The Green Bay Packers’ final open practice of training camp turned into a little more than a routine Monday workout.
The session ran about two hours and finished with a pair of scuffles. The first broke out between receiver Matthew Golden and edge defender Barryn Sorrell, a pair of Texas Longhorns who came to Green Bay through last year’s draft.
Reports from the press said linebacker Zaire Franklin and edge defender Lukas Van Ness also got involved. Later, receiver Will Sheppard and safety Trey Dean III mixed it up as practice wound down, and Dean was sent off the sideline after that dispute.
After all of that, Sorrell offered a grin and a line that fit the mood: “ It’s definitely getting time to hit somebody else.”
That was the last open practice of camp for Green Bay. The team’s final practice before the preseason wraps up will come Wednesday, when the Packers hold a joint session with the Arizona Cardinals.
There was some movement on the injury front, too, though the big picture stayed mostly the same. The PUP list remains unchanged, with tight end Luke Musgrave (neck), defensive lineman Jordon Riley (ankle), edge defender Micah Parsons (knee) and long snapper Matt Orzech (calf) still out. Before practice, head coach Matt LaFleur cooled the idea that Orzech would be back on the field this week, despite general manager Brian Gutekunst hinting at that possibility last week.
Cornerback Brandon Cisse (knee) did return to practice after getting hurt in Week 2 of the preseason. The only players who sat out Monday were receiver Savion Williams (ankle), tight end Thomas Yassmin (knee), defensive lineman Warren Brinson (calf), edge rusher Collin Oliver (calf), edge defender Arron Mosby (undisclosed), cornerback Benjamin St-Juste (hamstring) and safety Javon Bullard (foot).
Those injuries happened in Friday’s game, with Bullard dealing with a bone bruise. At least for now, none of them are believed to be long-term issues.
Up front, the guard battle remains one of the biggest things to watch. Jager Burton and Jacob Monk have handled the spots in preseason action, but Aaron Banks and Zach Bako-Bewele still haven’t been fully mixed in when the live work starts, and Anthony Belton remains part of the competition at right guard, according to the offensive coaches.
On Monday, Banks took left guard reps and rotated with Burton, while Monk worked at right guard. Belton kept rotating at right tackle with Bako-Bewele.
Both Banks and Bako-Bewele are coming back from knee injuries that are limiting how much they can do in practice.
Quarterback play was uneven again. Kyle McCord has posted better preseason numbers than Tyrod Taylor, but the practice tape hasn’t made it obvious that McCord has pulled clearly ahead as the backup heading toward the 2026 season.
Both quarterbacks had bad throws in team periods on Monday. LaFleur has already said the plan is to use the joint practice with Arizona to pile up reps for the first-team units, then lean on the preseason game for backups and reserves, so there should be a longer look at both quarterbacks in the finale.
On defense, the alignment picture stayed fairly steady. Karl Brooks is still getting starts at 3-4 defensive end while Javon Hargrave remains less than a full participant.
At nose tackle, Jonathan Ford continues to draw starts in the mix with Nazir Stackhouse and Anthony Campbell, including back-to-back preseason starts. Keisean Nixon and Brandon Cisse are still the “starting” outside corners, and Kamal Hadden has been handling slot duties with Bullard out.
There was also a little movement behind them. Carrington Valentine and Domani Jackson worked with the second unit at cornerback Monday, which stands out because Valentine had generally been ahead of Cisse earlier in the summer when both were healthy.
Valentine and Jackson have been battling for the right cornerback job opposite Nixon, and Jackson appears to be climbing after finishing behind Jaylin Simpson in last week’s preseason game, his debut. Nixon, meanwhile, had one of the biggest defensive days, intercepting Jordan Love during a two-minute drill and adding a strong pass breakup earlier in practice.
And even though Ford has been getting the starts, Campbell is still very much in the mix. He continued to work against first-team offensive linemen as the front rotates, and he looked sharp in one-on-ones while keeping the buzz going as a pass-rushing threat.
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