This ‘Red Flag’ Could Derail Packers

There are no perfect teams in the NFL. Even the top contenders have a weakness that could derail their trek to the Super Bowl.

The Green Bay Packers, of course, are no different.

At CBS Sports, Cody Benjamin pinpointed the “red flag” that could sidetrack each of the top 10 betting favorites to win this year’s championship. For the Packers, it’s “depth and durability.”

Injuries were one reason why the Packers never really got rolling last season. Quarterback Jordan Love suffered a knee injury in Week 1. While he missed only two games, he never hit the peak form that defined the second half of his debut season as the starter. It wasn’t just the quarterback, though.

Top cornerback Jaire Alexander played less than one-third of the defensive snaps, defensive tackle Kenny Clark was hindered by an ankle injury, tight end Luke Musgrave missed 10 games and three premier rookies had durability issues, as first-round lineman Jordan Morgan and third-round running back MarShawn Lloyd suffered season-ending injuries and second-round linebacker Edgerrin Cooper was injured before the season and late in the season.

“It was one thing for Jordan Love to battle multiple injuries in 2024; it was another for the quarterback to lose practically his entire receiving corps to various ailments by year's end,” Benjamin wrote. At receiver, Christian Watson suffered a torn ACL in Week 18, Romeo Doubs was sidelined twice by concussion and Jayden Reed was slowed by an abundance of bumps and bruises.

“The Packers did their best to bolster their depth this offseason, spending not one but two early draft picks on receiver help but, at the end of the day, Matt LaFleur needs his arsenal to stay on the field to ensure his steady rate of postseason bids continues. That includes on defense, where Nate Hobbs will be tasked with filling the shoes of the also-oft-banged-up Jaire Alexander.”

The too-early returns weren’t encouraging.

“We’ll have the quarterbacks, the rookies and some of our injured players” arrive before the rest of the team reports for training camp on July 22, LaFleur said at the end of minicamp. “There’s actually, it’s a pretty long list, so we’ll have half the team back here a little bit early.”

Linebacker Quay Walker missed the offseason practices due to “residual effects” from last season, LaFleur said. Left tackle Rasheed Walker and left guard Aaron Banks sat out minicamp.

The Day 3 rookies’ development was thrown for a loss during the offseason. Fifth-round defensive end Collin Oliver, sixth-round defensive tackle Warren Brinson, seventh-round cornerback Micah Robinson and seventh-round offensive lineman John Williams missed all or some of the offseason practices. Of those four, only Brinson practiced at minicamp.

Whether they’ll be mentally for the first practice of training camp on July 23 is anyone’s guess.

“I couldn’t tell you that until we see it,” LaFleur said. “I don’t think anybody can. It’s one thing to be out there being able to regurgitate, sitting down in a nice cozy environment. It’s another thing to go out there when things are happening extremely fast. The only way you find out with any of these guys is you’ve got to put them out there.”

The Packers are part of the loaded NFC North. The defending champions, the Detroit Lions, will have to adapt to changes at coordinator, where they lost Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn to head coaching jobs with the Bears and Jets, respectively.

Coach Dan Campbell’s “fiery touch is still as evident as the Lions' enviable skill talent,” Benjamin wrote. “But weathering such a dramatic shift in sideline personnel is easier said than done. Just ask the Eagles of 2023.”

The Minnesota Vikings’ concern is at quarterback, with J.J. McCarthy replacing Sam Darnold.

“It's rare you find a team so equipped for a deep playoff run yet without so much as a morsel of certainty under center,” Benjamin wrote.