Training Camp: Wednesday, August 10th

It is clear that as the Packers approach their first preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers Friday night in Santa Clara, that they are still tweaking their roster. At this point, there are several positional battles — offensive line, third running back, third safety, and perhaps most importantly, long snapper. Therefore, there were 17 players brought in on Tuesday for a workout. It is always important to remember that just because the Packers did not sign a player now, it does not mean that they are not keeping tabs on a player for a later time.

Tryouts (Tuesday, August 9th)

RB Kalen Ballage (Arizona State)

RB Jaylen Samuels (NC State)

RB Stevie Scott (Indiana)

RB Calvin Turner (Hawaii)

*RB Dexter Williams (Notre Dame)

T Airon Servais (Syracuse)

T Drew Himmelman (Illinois State)

*DB Micah Abernathy (Tennessee)

S Brendon White (Rutgers)

P Simon Laryea, Abilene Christian

P Will Spiers (Clemson)

P Bailey Flint (Toledo)

LS Antonio Ortiz (TCU)

LS Mitchell Fraboni (Arizona State)

K Aldrick Rosas (Southern Oregon)

K Austin McGinnis (Kentucky)

K Ramiz Ahmed (Nevada)

Source: Rob Demovsky | Twitter

Signed

*RB Dexter Williams (Notre Dame)

*DB Micah Abernathy (Tennessee)

Cut

WR Osirus Mitchell (Mississippi State)

LS Steven Wirtel (Iowa State)

With RB Patrick Taylor coming back from a groin injury, it seems as though the Packers are looking for more depth at the running back position. Starters AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones will not suit up for Friday's game, so some depth at the position is a necessity. To that end, former 2019 sixth-round pick Dexter Williams was brought back in. He played earlier this spring in the United States Football League (USFL) for the Philadelphia Stars and has knowledge of the playbook. He suited up for today's practice and is expected to play on Friday. GM Brian Gutekunst stated that Williams is in "phenomenal shape". He will wear #34.

The long snapper position is far from settled. Today the Packers released Steven Wirtel but did not sign a replacement for him. That leaves Jack Coco as the lone candidate for the job. It is almost certain that the Packers will continue to look for competition, signing someone in the coming weeks. I would expect them to be active as cut-downs begin to happen across the league.

WR Osirus Mitchell, who was signed July 26th after playing for the Birmingham Stallions in the USFL, was released with an injury designation after dealing with a quad injury.

Preseason Game One — What to Expect

Matt LaFleur stated early on in training camp that starters would likely play some meaningful snaps during this year's preseason games. This has been a big topic of conversation after resting veterans last year and then getting thrashed in week one by the New Orléans Saints 38-3. If that is the case, that will not be this week. LaFleur stated earlier this week that Aaron Rodgers and most veterans will not suit up for the game in San Francisco. After practice today, LaFleur pulled a rather large group of veterans aside, and it is presumed that they will not suit up for the game. They include:

QB Aaron Rodgers

RB AJ Dillon

WR Aaron Jones

WR Randall Cobb

WR Allen Lazard

WR Sammy Watkins

OG Elgton Jenkins

OT David Bakhtiari

TE Marcedes Lewis

TE Robert Tonyan

K Mason Crosby

CB Jaire Alexander

CB Eric Stokes

CB Rasul Douglas

OLB Rashan Gary

OLB Preston Smith

ILB De'Vondre Campbell

S Adrian Amos

S Darnell Savage

NT Kenny Clark

DT Jarran Reed

DE Dean Lowry

QB Jordan Love has been named the starter, although he is expected to get help. LaFleur said today that the starting offensive line will play a few series on Friday. If today's practice was any indication of that player grouping, it will consist of Yosh Nijman, Jon Runyan Jr., Josh Myers, Jake Hanson, and Royce Newman. Each of the aforementioned players, other than Jake Hanson, started at least one game last year. After not holding their blocks very well for the first two practices this week, the O-line did a much better job today against the defensive line. Much of their struggles in practice has been attributed to the strength of the Packers defense, but we will have a better idea of this notion when they line up against another team's defense.

Buy/Sell — Sammy Watkins

I hope this segment of my writing will be a staple of what I do regularly. I am calling it my "buy/sell" column. I intend to share news that I am hearing resonate around 1265 Lombardi Avenue and determine whether I feel that we should believe (buy) or not believe (sell) the news.

To start off, let's think about WR Sammy Watkins. Drafted number four overall by the Buffalo Bills in 2014 out of Clemson, Watkins was expected to be a pillar of the offense. In his first two seasons, he was pretty solid by most statistics. He combined for 125 catches, nearly 2,000 yards receiving, and 15 touchdowns. This was a lot of promise that became hampered pretty early on just before his third season. In May 2016, Watkins broke a bone in his foot. He was later activated off of injured reserve and went on to make 28 catches for 430 yards and 2 touchdowns. That was the first mark of what has become an injury-riddled career. In nearly each of the following seasons, Watkins has suffered an injury that has derailed his season. He has gone on to play for the Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, and finally, the Green Bay Packers.

In the offseason, Watkins trained in Florida under Bert Whigham. He focused on conditioning his body to be more resilient to the potential for injuries. His trainer, Whigham, stated, "Sammy’s going to kill it. I have no doubt. He hasn’t trained like this since college. He’ll say that. ‘I haven’t worked like this since college.’ We’re spending two-and-a-half, three hours on the field in this heat every day. And that sounds crazy, but that’s what your body has to go through so when you get to camp, it’s easy. And that’s been the knock on him. He gets hurt. Well, he hasn’t pushed his body in the offseason, and he’ll admit that.”

This makes me hopeful that Watkins will be stronger and able to fight off injury. Unfortunately he was already sidelined for the first part of camp on the NFI list. The Packers took a flyer on Watkins by signing him to a one year, $1.85 million contract. With how his contract is structured, he could be cut without any significant hit to the cap. With the Packers receiving corps showing some depth, I am not convinced that the Packers will decide to keep him — even though he was listed as a starter on the first unofficial depth chart and is not suiting up for Friday's game. What do you think, do you buy or sell that Watkins will make the roster?

Post your thoughts in the comment section below. 👇

Players of the Day

Today was a day where two players made nice strides toward becoming the third safety. Shawn Davis had two takeaways and Vernon Scott had one. This was also Aaron Rodgers first multi-interception day of training camp this year.