A flash of lightning and rain drove the Packers off Ray Nitschke Field and inside the Don Hutson Center halfway through practice today. Once indoors things got lively in one of the most spirited and competitive days of camp.
Head Coach Matt LaFleur wanted to get his starters more of a game like feel this week when going 11 on 11 considering nearly all of the front liners will stay on the sidelines for Saturday’s Pre-Season finale against the Bills in Buffalo.
The chirping from both offensive and defensive players in a move the ball period echoed throughout the Hutson whenever plays were made. Rookie corner Shemar Jean-Charles came up with a nifty interception of Jordan Love on the first snap indoors. The fact that Love was taking reps in team periods was another sign his shoulder is improving and he’ll likely see action in upstate New York. But it was the offense with Aaron Rodgers at the controls that stole the show. He liked the matchup of Marquez Valdes-Scantling against number one pick Eric Stokes. To cap the drive, Rodgers found MVS from about five yards out, leaning toward the front pylon with Stokes right on him. The ball was low and outside, the only place the receiver could get it, and he did. The next series had Rodgers send Valdes-Scantling on a patented go route and maybe the two fastest players on the team were on the fly when the 60 yard bomb exploded in MVS’s hands for another touchdown.
The day ended with Mason Crosby calmly knocking through a half dozen field goals without a miss.
Missing from the full pads practice were David Bakhtiari, still on the physically unable to perform list, his look alike tackle Dennis Kelly, Devin Funchess, Vernon Scott and Chris Blair.
Will Redmond is also out of action and he will be for the rest of the year. Sporting a walking boot on his right foot, Redmond was placed on injured reserve with the foot/toe injury. It was one of two personnel moves made by General Manager Brian Gutekunst to get down to the 80 man roster limit. Before practice, the team waived defensive lineman Josh Avery.
At the medium auditorium podium after practice, reporters visited with Kevin King.
Kevin King with a healed hamstring.
It was the first time we’ve been able to talk to Kevin since the NFC Championship Game. It was an extremely rough day for the veteran as he was the scapegoat on Scotty Miller’s 39 yard touchdown catch from Tom Brady with :01 left in the first half that gave the eventual Super Bowl champs a 21-10 lead. When the Packers were desperately trying to get the ball back in the closing moments, King was flagged for pass interference.
The Packers let King’s contract expire following the season but he re-signed with a one year, six million dollar deal. Even with his return, the Pack still drafted Georgia corner Eric Stokes in the first round in April.
King was forthcoming about the contract negotiations, the impossible to forget loss one step away from the Super Bowl and the arrival of a challenger to his job.
A longshot everyone (including the media) should be rooting for to stick is safety Innis Gaines. The undrafted rookie free agent from TCU was an engaging interview subject after practice. He began with his nickname, “Thump”. His high school coach took notice of his playmaking skills and told Innis he should have a nickname. The coach had difficulty pronouncing Innis so he called him “Thump-Thump”. The second “thump” eventually went away but the nickname stuck.
A promising career with the Baylor Bears was derailed by a torn ACL in 2018. Gaines recovered but as luck would have it, he tore the very same ACL 8 games into his senior season, missing the Bears’ last four. Then came the pandemic but he wasn’t about to give up on his dream of the NFL. He continued another round of rehabilitation and started working out to get back in shape.
Never knowing if and when and NFL team would call and have him work out, money was getting tight at home. So Gaines decided to become a Door Dash delivery driver at night to help out the family. He said it was great, working his own hours and learning how good service can land better tips.
The Packers finally called his agent and said they’d like to work him out and they did, on his 22nd birthday last August. It was the only team that offered him a look see. Innis said the Packers liked what they saw and they’d get in touch. The finally did, signing him to a free agent deal in early January.
It’s been full speed ahead ever since. Gaines has held his own during camp and now with Redmond on IR, there’s a safety spot open. He has a couple of allies on the team in former TCU teammates Ty Summers and Vernon Scott.
If Innis is as entertaining on the field as he is off, the Packers might want to find room for this plucky safety.
The team will take Wednesday off, return for one final camp practice on Thursday before heading to Buffalo for the roster’s final exam.
