PACKERS CAMP INSIDER Inside linebacker Martin off to slow start
GREEN BAY - Saturday's takeaways from Packers training camp:
Martin slipping on depth chart
If anyone on the Green Bay Packers' roster is itching for the pads to come on, it has to be inside linebacker Kamal Martin. The second-year pro was one of the surprise standouts in training camp last year and started six of the 10 games he played as a rookie – he missed six games because of a meniscus knee injury and being on the COVID-19 list – after being a surprise standout in padded practices in camp last year. But so far in unpadded practices he appears to have slipped a notch on the depth chart. A question coming into camp was who would get the bulk of playing time in the two starting spots at inside linebacker from among Krys Barnes (10-game starter in '20), free-agent signee De'Vondre Campbell and Martin. Barnes and Campbell have held the starting jobs from the first day of camp, with Barnes doubling as the play caller for the defense. Martin had been working with the second team, but Ty Summers and Oren Burks filled that role Saturday, and Martin was with the third group. It could be a sign Martin hasn't been as assignment-sure as the others in new coordinator Joe Barry's defense. Whatever the case, Martin will be a player to keep an eye on when the pads come on. He stood out from early on in padded drills last year with how aggressively and physically he filled holes in the running game. It seemed like a couple plays each practice he made a tackle at or even just behind the line of scrimmage on runs. The Packers have one more unpadded practice (Monday) before the pads go on Tuesday. Starting Tuesday, Martin will need to make those kind of plays again if he's going to push for a starting job or at least regular playing time in some kind of rotation.
The Packers look like they've come out of the first week of camp in good health. They practiced four straight days, and on the fourth day, aside from the players who still haven't passed their pre-camp physicals, only one player missed practice. That was guard Simon
Stepaniak, who sat out because of personal reasons, not injury, and later Saturday he retired from football. One other player, cornerback Jaire Alexander, did individual and group drills but didn't take part in 11-on-11 after having cramping issues Friday. Coach Matt LaFleur has run relatively short practices in his two previous camps and is doing so again this year. So far the main portion of his practices have ranged from barely longer than 11⁄2 hours to a long of 1:48 Saturday – he has held an extra team period beyond that just for young players on three of the four days. LaFleur said some practices will get longer in the next couple weeks, though if he schedules similarly to his previous seasons none is likely to stretch much past 2:10 or 2:15. He said he's viewing the first week as something similar to last year, when the NFL and players union mandated a ramp-up period to start camp after canceling offseason practices because of the pandemic. “(We) want to build these guys up,” LaFleur said, “and then as we progress further into camp the practices will get longer on some days. I think we're going to try to find and strike that good balance of having a light day or a moderate day, then go heavy, then tone it down, then crank it back up.”
QB watch
Aaron Rodgers continues to look sharp after skipping all the team's offseason work. He made a couple more big plays to Davante Adams on Saturday, including a spectacular throw off one foot that resulted in a long touchdown. That came on a third-and-3 when Rodgers scrambled to his right and threw while on the move. The ball traveled probably 40 yards or 45 yards in the air, and Adams caught it behind cornerback Josh Jackson for the big gainer. On another play earlier in practice, Adams beat first-round cornerback Eric Stokes on a double move along the sidelines, and Rodgers delivered a strike for another long touchdown. That's not to say Rodgers has been perfect. He also underthrew tight end Robert Tonyan on a deep ball that allowed safety Darnell Savage to break it up. Jordan Love has had a noticeably better camp than last year but still occasionally misses a seemingly easy, short throw. On Saturday he over-led Amari Rodgers on a swing pass for an incompletion that would have been a nice gain if the throw had been on the money. Aaron Rodgers hit Amari Rodgers in stride on a similar play later in practice.
Injury report
Returned to practice: WR Chris Blair, TE Isaac Nauta and TE Marcedes Lewis.
Didn’t practice: G Simon Stepaniak (undisclosed, announced retirement).
Non-football injury list: CB Kevin King (hamstring), S Will Redmond (foot), OLB Za'Darius Smith (knee), ILB Isaiah McDuffie (hamstring), DL Kingsley Keke (ankle).
Physically unable to perform list: RB Patrick Taylor (groin), LT David Bakhtiari (ACL recovery), TE Josiah Deguara (ACL recovery).
Reserve/COVID: ILB Ray Wilborn.
Bits and pieces
Outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith hasn't been cleared to practice in camp because of a knee injury.
Safety Henry Black who played in eight games as an undrafted rookie last year, returned from the NFI list and immediately received a couple snaps as a deep safety with the No. 1 defense in Barry's three-safety dime package. Vernon Scott played that role Friday. Will Redmond, who is still on NFI, is a strong candidate for that job as well.
Mason Crosby went 8 for 8 on field goal attempts ranging from 32 yards to 53 yards.
No. 3 quarterback Kurt Benkert got his first snaps of the regular portion of practice for the first time in camp. Previously he'd taken a handful of snaps in the extra period devoted to young players only at the end of practice. Benkert got two plays – one a run toss, the other a deep shot to undrafted rookie Bailey Gather that Benkert overshot.
Quote of the day
“All you can do is give them the information and making sure that – you have to, the league is enforcing these protocols, so you have to abide by them. Again, it's each individual's own decision.” – LaFleur on what the team is doing to try to convince unvaccinated players to get the COVID vaccine.
Practice schedule
The Packers are off Sunday and practice at 10:10 a.m. Monday.