Green Bay Packers rookies, quarterbacks, and injured players reported on Wednesday for training camp, which begins on Monday with the first practice.
Of this group of players, five would have an injury designation. According to Aaron Wilson, Zach Tom, Tucker Kraft, Alex McGough, and Donovan Jennings were placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and Kitan Oladapo was placed on the non-football injury (NFI) list.
Players who are on PUP have football related injuries. They still count towards the 90-man roster and can participate in team activities, but are unable to practice. Players on the NFI list sustained an injury away from football, or in Oladapo’s case, his injury happened during the pre-draft process. Once a player on either PUP or NFI is healthy, they can be activated and begin participating.
Both Tom and Kraft would miss OTAs and minicamp practices dealing with torn pectorals, both of which were sustained earlier in the offseason while lifting waits.
“Just a regular lift,” said Kraft. “It was my last rep of the day on bench. Nothing crazy, not heavy weight. The weight was all tracking linearly. We were speed-benching and it just popped right off the bone. It sucks.”
Although both players are beginning training camp on PUP, Matt LaFleur said there is “no long-term concern” with either Tom or Kraft.
When Luke Musgrave got injured last season, Kraft stepped into a larger role on the fly and his development really took off. Kraft finished the season catching 36 his 48 targets for 379 yards with three scores, and he was particularly effective after the catch with the ball in his hands, ranking fifth among all tight ends in average YAC.
As the season progressed, Kraft began to find his groove as a blocker as well, ranking 24th out of 77 eligible tight ends in PFF’s run-blocking grade from Week 13 and on.
Having a tight end who can impact both the run and passing games adds a layer of unpredictability to the offense. Pre-snap, defenses can’t decipher as easily whether a run or pass is coming simply based on where the tight ends are lined up. Opponents are then forced to respect both the run and the pass on any given play, thus having to defend the entire field, which creates better spacing.
“I’m just ready to take off in this league and establish myself as a football player, really. That’s where my frustration lies,” Kraft said.
“I was really excited about this offseason – to have the whole offseason – to get running off the football again, get my second step down, my landmark. What I want to establish this year is I want to be the best Y in the outside zone – running the ball at the tight end. That’s my individual goal for the season. That just opens up so many avenues.”
Once healthy, Tom has big goals for this upcoming year after putting together an impressive 2023 season at right tackle. Tom would surrender just two sacks along with 37 pressures. Out of 50 eligible tackles, Tom ranked 13th in pass-blocking efficiency.
Making Tom’s performance even more impressive was the competition he went up against. Of the NFL’s top 10 edge rushers in terms of total pressures, Tom faced six of them, including Nick Bosa, Aidan Hutchinson, Micah Parsons, and Maxx Crosby, all of whom finished in the top-four of that pressure category.
“However many sacks I gave up is too many,” Tom said. “This was really my first year starting and I was able to go up against some of those premier guys. Learned a lot. Now, this year, come back even better. I’ve got big goals in mind for this year.”
Oladapo was also not on the practice field for OTAs or minicamp after sustaining a toe injury while participating in the on-field drills during the NFL Combine.
“I was like, really?” said Oladapo during rookie minicamp. “It was the third drill. I did the vertical, the 40 and but I just wanted to put on a good show for all the teams there. It was devastating but you’ve got to get through it. I did power through it and did my Pro Day and figured out it was more than just turf toe.”
Oladapo didn’t specify a target date for when he’d be available but he did mention that sometime in August is when we could see him on the practice field.
With Xavier McKinney, Javon Bullard, and Evan Williams also at safety, Oladapo may end up being a core special teams player as a rookie for the Packers, while defensively, he fills more of the traditional safety role, as GM Brian Gutekunst put it, able to play both the “free and strong safety role,” along with being someone who can line up as a “big nickel Sam linebacker.”
The added challenge for Oladapo this offseason, along with being injured, is having to take in a new defensive scheme and the language that goes with it, without being able to apply what he’s learning in the meeting rooms on the practice field.
“As we can move him around more,” said defensive backs coach Ryan Downard, “the walk throughs are going to become vital because these guys, you teach them what you can but until you go out and do it and walk through it, that’s to me where the real learning takes place.
“You can sit in a classroom and learn something but until you either have to teach it back or you take them out there physically let them walk through it, that’s I think where the growth takes place.”
Former quarterback and now wide receiver Alex McGough was dealing with a hamstring injury at one point during OTAs. As of now, we don’t know if that is why he is currently on the PUP list, but regardless, the already daunting task of making a position change at what is a very talented position group only becomes more difficult the more time that is missed.
“Obviously, it’s just completely different from what I’m used to,” said McGough on playing receiver. “But it’s good. Everybody’s helping me out, teaching me little things here and there. Watching the vets – not that we really have any vets – but watching the guys who have done it their whole life. And it’s been good.
“Obviously, there’s so much that I need to learn and so much that goes into it that I didn’t even know about. Kind of just doing what I thought was the right thing. There are all these intricate details that you don’t know about until you get in a room and you get taught them. It’s been helping a lot.”
Jennings went undrafted this past April out of South Florida and signed with the Packers. he is exactly what they typically look for in a lineman, a good athlete who spent his college career at tackle and will play guard at the NFL level. It is unknown what injury Jennings is working through or when it took place.