GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers held their first practice of training camp Monday morning. Quarterback Jordan Love was there, but only as a spectator while negotiations continue toward a long-term contract extension. The Packers are optimistic a deal can be reached this week.
“We're working really hard to get that done," said Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst. "I think it's really important for us. At the same time, the thing that I have confidence in is that we both want the same thing. We want Jordan here for a long time. Give him that stability for him. And, it gives us some stability for our group as well.”
“You just gotta adjust and adapt," said Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur. "That's the nature of the beast. That's part of our game and part of our business. We're confident that he'll be out there sooner rather than later. And I know how he prepares. So I'm not overly concerned about that.”
For Love's backups, it means more work in practice.
“This is practice for whatever could happen," said Sean Clifford. "I would never wish anything upon Jordan. He's a fantastic player, the leader of this team, the heartbeat of this team. but this is football. You know, things happen. So I think that this is a great rep for me to be able to be ready.”
I asked rookie quarterback Michael Pratt if Love was vocal at practice.
“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, he's been here," said Pratt. "He's been in all the meetings. He's been in the walkthroughs, just being the leader that he is, so him not being on the practice field is really the only part that he's missing.”
Meanwhile, veteran defensive lineman Kenny Clark has a new deal with the Packers, reportedly tacking on three years for $64 million.
“It was a long negotiation," said Clark. "We’ve been talking since the combine, so for us to finally get it done made me extremely happy. It means a lot for my legacy. Just put me at the top with the guys that played here and got third contracts and just put more of a responsibility on me to keep that going.”
“He's a model player that you kind of want to build a program around,” said Gutekunst. “Obviously, he's a great player. Has been as consistent as you could ever imagine. We’re just really excited to be able to extend him and then let him lead that group for the foreseeable future.”
“You can always count on him each and every Sunday,” said LaFleur. “I'm just really happy and ecstatic that we got that done.”
The Packers are not too concerned about wide receiver Jayden Reed, who opened camp on the non-football injury list with a toe problem.