 77.5% is his highest of the summer. “I mean there's no question he's got the talent,” LaFleur said of Smack. “And it's just I think in particular the kicking position, it's the consistency at which you do it.” POSITION BATTLES: Green Bay has yet to decide on its starting guards or cornerbacks for its Week 1 game at Minnesota. On Sunday, rookie Jager Burton was at left guard with the No. 1 offense and Jacob Monk was at right guard. Green Bay gave Aaron Banks a four-year, $77 million deal in March, 2025, but LaFleur said Friday that Banks — who’s battled a knee injury throughout camp — wasn't a sure bet to win a starting job. “I think Jager has done a really good job,” LaFleur said of Burton. “I think not only him but Monk, and so, you know he hasn't been out there, so it's hard to say.” Green Bay seems set to go with rookie Brandon Cisse at one corner. Keisean Nixon, the Packers’ top corner last year, is battling with free agent signee Benjamin St-Juste for the other starting spot. On Sunday, Nixon worked with the No. 1 defense, while St-Juste was with the No. 2s. Nixon batted down a pass on a cornerback blitz, but also was hit with a 40-yard pass interference penalty when he tackled Matthew Golden. “We have a corner competition,” said Bobby Babich, Green Bay’s secondary/passing game coordinator. “That’s what we have. We’re going to continue to move pieces around, all those types of things.” On Sunday, LaFleur said: “We need corners that are willing and capable tacklers.” Last season, St. Juste had a missed tackle rate of just 3.2%. Nixon’s missed tackle rate in 2025 was 4.9%, but it was 9.9% in 2024 and 14.6% on 2023. Carrington Valentine, a starting corner last year who missed time this camp with a hamstring injury, had an unsightly missed tackle rate of 21.3% last year. “We’re not worried about when your reps come, we’re worried about what you do on your reps,” Babich said. “That’s the only thing that matters and putting together the best resume you can. Competition brings the best out in any sport and generally what you see is the best version of that football with the more competition you have. That’s it.” MIXING IT UP: There’s nothing like a training camp scuffle, and Green Bay had its first of the summer when linebacker Zaire Franklin and running back Chris Brooks mixed it up. Later, rookie defensive tackle Chris McClellan took running back Pierre Strong to the ground, and offensive lineman Travis Glover objected. Glover then shoved McClellan, and the defensive lineman hit Glover in the facemask. Both sidelines cleared before things calmed down. ON THE MEND: Packers that returned to practice were guard Aaron Banks (knee), defensive tackle Anthony Campbell and cornerback Domani Jackson (core). THIS AND THAT: Nickel cornerback Javon Bullard was out of his walking boot. … Wideout Bo Melton made a nice adjustment and hauled in a deep ball from Love when he got behind Cisse. Green Bay’s defense was off sides, so Love took advantage of the free play. … The Packers displayed their ‘Jumbo’ package, where Anthony Belton wad the sixth offensive lineman. THE BAD FROM THE INFIRMARY: Here’s how the Packers’ injury list looked Tuesday. Not practicing: Edge rusher Lukas Van Ness (shoulder) and offensive lineman Darian Kinnard (ankle) were new to the group not practicing. Others included safety Javon Bullard (foot), edge Dani Dennis-Sutton (illness) and running back Josh Jacobs (groin). Reserve lists: edge rusher Micah Parsons (knee), tight end Luke Musgrave (neck), long snapper Matt Orzech (calf) and defensive tackle Jordon Reilly (Achilles). THIS AND THAT: Left tackle Jordan Morgan dropped out of practice for a bit, but later returned. … Anthony Belton, the projected right guard when camp began, again took all his reps at tackle. THE UGLY TURNING IT OVER: Jordan Love had a pair of bad interceptions and Tyrod Taylor had a third as Green Bay’s quarterbacks had a rough day in the turnover department. Love made a bad read, then underthrew Matthew Golden on an out route. Rookie corner Brandon Cisse undercut the route and intercepted Love. Later nickel back Kitan Oladapo — who’s playing with the No. 1 defense for the injured Javon Bullard — intercepted Love Earlier in practice, Taylor took a deep shot for wideout Kaden Prather on a go route down the right sideline. Cornerback Jaylin Simpson stayed with Prather stride for stride, then beat the cornerback to the ball.