Packers ramping up urgency and leadership as they chase Super Bowl in 2025

USA Today

15 hours ago

Packers ramping up urgency and leadership as they chase Super Bowl in 2025
At the conclusion of the 2024 season, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst called for his team to ramp up their sense of 'urgency' and get back to competing for championships in 2025.
Based on how some of Green Bay's key players and leaders have been speaking at OTAs, the message has clearly resonated.
An increased level of urgency is manifesting itself through a concerted emphasis on leadership within the locker room, something which was mentioned consistently by the Packers' veterans when speaking with the media.
Leadership at the player level tends to begin with the quarterback, and head coach Matt LaFleur pushing Jordan Love to be more vocal entering his third year as the starter.
Love understands the importance of his ability to hold teammates accountable, telling the media last week: 'It's always important, especially at the quarterback position to be the leader of the team.
'That's something I'm always trying to improve on and get better at, to be more comfortable being a vocal leader, that's definitely something I've put a lot of work into since I've been here.'
He continued: 'The biggest thing is having those hard conversations with guys when something needs to get done and might not be getting done the right way, or might not be handling business the right way."
Star running back Josh Jacobs has already noticed a difference in his second season playing with Love. When asked about the results of LaFleur challenging the QB to take on a more vocal role, Jacobs said with a smile: 'He's already doing it."
Jacobs explained what Love's leadership has looked like, saying: "He's definitely being more vocal, whether it's at practice or in the meetings. If he's seeing something he doesn't like, he's speaking up. He's definitely stepped up a lot, I've seen a big change in that."
There was a tangible feeling of hunger emanating from Jacobs when he spoke with the Green Bay media last week. The All-Pro back has noticed and been impressed with the focus of his teammates entering 2025.
Jacobs said: 'From this year to last year you can tell guys are definitely a little more hungry, guys put in a lot of time this offseason to work on their craft and are coming in hitting the ground running."
Gutekunst setting the tone with his 'urgency' statement was appreciated by Jacobs, and appears to have had an impact. Jacobs said: 'You feel the urgency for sure. You feel a lot of the younger guys growing up, you can definitely feel them coming into their own.
'The way the guys are going about practicing and the details and the way that they're on top of everything. Jordan talks a lot more in the meetings and asks guys questions, and the guys' answers and how detailed the answers are lets me know that everybody's locked in.'
Besides Love, a whole host of Packers players are taking it upon themselves to be more vocal and take on leadership roles.
Xavier McKinney, the veteran of Green Bay's safety group, said: 'Right now my main focus is on the team, trying to lead these young guys, trying to make sure they are comfortable and are gonna be ready to go when the season comes around."
Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark, two stalwarts of the Packers defense, have been making a point of leading the EDGE and defensive tackle groups respectively.
Gary has noticed plenty of his teammates stepping up and helping their younger teammates along, mentioning Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson and Jayden Reed being more vocal in the receiver room, with Isaiah McDuffie, Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper doing the same at linebacker.
On what makes him the most excited about the defense entering year two under coordinator Jeff Hafley, Gary said: 'The confidence in the leaders we have, different guys across the board that play at a high level, understanding standards."
Clark echoed that sentiment, saying: 'You've got all kinds of guys stepping up, all the younger guys speaking more, (feeling) more comfortable.'
After a couple of seasons in which it felt like the Packers were building towards being a true contender once again, the intensity appears to have gone up a notch as they enter a pivotal 2025 season.
On aspirations of the Super Bowl, Love did not shy away, saying: 'That's the goal for us," while Clark said: 'It's going to be a huge year for all of us, we've really been putting in a lot of work."
Perhaps Jacobs said it best though: 'It's time. For me, there's only so much (time) left, so it's definitely time."