GREEN BAY, Wis. — Green Bay Packers players began cleaning out their lockers on Monday following the Wild Card loss in the playoffs to the Philadelphia Eagles.
A couple of ascending second-year players on the offensive side of the ball voiced various degrees of concern a day after their season ended. They said they are looking to see where they can improve moving forward.
“As a team, we need a wake up,” said tight end Tucker Kraft. “…everyone talks about how we’re just not okay with just making the playoffs, but we have yet to walk the walk.”
“[There] wasn’t a lot of games where you could say we lost pretty bad,” said wide receiver Jayden Reed. “So if we did lose the game, it was close. Probably just played worse than what we usually play, but a lot more. We always fought to the very end. That’s what I can say about this team.”
The Packers' roster was the youngest in the NFL this season, so there is hope for internal improvement. Some of the rookies on the defensive side of the ball gave their thoughts on how the team did in their first season wearing green and gold.
“When we do our best, especially on the defensive side of the ball, when we’re playing our best ball, we look unstoppable, truthfully,” said safety Evan Williams. “I mean, that’s what I’m trying to carry into next year is when all our pieces are executing, I mean… you see it in a couple of games where we could just take over games and make it really easy for the offense.”
“Good teams beat good teams,” said safety Javon Bullard. “You can’t consider yourself to be one of those elite teams if you haven’t beat them. And I feel like we are a good team in this league.”
The Packers said they know many of their teammates will be back next season and there were positives to look at for the future. However, that optimism was hard to find with the season ending in a third straight, painful loss.