Today is another important milestone for the Green Bay Packers in the start of their preparations for the 2026 season. Rookie minicamp opens today, giving the Packers’ six draft picks, their reported undrafted free agent players, and a host of tryout invitees their first chance to impress the team’s coaching staff and front office.
Because the team had so many players on the 90-man roster before the draft, the number of rookies under contract during this year’s camp will be a bit lower than usual.
That means that there will probably be a bigger group of tryout players than normal this season, and we will bring you the rookie minicamp roster this afternoon as soon as possible.
Still, this two-day event serves multiple purposes. For the draft picks, it’s their first chance to start getting acclimated to the Packers’ facilities, knowing that they will be around for the foreseeable future. For the UDFA signings, they will get their contracts signed then have a chance to make an early statement that they deserve serious consideration for a 53-man roster spot during the season. And for the tryout players, well, it’s even more straightforward: make a couple of splash plays and show that you belong on a 90-man roster.
The Packers could end up adding a couple of tryout players to the roster, but they would need to make room for them to do so. We’ll see if that ends up being the case — the team has unearthed some decent players in this manner before (see Patrick, Lucas as a recent example). For a quick refresher on who we already know is set to sign as UDFAs or attend as tryout players, check out our UDFA tracker here, then bring it back to APC this afternoon for a look at the full camp roster.
Packers Unscripted: Draft desserts | Packers.com
Mike and Wes from the Packers’ official website discuss the draft class as a whole now that there have been several days to process the picks.
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst was smart to hold onto his ’27 draft picks | Packersnews.com
The Packers should end up with 11 picks for next year, unless they use any to acquire players or add some more via trades between now and then. And in a class that is expected to be better than the 2026 class was, that’s not a bad thing.
Packers Could Pester Matt LaFleur’s Brother To Address Need From Draft | SI.com
Perhaps sending a late-round draft pick away to address a position of need is a good idea, though. Perhaps the other LaFleur, who now has a surplus of veteran running backs, would be willing to let one go? The Cardinals drafted Jeremiyah Love with the third pick and signed Tyler Allgier this offseason, while already having James Conner and Trey Benson on the roster.
NFL fifth-year option tracker: 2023 first-round draft class | ESPN
The Packers, unsurprisingly, picked up Lukas Van Ness’ option on Thursday. As of this morning, there are only eight players from the 2023 first round who have not had their options picked up yet out of 31 picks.
What draft experts said about Packers UDFA offensive lineman Josh Gesky | Packers Wire
Gesky is one of the UDFAs who will presumably sign his contract today and look to make a good first impression on the field this weekend.
Report: Calais Campbell returning to Ravens for 19th NFL season | NFL.com
Especially with the addition of Chris McClellan, Campbell didn’t really make sense for the Packers because he doesn’t play nose tackle. D.J. Reader is really the one remaining free agent defensive tackle who could be an obvious upgrade to any of the roles on the line.
Dave Bautista spotted hunting for Loch Ness Monster in Scottish Highlands | The Independent
Stars, they’re just like us!
