Today is the last practice open to the public and thus this is the last certain Packers Practice Roundup article.  There is a closed practice on Thursday, a game on Saturday at Lambeau with the Seattle Seahawks, and probably 3 more practices next week.  Cut downs happen by August 29th at 3:00 PM central standard time.  That being the case, I have added a paragraph with my own thoughts at the bottom of each position group.   

MISCELLANEOUS:

First-round rookie Lukas Van Ness getting some individual work with defensive line today.  The Packers see Van Ness as an edge rusher who has the versatility to drop inside.

Starters today! Walker - Jenkins Myers - JRJ - Tom Love Jones Deguara - Musgrave Heath - Watson Clark - Slaton - Wyatt Smith - Walker - Gary Jaire - Nixon - Douglas Ford - Savage.  [Nijman is with the 2s again.  TGR]

INJURIES:

At first glance I don’t see anyone returning from injury/rest. Players I don’t see: Bakhtiari, Wicks, Moore, Pearson, Lewan, Stokes, Nichols, Goodson, Campbell, Tenuta Melton.  2)  Anthony Johnson Jr did not look right running out onto the practice field today at all, mentioned it to Paul Bretl and now he just went back into the Hudson, looked to be limping.  He's back out practicing.  Keep an eye on it.  3)  Big takeaways though - 3 players dropped out of practice and didn’t return - AJJ - Wyatt - Savage.  Herman

Darnell Savage and Romeo Doubs just collided during team drills. Both slow getting up. Doubs stays on the field, but Savage walked to the sideline. Trainers looking at him.  Wood

Devonte Wyatt just left practice with a Packers staff member.  Schneidman

QUARTERBACKS/WIDE RECEIVERS:

Sean Clifford got 2-minute drill going with 7-yard pass to Cody Chrest on right sideline to convert 3rd & 4. Next rep, Clifford hit Jadakis Bonds for 33 yards on go ball down left sideline. Ends with Clifford hitting Grant DuBose for 21-yard TD on post route, concreting 4th & 3.  Wood

Love to Reed deep for a td on first play of 7x7s. Looked like Nixon fell down. Didn’t see the route to see what happened. 60 yard td. Clifford and DuBose not on the same page on a comeback route.  2)  JaDakis Bonds schools Hooper and Clifford hits him for a big gain. On the opposite field Love tries the same thing to Doubs but Rasul all over it. Physical coverage. No separation. Love out route to Watson complete. He loves that route and throw. Love with a WOW throw over the middle to Kraft. That looked like a No look pass over the middle that held the linebackers. That was my favorite Love play of camp. Legit mouth drop.  Herman

Jadakis Bonds making moves of late if ya haven't followed reporters Tweets. Heck of a big guy could be interesting down the road stored on P.S.  Karlecke

Pitch to Wilson right. Gets around corner but defense limits run. Run up middle by Wilson for a few. Pocket collapses. Looked like Ford was at it again. Taylor outside for minimal gain. Thomas jumps pass to Watts for near pick. Finds Kraft who was in soft spot underneath deeper routes Connects with Deguara on out route. Complete to McCrary. Nowhere to really go. Nice rep by Mosby v. Nijman. Play-action pass complete to Kraft in flat Nice blitz pickup by OL. Complete to Watts over middle.  2)  Starting offense at own 30. Run up middle by Jones. Nixon would be sack in a blitz Play-action. Complete to Watson for decent gain. Possible sack from Van Ness on stunt. Run by Dillon. McDuffie there to limit run. Been impressed with his run defense. Run right by Jones. Nice job by Hollins/Brooks to bottle things up. Forces Jones back to Van Ness Complete to Jones with some YAC Run left by Dillon. Screen to Deguara. Played well by defense. Musgrave beat Ford in back of end zone. Pass complete but couldn’t get both feet down.  [Some of these plays for 1 and 2 tweets were tweeted out separately by other media members and have been included in various sections of this article.  TGR]  3) More 7-on-7s: McGough: looked for Chrest down left sideline. Good coverage by Hamilton. Love: complete to Doubs on out route along sidelines. Alexander in coverage. Nice pass and catch. Clifford: Heath quick slant v. Valentine. McGough: Bonds has step on SJC. Over throw.  [Clifford to Heath, not Love to Heath.  TGR]  Bretl

[Jordan Love and Sean Clifford will be QB 1 and 2.  McGough will be signed to the PS, as he has been exposed to the offensive playbook.  It would not surprise me if the Packers sign a diferent quarterback to the practice squad over the course of the season.  McGough does not look special to me. 

Watson, Doubs, Reed, Wicks, and Toure will make the team.  Heath ought to make the team, and is WR #4 in my mind, ahead of Toure, who looks better this year.  I think Toure took a step, though not a jump.  Dubose looks good when he practices, but he has been injured a lot.  Melton has flashed.  Another good problem to have.  I have seen comments suggesting putting some of the back end WRs on waivers to allow a couple of players to then be designated for the IR with the ability to recall them after four games.  I would suggest there are several safeties who can be released, as no GM in his right mind will put in a waiver claim for them, as that guarantees 3 weeks regular pay.  Cut some safeties instead.  That said, I really mean just Heath.  The Packers probably can slide Melton onto the PS.  Not as sure about Dubose - let's see what he shows against Seattle.  A couple of media observers have noted that Bonds is making some noise over the last week, but it is probably too little, too late.  Watts probably doesn't make the PS.  They keep at least 6 and probably 7 WRs and 2 QBs.  TGR]

RUNNING BACKS:

LaFleur said that it's hard to get rookie RB Emmanuel Wilson challenging opportunities to pass block because they need to come against the blitz and he must choose who to pick up. Said they're trying to give him as many looks in games but can't dictate what the defense will do.  Silverstein  [Still, it sounds like the coaches are seriously looking at Wilson as a potential RB #3.  TGR]

[Jones and Dillon are the 1 and 2 RBs.  I think RB 3 is very much up in the air.  Wilson is the player of the moment, but that is mostly recency bias.  Goodson was making a strong case earlier.  Goodson is out of his sling but has not returned to practice.  Goodson pass pro and ability to contribute on STs is open to question.  And it does seem like the coaches are dead serious when they have said pass pro and STs are a requirement.  Wilson's scouting reports usually includes accolades for his pass pro/blocking, but he hasn't had much opportunity in camp to show that off.  Wilson got 2 ST snaps against the Patriots but only played on one ST unit - the kickoff coverage team.  Patrick Taylor checks all the boxes.  His pass pro is solid.  His ST abillity is very good.  He can catch passes out of the backfield.  He is a pretty tough runner up the middle and gets what is blocked.  This is a good problem to have and I think the decision is yet to be made.  The Packers keep 2, but 3 if Wilson can play on another ST unit.  TGR] 

TIGHT ENDS:

Tucker Kraft with his best play of camp. Ran open on a post down the right seam, behind CB Corey Ballentine. Jordan Love hit him for 30 yards. Kraft can move for a big guy, too.  2) Luke Musgrave brought in that Jordan Love pass in back of end zone. Rookie TE beat Jonathan Owens on a seam route, and Jordan Love — who has been money a second straight day — didn’t miss for a 20-yard touchdown. 3) On third & 4 from 10, Luke Musgrave ran a corner behind Rudy Ford. Jordan Love, who is having another day for himself, hit his big tight end in back of end zone, but a Musgrave only got one for inbounds. That’s one the rookie needs to bring in.  Wood

Nice block by Tucker Kraft on LVN on a run inside.  2) Deguara with a great block to spring Dillon on a toss left. And now with a fantastic block in pass pro. He was really great blocking yesterday too.  2)  Clifford nearly picked by Kiondre Thomas. A few plays later he finds Deguara for a nice pickup. Two back to back nice practices for Josiah.  3)  And Love fires a touchdown in the back of the end zone to Musgrave. Another massive wow throw. Great play by 88 who slid, caught it and stayed in bounds. Whew.  Herman

[Musgrave and Kraft will make the team.  Austin Allen likely will, mostly by default.  He is very tall and does have nice movement skills, though he is not fast.  I am not a fan of Deguara, who has had a couple of nice practices this week.  He isn't tall at 6'2", nor big at 242 pounds, though he probably has added weight since the combine.  He isn't fast or quick (4.72 forty, and 1.68 10-yard dash), and he isn't a mismatch as a receiver.  Linebackers can cover him.  He runs fairly hard without being rugged.  He cannot play in-line.  Musgrave can do everything Deguara does, and do it better.  I think Deguara is a good bet to make the team, at least initially.  I also expect Gutekunst and the Pro Personnel Department, which is probably one of the best in the NFL, to be looking at TEs on other rosters.  The Packers just do not have a blocking tight end on the roster at present.  I think they will bring one in at some point.  They keep 4.  TGR]      

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN:

Offense at own 30: McDuffie on a blitz, picked up well by Runyan. Love incomplete to Doubs down right sideline. Another nice blitz pick up. Gary ran a stunt as well. Complete to Watson on out route. Kraft finds soft spot in zone betweeen Ballentine and S. Complete for big gain. Love scrambles. Nowhere to go with ball. Good coverage. Finds Doubs in flat.  Bretl

[Bakhtiari, Jenkins, Myers, Runyan, Tom, Walker, Nijman and Rhyan are going to make the team.  That's 8.  No one else is knocking on the door, much less breaking it down.  Caleb Jones and Tenuta can't stay healthy long enough to evaluate, but at least Jones is practicing and has a game and 4 or 5 practices in which to impress.  Telfort and Delance are developmental guys.  Royce Newman seems to have regressed.  Would the Packers release a fourth round draft pick after two season?  That leaves Schneider and Empey.  Schneider is a center, which has been a ticket for iffy players to make the 53 for a while now, and they tried Schneider at guard, which went fairly well.  Schneider probably sticks with Empey and perhaps Jones to the PS.  The Packers keep 9 or perhaps 10 if they just have to give Newman another chance or they decide to roster Jones.  23 on offense.  TGR]  

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN:

Wooden stuffs a run by McCrary.  [I don't care who the ball carrier was, who was the OL?  TGR]  

[The Packers should keep six, meaning Jonathan Ford as the 6th.  Some media observers suggested that the Packers are looking at Van Ness inside (really as a DE) and if that looks good, the team might decide to go with five defensive linemen.  Van Ness is nothing like Ford: the decision on Ford should not be dependent on Van Ness' ability to move inside.  I would keep six.  TGR]

LINEBACKERS:

Sure looks like Rashan Gary’s knee feels good. Gary just beat Zach Tom with a speed move outside. Just ran past him. Tom ended on the ground. Gary stood where the QB would have been, pounding his chest.  [How good is a rusty Gary?  How good is Tom, who got beaten today and yesterday by Gary?  TGR]  Wood

LVN follows it up with a really nice pressure off left side. Sounds like it might have been against Musgrave. Forces a high throw from Love to Toure incomplete. And Enagbare continues to show up big with an immediate and explosive tfl in the backfield.  [Kraft with a nice block on on LVN earlier.  TGR]  2) Van Ness beats Musgrave for a run stop. Followed by Van ness closing the back door for another stop on a Jones cutback. McDuffie all over a Deguara screen.  Herman   

Brenton Cox just hit a sick spin move to end OL-DL  Hodkiewicz

Really nice pass rush by Brooks. Possible sack but complete to Dillon on dump off. Nice pass rush by Enagbare v. Tom. Throw away. Draw to Dillon for 5ish yards Pressure by Hollins. Love buys time. Throws ball away. Tight throw to Doubs, Douglas jumps it and rips it away for INT.  Bretl

[The Packers will keep Gary, Smith, Enagbare, Hollins, and Van Ness.  Cox has flashed, but has done little when confronted by any of the number one offensive linemen.  That spells PS to me.  I like Cox, and I like Banks, but both are PS material.  They keep 5 OLBs.  TGR]

[The inside linebackers are more interesting.  Campbell, Walker, and McDuffie will make the team.   Carpenter, Wilson, Mosby, and Phillips are the issues.  Phillips has had a nice camp, but I don't think the Packers gave him the opportunity (a serious path) towards making the 53.  He just didn't play with the starters, and really not even against the 2s that much.  PS for him.  Ditto for Mosby, who came in late.  Carpenter keeps missing time, which is a normal hazard when a safety is moved to hybrid linebacker.  He is a core special teams contributor.  Sigh.  Eric Wilson in a dire emergency can play on defense and he also is a core special teamer.  Sigh.  Wilson and Carpenter make the 53, and the Packers keep 5, one of whom is a very good inside linebacker, with Walker trending upwards.  I'd have liked to have perceived a bigger jump from Quay Walker, but he does look better.  TGR]

SECONDARY:

[TEs beat Owens and Ford for TDs.  Hmmm.  TGR]

On second & 20 in 2-minute drill, Jordan Love tried to get half of it back with a stop route to Romeo Doubs. Rasul Douglas sat on it, and picked it. Savvy play from the vet.  Wood

Ballentine with a pbu on a jump ball to Doubs from Love.  2)  DuBose with a double move from the seam and he beats Gaines. Clifford hits him clean for the touchdown. Awesome by 86. Offense going for 2. Game on the line. Clifford to Watts for 2 on the rollout and the offense wins on the very last play of training camp.  Herman

LaFleur says that Gaines has the movement skills you look for in the slot and brings a physical presence. Gaines has been a core special teams player and often with the second defense in the slot.  Bretl

[The Packers keep Alexander, Douglas, Nixon, and Valentine, with Stokes sliding directly onto the PUP.  I suppose they keep Gaines, as he is the backup to Nixon in the slot.  Last year, Corey Ballentine played 106 STs to 99 for Gaines, so that doesn't seem to differentiate those two players.  Gaines has played safety, so he has some versatility.  Not good versatility, but he has some versatility.  The Packers keep both Gaines and Ballentine, so that is 6 CBs.  They make Hooper and Kiondre Thomas priority signings for the PS.  Thomas looks intriguing each year but just does not do quite enough to get over the hump.  Hooper looks interesting but the Packers did not give him a path to the 53, playing him only against the 3s.  Shemar Jean-Charles played 72 ST snaps last year.  The Packers could sign him to the PS if he can't find some other opportunity.  They keep 6 CBs.

The Packers will probably keep Savage, Ford and Moore.  After that, it hardly matters.  I suppose they keep Leavitt unless someone else can play personal protector on the punt team.  Leavitt played 308 ST snaps last year so he is on many of the ST units.  They should sign Anthony Johnson, Jr. to the PS.  That leaves Jonathan Owens and Benny Sapp.  I don't oppose signing them to the PS.  4 safeties.  That's 26 on defense.  TGR]

SPECIAL TEAMS:

[Anders Carlson has a big leg and is talented.  For me, 2023 is about evaluating Jordan Love, accumulating the best young talent available and/or accumulating draft picks, and less about winning games.  Carlson fits the young talent part.  I do wish he only had to hit the proverbial broad side of a barn rather than having to put the football through much narrower goal posts, but for those who want to win games in 2023, the latter has importance.  If Bisaccia wants Carlson, I am willing to sell him that rope.  Whelan also has a big leg and some talent.  He had two punts inside the twenty last week, which depressed his average, but his pooch punts were fair caught at the 15 and 17 yard lines.  The Packers know what they will get from O'Donnell: a decent punter and a good holder.  O'Donnell will turn 33 in February.  Since the Packers already paid O'Donnell $700,000 this year, I imagine he will be the punter, though he stil has $1.2M in cap savings with a release.  JK Scott had a big leg but that didn't work out.  Matt Orzech looks okay as a long snapper.  I was a little underwhelmed by Bisaccia, which is heresy.  The Packers improved to 22nd in the ST rankings.  Crosby bounced back by making 86.2% of his field goals after making just 73.5% on 2021.  O'Donnell was solid, with just 1 touchback, but his net per punt was 2 yards less than Bojorquez's the prior year.  At any rate, the Packers will keep 3 ST players.  With Keisean Nixon winning All-Pro honors as a kick returner, getting a good year from Crosby even if his kickoffs were short and lacked a bit of hang time, and signing a veteran punter, I thought the Packers might be higher in the rankings.  At any rate, the Packers will keep 3 specialists.   TGR]   

Photo courtesy of Seeger Gray, USA Today Network