Cheese Curds, 8/17: Kenny Clark’s big day & impressions from Packers’ first practice

The Green Bay Packers finally got back on the field on Saturday after an eight-month layoff, and they did so with some special excitement on the defensive side of the football. Nose tackle Kenny Clark, whose star continues to grow as his NFL career blossoms, is now a rich(er) man, thanks to a massive new contract extension.

That deal makes Clark the highest-paid defensive player in team history, and he learned about the imminent agreement late Friday night while trying to sleep in preparation for the first practice.

Once the team took the field, however, it was an exciting day, even if Saturday was originally supposed to feature the first preseason game of the summer instead. As it stands, there were a few intriguing items to come out of the practice; we covered a few of them here, but today’s Curds feature some additional reaction.

After checking out the curds, keep it here at APC for the team’s second practice today, which is scheduled to begin just after 10:00 AM Central.

Midnight wake-up call ushered in Kenny Clark’s big day | Packers.com
On Friday night, Kenny Clark went to bed early to get a good night's sleep before the Packers' first training camp practice on Saturday. He woke up around midnight to a flurry of missed calls from his agent and mother excitedly trying to get in touch with him about his giant new contract.

Packers close to full strength as COVID-19 players set to return | Packersnews.com
One player returned off the COVID list, Mason Crosby, while three others were at practice watching on Saturday. Only Greg Roberts was still absent, an unfortunate situation for a player who missed all of 2019 with injuries.

Re-signing RB Aaron Jones now a ‘priority’ for Packers | Packers Wire
For better or for worse, Jones appears to be one of the next guys up on the Packers' list. It's hard to imagine the team prioritizing a running back higher than left tackle David Bakhtiari, however, especially given that they just used a second-round pick on a potential Jones successor.

Eight Who Impressed During Practice 1 of Packers Training Camp | SI.com
That draft pick, AJ Dillon, appears on this list for two reasons: that viral photo that went around of his legs, and the fact that he shoved a defensive lineman back in a red-zone drill.

Packers president says more then 80% of season ticket holders opted out | ESPN.com
That just about matches up with the Packers' planned maximum capacity of 12,000 fans this fall -- though that is still up in the air depending on how the first two games go without any fans.

Lego piece falls out of New Zealand boy's nose after being stuck for two years | The Guardian
It took a seven-year-old taking a big sniff of a plate of cupcakes for him to realize that the Lego arm was still up there.