Monday marked the first practice that the Green Bay Packers had in training camp following their “acclimation period.” In layman’s terms, this means that the shoulder pads came on for the first time this summer.
Unfortunately, the big news of the day was that free-agent cornerback signing Nate Hobbs probably took it a little too far. Just days after Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said that Hobbs needed to work on playing through hands instead of the body of his teammates in practice, Hobbs went low
on running back MarShawn Lloyd in the first padded team period of Green Bay’s offseason. Lloyd, who dealt with several injuries in his rookie season, ended up coming up limping and was not put into practice for the remainder of the day. Meanwhile, Hobbs was benched for some time before coming back with the first-team defense.
Here’s how the rest of the practice played out.
Participation
Welcome to Packers Training Camp Practice No. ️
— Weston Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) July 28, 2025
As promised, Elgton Jenkins is back and in pads. He’s working as No. 1 center in warmups pic.twitter.com/5tObZj3StJ
Center Elgton Jenkins, who had a contract dispute with the team this offseason and most recently dealt with a back injury, was officially taken off the non-football injury list today. While he wasn’t on the field for team drills, he was a participant in the team’s walkthrough period.
With the change in Jenkins’ status, this means the only players on injury lists for Green Bay are receiver Christian Watson (knee), offensive lineman John Williams (back) and defensive end Collin Oliver (hamstring). LaFleur said at the start of camp that the only long-term injuries he envisioned for the team were the situations with Watson, coming off an ACL tear, and Williams. So far, the Packers’ injury list has dropped from eight to just three.
Beyond Lloyd, players who dropped out of practice today include receiver Dontayvion Wicks, receiver Malik Heath and defensive end Brenton Cox Jr. No further details are known about these possible injuries.
Offense
I cannot express to you how incredible a leader that Josh Jacobs is. pic.twitter.com/81WA7MZUmD
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) July 28, 2025
With Jenkins and Aaron Banks still being held out of team periods, the “starters” on the offensive line today were Rasheed Walker, Jordan Morgan, Sean Rhyan, Jacob Monk and Zach Tom (left to right). For what it’s worth, the first-look team during walkthroughs were Walker, Banks, Jenkins, Rhyan and Tom. So at least as of now, it’s probably a safe bet to think of Morgan and Monk as the first two offensive linemen to come off of the Packers’ bench, though, the right guard spot seems to be an open competition.
Worth noting: That walkthrough snap was the first time Jenkins and Banks have ever practiced together.
If you want something to get excited about on the offensive side of the ball, the rookie receivers both made big catches today. Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette said third-rounder Savion Williams caught a 32-yard corner route from Malik Willis while Matt Schneidman of The Athletic had first-rounder Matthew Golden with a 25-yard sideline catch.
In the competitive period, both Jordan Love and Willis led the team to successful two-minute drills. On Love’s final drive, he hit Jayden Reed three times in a row to set up a “winning” field goal attempt.
Defense
Quay Walker hitting the sled after offseason ankle surgery. Not entirely back yet, but he appears to be making progress. pic.twitter.com/9tBLqy4Eog
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) July 28, 2025
At defensive end, former first-round pick Lukas Van Ness seems to be running away with the starting job opposite of Rashan Gary. Van Ness, who hasn’t started a football game since high school, was passed over in favor of Kingsley Enagbare when Preston Smith was traded mid-season last year. Now, Van Ness and Brenton Cox Jr. seem to be getting more burn than Enagbare with the first-team unit.
The Packers shook up the secondary a little bit today when they played Javon Bullard next to Xavier McKinney in their first-look base defense. For most of camp, the “starter” was Evan Williams, with Bullard mixing in the slot along with Nate Hobbs. This lasted all of one play, though, according to Packer Report’s Andy Herman. On the second play, Williams was brought in for Bullard.
If Van Ness is locked into a starting defensive end role, the only real question on defense this summer, at least in terms of the starting lineup, is which defensive back will be the odd man out: Bullard, Williams or Carrington Valentine. Even with Bullard’s sprinkle of first-team looks, the safety job is still heavily in Williams’ favor. Think of this as a two-man race until there’s a real change in how the team is operating.
Once Hobbs returned to the lineup following his hit on Lloyd, he made a big play: intercepting Love on a pass intended for Golden, who tipped the ball up. You can say that Hobbs might want it a little too bad for a July practice against teammates, but most people would rather have to coach that aggressiveness out of someone than try to coach it into a player.
Special Teams
Because of the visa issue that Irish kicker Mark McNamee has been dealing with, Brandon McManus has been the Packers’ lone kicker in training camp so far. After hitting both field goal attempts in the two-minute drill and four others earlier in practice, McManus is now a perfect 21 of 21 in training camp so far.
According to Packers.com’s Weston Hodkiewicz, both receiver-turned-cornerback Bo Melton and Carrington Valentine were working as the vise players on the punt return team. Green Bay has a lot of non-returner special teams snaps at cornerback to replace this year with both Corey Ballentine and Robert Rochell leaving in free agency.
Wood also reported that Reed, Keisean Nixon and Golden worked as punt returners today. You have to wonder what the team’s plan is for Mecole Hardman, who previously was a Pro Bowler for his punt return abilities. While Reed is a great slot receiver and Nixon is a great kick returner, neither have stood out in the punt return game.
More from acmepackingcompany.com:
- Black and Blue News: This Week in the NFC North for July 6, 2014
- Cheese Curds: Green Bay Packers News and Links for July 7, 2014
- Packers 2013 Top Plays Recap: Top Ten Best Plays of the Year
- Packers Featured Heavily in NFL's Top 20 Games of 2013
- Packers' 2014 Roster Preview: Returning Quarterbacks
- Packers' 90-Man Roster Countdown: Players 5-1
