Packers Practice News and Notes, 6/11: Cameron Young signs with Green Bay

The Packers added former Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle to practice on Wednesday

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur stated on Wednesday that the Packers will actually be practicing on the third day of minicamp tomorrow, a rare sight during LaFleur’s time on the team. Typically, LaFleur’s teams have used the final day of minicamp as a “team-building” day, but they’ll actually be getting work on the field on Thursday, so we’ll get a look at the team tomorrow.

As far as what happened during Wednesday’s practice, let’s catch you up on who was able to suit up and the news of the day.

Participation

The Packers signed a new player, defensive tackle Cameron Young, since yesterday’s practice. Young was a fourth-round pick out of Mississippi State who was originally picked by Pete Carroll’s Seattle Seahawks in 2023 but was waived under the Mike Macdonald administration in April. Young played 16 games as a rookie but only one in 2024 due to starting the year on the PUP list and ending the year on the IR. It’s worth noting that Seahawks general manager John Schneider had previously served as a scout (1993-1996), top personnel aid to the general manager (2002-2007) and director of football operations (2008-2009) with Green Bay.

Players missing from practice due to injury today were receiver Christian Watson, receiver Julian Hicks, tackle Rasheed Walker, guard Aaron Banks, defensive end Collin Oliver, linebacker Quay Walker, cornerback Nate Hobbs, cornerback Micah Robinson, cornerback Kalen King and safety Zayne Anderson. The only new injuries since yesterday’s practice are to Walker and Hobbs. John Williams, the seventh-round rookie offensive lineman, made his debut in a media-open practice today after being absent for both OTA practices and missing yesterday’s practice with an injury.

Every player on the Packers’ roster was present on Wednesday, though center Elgton Jenkins remains dressed down as he looks for a contract extension.

Offense

The big highlight of practice today was when quarterback Jordan Love, in a two-minute drill simulation, connected with receiver Mecole Hardman on a 74-yard touchdown on a 4th and 20. The Packers were put in a 4th and 20 situation due to an Xavier McKinney sack. Hardman beat both cornerback Gregory Junior and safety Evan Williams on the play. As you can see in the video above, Hardman’s 4.33-second 40-yard dash speed seems to be translating to the field.

With Walker (left tackle), Banks (left guard) and Jenkins (center) out today, the first-team offensive line was comprised of Jordan Morgan, Donovan Jennings, Jacob Monk, Sean Rhyan and Zach Tom from left to right. It’s worth noting that Jennings and Monk are getting the nods over Travis Glover and Kadeem Telfort, who both played playoff snaps at guard against the Philadelphia Eagles last season. Apparently, Jennings and Monk have both leapt over the latter two players this offseason. Monk has been rotating at both center and right guard with Rhyan, while Jennings entered the lineup once Banks dropped out of action. For the most part, the Packers have been giving Morgan snaps at left tackle this offseason, either with the first- or second-team offense, even when Walker was healthy.

Defense

With Kenny Clark seemingly over his foot injury that required surgery this offseason, the starting defensive line today was made up of Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness on the edge, Clark playing nose tackle and Devonte Wyatt playing three-technique defensive tackle. Van Ness has been the “starter” over the last two practices, which is interesting considering that it was Kingsley Enagbare, not Van Ness, who was Preston Smith’s replacement once Green Bay traded Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers at the trade deadline in 2024. As we now know, however, Van Ness was dealing with a broken thumb throughout last season. A healthy Van Ness may make his first start since he was a high schooler at Barrington High School in Iowa this year.

Due to Walker’s injury, Isaiah McDuffie has been stepping up as the team’s Mike linebacker, which is a bit of a surprise. Earlier this offseason, McDuffie remained at outside linebacker, with Ty’Ron Hopper getting Mike looks. Now, McDuffie and Edgerrin Cooper have made up the Packers’ two-linebacker looks recently while Hopper, a 2024 third-round pick, and Isaiah Simmons, a former first-rounder who was signed to be a special teams contributor, have been battling for the team’s third-linebacker spot (which will drop to fourth linebacker once Walker returns.)

The defensive back rotation was standard, considering that Hobbs is dealing with an injury. Without Hobbs, the obvious answer is to play Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine at outside cornerback, Javon Bullard in the slot and Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams at safety. The Packers did just that today. When Hobbs returns, the team can play around more with their outside cornerback and slot cornerback personnel, which will allow Bullard to compete with Williams at safety.

Apparently, undrafted free agent rookie Johnathan Baldwin has been playing some safety reps with the Packers’ second-team unit. Baldwin received one of the biggest signing bonuses of any player in Green Bay’s undrafted rookie class. He was listed as a safety at UNLV, but is officially a cornerback on the Packers’ roster. At the college level, he mostly played the nickelback position, but it looks like Green Bay is trying to expand his usage at the professional level.