The Green Bay Packers enter 2026 with something they didn’t have when last season fell apart: a mostly clean bill of health.
That alone changes the conversation around a team that finished the 2025 season with a collapse after looking like one of the league’s best early on. The biggest reason that finish spiraled, according to the reporting, was the injury pileup that hit Green Bay too fast to survive.
There’s a real difference now. USA Today’s Ryan Wood noted, “In Packers final practice before Week 1, everyone on their 53 except Warren Brinson (calf) is practicing.”
For a team trying to put last year’s playoff collapse behind it, that’s a massive development. Doubt has followed the Packers through camp and into the new season, with critics and opposing fans pointing to the way the year ended. But the counterargument is simple: Green Bay was missing too many important pieces when the games mattered most.
This time, the roster looks far better positioned to get out to a fast start. The lone major exception is star defensive end Micah Parsons, who is still working his way back from last season’s injury. Even so, the expectation is that Green Bay can get him back at the right time and have him ready to help fuel a strong run in the 2026 season.
Outside of that, the Packers have their star pieces intact, and that’s exactly the kind of setup that can flip the mood around a team quickly.
There’s also a friendly opening stretch on the schedule. After Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay gets the New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons. That gives the Packers a realistic path to a 3-0 start, and it’s part of why they’re being underestimated heading into the year.
When healthy, LaFleur and Jordan Love have shown they can run one of the league’s most consistent offenses. They’ve also shown they can beat top teams. That combination makes Green Bay dangerous, especially when the rest of the league seems focused on last season’s ending instead of the healthier version of this roster now in front of them.
The Packers may have already answered the biggest weakness that defined 2025. If the injury luck holds, they could make a lot of people rethink what this team looks like in 2026.
In Other News...
Packers Practice Squad Move Hints At A Bigger Offensive Plan
The Packers filled their final practice-squad opening by signing rookie running back Damon Bankston, a move that fits neatly with the kind of backfield they seem to be building. Bankston first came through Green Bay as a pre-draft visitor, then landed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent before making his way back to the Packers, where his skill set lines up with an offense leaning into outside zone concepts.
For a team continuing to shape both its roster and its scheme, the addition is more than simple depth. Green Bay has been piecing together personnel that makes sense for what it wants to do on offense, and Bankstons fit in that system is hard to miss. Whether the move is mostly about competition, development, or something bigger in the playbook, it adds another clue about the direction the Packers are heading. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Rookie Trust Will Be Tested Right Away Against The Vikings
The Packers are heading into their 2026 season opener against the Vikings with an unusually heavy dose of rookie responsibility baked into the plan. Without a Day 1 draft pick in this class, Green Bay will need its younger additions to fill in more than just the margins, and that makes the early season evaluation especially important for a team that wants to know quickly which newcomers can handle real work.
J. Michael Sturdivant is part of that picture after making the initial 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie wide receiver, but his immediate role against Minnesota is expected to be limited. Even so, his presence on the roster underscores how much the Packers are leaning on unproven talent right out of the gate, with the opener offering an early look at which rookies are ready when the stakes rise. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Quietly Added A Pass Catcher Who Could Matter Fast
The Packers quietly bolstered their tight end room by adding free agent Jonnu Smith to the 53-man roster after an injury left backup Luke Musgrave unavailable. It is the kind of move that can slide under the radar at this point in the season, but Green Bay clearly wanted another pass catcher with enough experience to step into an important role if needed.
Smith did not post big numbers with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season, but his track record in Miami and Atlanta shows he has been more than a depth piece at other stops. For Jordan Love, the appeal is pretty clear: a veteran tight end who can serve as a dependable target and give the offense another layer as the 2026 season comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]