Packers practice news and notes, 7/27: Bakhtiari misses Day 2 of camp

Before the Green Bay Packers’ first practice of training camp on Wednesday, head coach Matt LaFleur stated that left tackle David Bakhtiari would be on a “modified” practice schedule this summer. This is an effort to keep the offensive lineman healthy as he’s struggled to fully recover from his 2020 ACL tear and the subsequent surgeries.

On Wednesday, Bakhtiari was rotated out of the lineup with Yosh Nijman. On Thursday, Bakhtiari missed the practice entirely as Nijman held down the fort on new quarterback Jordan Love’s blindside. Keep an eye on Bakhtiari’s situation throughout camp, as it appears that it will continue to be a factor during the 2023 season.

Beyond Bakhtiari, there are a few more injury notes to mention before we get into what happened on the field on Day 2 of the Packers’ training camp. First, rookie receiver Dontayvion Wicks, who left practice on Wednesday, was officially diagnosed with a concussion and missed practice today. The good news, though, is that tackle Caleb Jones, inside linebacker Tariq Carpenter and safety Tarvarius Moore were activated from the NFI list — where they were all listed with an unspecified illness.

This means that Green Bay has only three players remaining on their injury lists: receiver Grant DuBose (back, NFI), outside linebacker Rashan Gary (ACL, PUP) and cornerback Eric Stokes (foot, PUP.) Receiver Jeff Cotton, who was on the PUP list when the Packers waived him to make room for the signing of receiver Cody Chrest, cleared waivers today and has reverted to the team’s injured reserve list. It’s uncertain at this point if Cotton will remain on the IR or if the two sides will reach an injury settlement that will make the receiver a free agent.

Now, let’s get into what happened on the field today.

Offense

As far as the first-team offense was concerned, there was little change between Wednesday’s and Thursday’s starting lineup. According to Pack-A-Day Podcast’s Andy Herman, the only real difference was that the Packers opened up team drills in 11 personnel offensively instead of 12 personnel today. Instead of Josiah Deguara being the second tight end, rookie receiver Jayden Reed was added as Green Bay’s third receiver.

An interesting note here is that Zach Tom has played both practices as the full-time “starting” right tackle, as Yosh Nijman rotated in with David Bakhtiari at left tackle on Wednesday and subbed in for him completely on Thursday. At least right now, it seems like Tom is running away with the right tackle and the plan is to use Nijman as a swing tackle.

Day 2 of training camp seemed to bring in some more auxiliary plays from the Packers’ offense. According to the Green Bay Press-Gazette’s Ryan Wood, Reed was used as an end-around player in practice — a role that Christian Watson typically filled as a rookie last year. Another player who was given a few chances to play as a hybrid ball carrier and receiver was second-year running back Tyler Goodson, who Herman noted was allowed to play in the slot multiple times today. Goodson spent last season on the practice squad after joining Green Bay as one of their more popular names in their 2022 undrafted free agent class.

Yesterday, quarterback Jordan Love had a modest 7-of-14 effort in team drills. Today, he had a few more highlight plays — particularly in the red zone — as he threw touchdowns into tight coverage from both inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell and cornerback Rasul Douglas.

Defense

For the second straight day, safety Rudy Ford has worked as the defense’s starter opposite of Darnell Savage. Many thought that safety would be one of the bigger camp battles coming into the summer, as Adrian Amos left in free agency this offseason, but there hasn’t been much of a rotation going on there.

The position where the Packers have subbed players in and out is outside linebacker, where Justin Hollins was “the starter” opposite of Preston Smith on Wednesday. Today, that honor went to second-round pass-rusher Kingsley Enagbare, as first-round pick Lukas Van Ness continues to play for the second-team defense. As Green Bay’s decision makers tell it, though, the hope is that Rashan Gary — who had a second-ending ACL injury in 2022 — will be evaluated to be activated in two to three weeks, so there’s a chance that the Packers don’t even need an injury replacement starter in 2023.

Two players who have been consistently making plays in practice are cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and rookie Carrington Valentine. While it’s worth noting here that the pads haven’t even come on yet, Alexander and Valentine have reportedly been blanketing receivers in coverage through two practices — leading to two “defensive wins.” Both practices ended with the offensive side of the ball doing pushups.