We’re learning a little more about the 2026 Green Bay Packers every day. Yesterday, we got a huge dump of information from the team’s first training camp practice. Today, more information was discovered about the Packers’ injury situation and their current depth chart.
If you weren’t at training camp on Thursday, here’s what you missed.
Injuries
The Packers’ injury situation mostly stayed the same between Wednesday and Thursday. Green Bay’s reserve list
is currently made up of:
- RB Chris Brooks (hamstring, NFI)
- TE Tucker Kraft (knee, PUP)
- TE Luke Musgrave (neck, PUP)
- OL Brant Banks (hamstring, PUP)
- DL Javon Hargrave (knee, PUP)
- DL Jordon Riley (ankle, PUP)
- EDGE Micah Parsons (knee, PUP)
- CB Kamal Hadden (ankle, PUP)
- LS Matt Orzech (calf, PUP)
Beyond those players, the non-participants on Thursday were receiver Brendan Rice (hamstring) left guard Aaron Banks (load management day as he comes off a knee injury) and offensive lineman Jager Burton (hamstring). Burton was injured during Wednesday’s practice but stated that it wasn’t a serious injury.
Cornerback Keisean Nixon returned to practice today after experiencing what head coach Matt LaFleur called “tightness” on Wednesday. Nixon was seen doing drills with a band around his thighs on Thursday.
LaFleur also stated that the team hopes that Musgrave’s neck issue will “subside over time,” which doesn’t instill great confidence that the tight end’s injury luck will turn around soon. Keep an eye on that situation, as the Packers are short on roster-worthy tight end bodies already.
Offense
With Banks and Burton out of practice and Zach Tom still not participating in team drills, the offensive line remained the same with the 1s on Thursday. Jacob Monk appears to be the next man up at guard, while Darian Kinnard has been holding down the fort at right tackle.
The Packers’ premier two-tight end look right now involves Josh Whyle, who was called up from the practice squad in-season last year after he was let go from the Tennessee Titans, and Drake Dabney, who was called up for just the last two games of last regular season. It’s a less-than-ideal situation for Green Bay right now.
Considering that the Packers don’t have full pads on yet, I wouldn’t make too much about individual player performances at this stage on offense, considering how much further ahead the defense is at this point in the season. Generally, the offensive side of the ball takes a longer time to gel.
Defense
As I see it, there are really two big position battles on the defensive side of the ball this camp, at least on the starter level. The first is on the defensive line, where the question is who the third starter will be next to Devonte Wyatt and Javon Hargrave. The second is at cornerback, where the question is who will start opposite Keisean Nixon.
On the line, no questions are being answered so far, as Wyatt remains out of team drills as he comes off his ankle injury and Hargrave remains on the PUP list. Because of the injuries, we’ve seen back-to-back days of a starting line of Warren Brinson, Karl Brooks and Chris McClellan, the three players most likely in the running for that third starting spot.
At cornerback, though, Carrington Valentine was the “starter” with Nixon in several team periods on Thursday, a hint of how the Packers’ pecking order at the position looks in late July. For what it’s worth, even with Nixon out yesterday, Benjamin St-Juste has been primarily a second-team cornerback for the last two days. On Wednesday, rookie second-round pick Brandon Cisse was getting looks over him with the 1s.
During practice, linebacker Edgerrin Cooper dropped out of action but did not reportedly receive attention from the medical staff. In different periods, both Isaiah McDuffie and Ty’Ron Hopper came in as Cooper’s sub.
A name generating some buzz early on in camp is “safety” Johnathan Baldwin, who has a chance to make the 53-man roster this year as the fifth safety and backup slot. For whatever reason, Baldwin is getting looks in the slot ahead of Kitan Oladapo, who was the third option (behind Javon Bullard and the now-released Nate Hobbs) in 2025. Baldwin, who played the slot primarily at UNLV, recorded an interception in today’s practice.
Special Teams
The Packers don’t even have a healthy long snapper in practice right now, and they certainly aren’t going live in kicking periods, but rookie kicker Trey Smack went three-for-three today from the 25-yard line. Hey, we’ll take it.
