Aaron Rodgers, Matt LaFleur talk first day of Packers traning camp
A lot has transpired since the 2019 NFL season came to an end. After one of the most unique offseasons in the history of football, the Green Bay Packers finally returned to the practice field on Saturday.
At the conclusion of practice, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and coach Matt LaFleur both spoke to the media about various topics.
The biggest news to break out of Packers camp on day one was the resigning of defensive line Kenny Clark to a four-year, $70 million contract extension. The former UCLA star was extremely productive last season for the Packers, recording six sacks and 31 solo tackles in 2019.
Rodgers spoke highly of Clark, saying he has “been an underrated player for us.”
“He is such a solid force inside,” Rodgers said. “His game has expanded every year. His ability to pass run has been the biggest jump, he has always been really stout at the point of attack in the run game. I think that teams that play him know how dominant he can be.”
“I couldn’t be happier for Kenny,” said LaFleur. “Kenny is the epitome of what we are all about here. He works hard on a daily basis, he is becoming more of a vocal leader for us. Just really happy for him.”
LaFleur also spoke about the strategy that was involved in signing Clark now, rather than waiting until the offseason.
“We got a lot of guys that are key members of our team whose contracts are coming up, so this definitely lets us move on to the next guy,” LaFleur said.
Another major headline is the competition that is taking place on the right side of the Packers’ offensive line. Lane Taylor, Rick Wagner and Billy Turner are all attempting to earn starting spots.
At this point, LaFleur is in no rush to name the starters.
“Well, we are in Day 1 without pads. We are going to keep shuffling that line along until we feel good about it. At least for the next couple weeks, it’s definitely going to be a competition each and every day,” said LaFleur.
Rodgers doesn’t seem to be too concerned about the offensive line, either.
“We haven’t even put pads on yet. There is a lot of time,” Rodgers said. “It’s gonna be a different feel, not having to go through preseason games. We have a good dilemma when you got so many guys that can play and have started games.”
Even though the Packers have not had a chance to truly practice together as a group, Rodgers thought that they looked good on Saturday.
“Today was sharp. Today the energy was really good I felt. Matt was stressing that before practice. There were not a lot of guys on the ground and we were moving around pretty good. That’s how we wanted to look.”
“For the most part, I think that it was a pretty clean practice. But then again, I got to go back and look at the tape.”
