The 2020 Green Bay Packers training camp took a decidedly somber turn on Monday.
A day after the most strenuous practice of the summer, Head Coach Matt LaFleur dialed things back a bit, having the team work in shells on another steamy morning, and barely going above a walk through during team periods.
But when LaFleur was 45 minutes late for his post-practice video session with the media, we learned why.
Sunday evening in Kenosha, just two hours south of Green Bay, there was another encounter between a white police officer and a black man. Jacob Blake was hospitalized after getting shot in the back while trying to get into his car after initially trying to break up a fight on the sidewalk. The incident touched off fiery protests in Kenosha where the National Guard is being called up with a curfew in place.
LaFleur opened his press conference with an explanation over another incident that defies explanation.
The leadership council consists of the senior members of the squad and while the membership isn’t known, it’s believed to include the likes of Za’Darius Smith, Marcedes Lewis, Mason Crosby and Aaron Rodgers who also met reporters today. Rodgers can’t believe he’s talking ab0ut this again just weeks after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.
Also on the Monday media schedule was Mason Crosby. The Packers and Crosby reached another contract extension in March which will guarantee the franchise all time scoring leader will finish his career in Green Bay.
But Crosby’s 14th season got off to a rocky start when he initially tested negative for coronavirus but on the second day of testing as camp began, his test turned up positive, throwing him onto the Reserve/Covid 19 list where he had to remain isolated from the team for the next 10 days. Crosby has returned to practice this week and he’s kicking the ball very well. He was asked if he ever considered opting out, especially in light of his wife Molly’s battle with a cancerous tumor last season.
Crosby is also the team’s player representative for the NFLPA and he’s concerned about the testing snafu at the league’s New Jersey site, BioReference Laboratories. League wide Sunday there were at least 77 rest results that somehow came back false-positive, forcing some teams to postpone or cancel practice. The Packers had a couple of players on that list but rapid tests performed practice brought all negative results so they stayed on schedule. Crosby hopes answers are found before something like this happens again say, before the opening Sunday of the season.
As for the light workout on Monday, Jaire Alexander and Za’Darius Smith were back in action while Raven Greene, Rick Wagner and Montravius Adams remain sidelined with injury.
The Packers will put the pads back on Tuesday when they conduct the second workout of camp inside Lambeau Field.
