Packers’ Darnell Savage and Josh Jackson sit out first practice of training camp

The Green Bay Packers were hoping to get rookie safety Darnell Savage, Jr. on the field for the team’s first practice of training camp on Thursday, but he has evidently not been cleared to participate. According to multiple media outlets on site, Savage was on the sidelines for the morning’s practice but is not participating.

After his initial physical exam on Monday, Savage landed on the Non-Football Illness list, which operates similarly to the PUP list. That designation and his inability to practice today are the result of having his wisdom teeth removed recently. With Savage out, Raven Greene took over his reps with the starting defense to start the day.

Joining Savage on the sideline is another young defensive back, second-year corner Josh Jackson. The Packers did not place any players on the PUP list, so Jackson’s absence is for now unexplained. Expect to find out more about the reason for his inability to practice later on in the day.

While those two defensive backs were sitting out, there was one notable return to practice. Josh Jones, the disgruntled safety who skipped OTAs and sat out minicamp with a hamstring injury, is in attendance and participating. As noted above, Greene got the reps as the starting free safety, so Jones appears to remain in a reserve role for the time being.

Stay tuned for more updates from the first day of camp.