Rainy days and Mondays didn't get the Packers down. They simply moved inside the Don Hutson Center for the next to last practice of training camp today.
They'll get in one more workout before closing out the Pre-Season against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night at Lambeau Field. With Head Coach Matt LaFleur already acknowledging he'll keep his starters out of harm's way again, it's the final exam for the bottom half of the roster.
And curiously, the roster keeps changing. The Packers have added a handful of players since they returned from Winnipeg last Thursday. The latest addition is defensive back Jackson Porter, a first year player from the University of Massachusetts.
(Jackson Porter - #24, jogs with his new mates on Monday)
Porter (6-0, 200) went undrafted and spent the 2018 training camp with the Baltimore Ravens. To make room, General Manager Brian Gutekunst waived/injured safety Mike Tyson.
LaFleur was happy to see top draft pick Rashan Gary back on the practice field. He left the Oakland Raiders game with an apparent neck injury and sat out Sunday's workout. David Bakhtiari was also back.
New on the injury report was center Corey Linsley but he told me after practice it was only precautionary.
I spoke with several players who have made the roster the hard way, as undrafted rookie free agents. Geronimo Allison said he wasn't too nervous in his first training camp. He had veterans like Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb telling him he'd done enough to earn a job. He tried hard not to believe them and was determined to finish the pre-season as strong as possible.
"Control what you can control", is the mantra from all of the players on the bubble. Safety Natrell Jamerson said it's not easy resisting the urge to make one last, big splash in the final dress rehearsal. He said he has to trust the work he's put in over the past five weeks.
The Packers will finish camp tamely compared to the Indianapolis Colts. All of the NFL was rocked by the news Saturday night that Andrew Luck was retiring at the age of 29. Citing too many operations and too much time spent in rehabilitation had taken the fun out of the game. Luck held a news conference Sunday but word of his decision leaked out Saturday night while the Colts were still playing a game. When it ended, some fans booed Luck off the Lucas Oil Stadium field.
After practice today, Aaron Rodgers met reporters and was asked several questions about Luck's decision, his own thoughts on retirement and his post career health. Rodgers said the send off by many Indianapolis fans caught him off guard.
(Audio: Aaron Rodgers)
