Packers Training Camp Practice News and Notes, 7/27: Kicker has visa problem

Mark McNamee might be missing from Green Bay for a while.

The Green Bay Packers have a full 91-man roster for the first practice since June today, but one player was missing: Irish kicker Mark McNamee. According to head coach Matt LaFleur, McNamee returned to Ireland because of an issue stemming from his Visa status, but he hopes to return stateside soon. Until then, Brandon McManus, who has been kicking about every other practice this summer, will handle all of the team’s kicking duties.

Aside from the McNamee situation, here’s what happened in Packers practice today.

Participation

Green Bay is getting a series of good injury news as running back Amar Johnson (hamstring), receiver Savion Williams (concussion) and guard Aaron Banks (back) returned to practice on Sunday. This left just receiver Christian Watson (knee), offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins (back), offensive lineman John Williams (back), defensive end Collin Oliver (hamstring) and linebacker Quay Walker (ankle) as the team’s non-participants in practice today, per Packers.com’s Weston Hodkiewicz.

Of the players who are missing actions, all are on injury lists except Walker, who was activated from the physically unable to perform list but has yet to take a snap in a team period.

Offense

With Jenkins and Banks sidelined for team drills, the Packers’ offensive line was more of the same on Sunday: Rasheed Walker, Jordan Morgan, Sean Rhyan, Jacob Monk and Zach Tom (left to right). We have no idea what Green Bay’s preferred offensive line is right now, considering that Jenkins and Banks have never taken a snap together.

With Morgan bouncing around guard spots in camp, it seems unlikely that he’s actually going to have the time to push Walker at left tackle. So if Walker is locked into left tackle, Banks is locked into left guard, Jenkins is locked into center and Tom is locked into right tackle, this means that the right guard job will come down to one of Rhyan, Morgan and Monk, all three of whom have played right guard for extended stretches this summer.

According to the Green Bay Press-Gazette’s Ryan Wood, one player who is struggling on the offensive side of the ball is center Trey Hill, who continues to post poor snaps. Hill has mostly been working with the third-team offense this offseason, so he’s not really even on the roster bubble. It might just be time for the Packers to look at another emergency center option, though.

Defense

Not only did Carrington Valentine, a cornerback who has been flying after the football this camp, get looks with the first-team defense today, but so did receiver convert Bo Melton. At this point, considering how much effort the team has put into making sure that Melton finds a way to make this roster, Melton is probably going to make the 53-man roster. With Keisean Nixon, Nate Hobbs, Valentine and Melton making up the first couple of lines on the depth chart, Green Bay still has room to take on one or two more players at the position for the opening day team.

Hodkiewicz continues to point out that the Packers’ pass-rushers are lined up in both two- and three-point stances this camp, which is a change-up from Green Bay’s three-point mentality last year. Speaking of which, the Packers’ starting defensive end today opposite of Rashan Gary is former first-round pick Lukas Van Ness, who appears to be the leader. Last year, when Preston Smith was traded, it was Kingsley Enagbare, not Van Ness, who replaced Smith as the starter across from Gary.

Otherwise, there’s not much to report on from a lineup standpoint. The only real question defensively is if Javon Bullard or Valentine will be the odd man out in the secondary. If it’s Bullard, Hobbs will play the slot. If it’s Valentine, Bullard will play the slot. At this point, Evan Williams seems to have ran away with the safety position that he and Bullard split as rookies.