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USA Today
9 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Packers training camp preview: Quarterbacks in the spotlight
The Green Bay Packers open training camp on Wednesday, July 23, marking the unofficial start of the 2025 season for Matt LaFleur's team. After back-to-back playoff appearances but disappointing playoff failures, the Packers are hoping to take another step forward in 2025. The process begins in full on July 23. Packers Wire will go position by position previewing the roster, highlighting battles to watch, the things that actually matter and young players to monitor this summer. Here is our training camp preview of the quarterback position: On the roster (4) Most important: Healthy Jordan Love Malik Willis played the role of savior across four extended appearances last season, helping the Packers win back-to-back games without Jordan Love in September and then aiding a late win in Jacksonville late in October. The Packers don't go to the postseason without those three wins. However, the fate of Matt LaFleur's team in 2025 rests on Love staying healthy and playing a top level, especially late in the season. He's entering Year 3 as the starter and is surrounded by an impressive supporting cast featuring veteran pass-catchers, a deep offensive line and a Pro Bowl running back. It isn't unfair to give Love something of a pass for last season; he dealt with multiple injuries to his lower half. A healthy version of the Packers quarterback should be more mobile, more accurate and more consistent of a playmaker in 2025. -- Zach Kruse What to watch: Clifford vs. Elgersma With Jordan Love entrenched as the starter and Malik Willis positioned as the primary backup, the quarterback room heads into training camp with one clear competition: the QB3 battle. That battle pits Sean Clifford, entering his third season, against Canadian rookie Taylor Elgersma, an intriguing newcomer with raw tools and upside. Elgersma's film shows he can throw accurately to all three levels, but his pocket presence remains inconsistent, and the jump in defensive speed and complexity at the NFL level will be a major adjustment. Clifford, meanwhile, failed to build enough trust last season to win the backup role, prompting the Packers to trade for Willis. His flashes of mobility and toughness remain, but he must show better ball security, quicker post-snap reads, and command at the line of scrimmage. Anything less, and he could be on the outside looking in when roster cuts come. The Packers may only carry two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, making this one of the more consequential position battles in camp. -- Brandon Carwile One thing that actually matters: Is Jordan Love dominant? Reports out of OTAs indicated Jordan Love had taken another step entering year three as the starter, showing a higher level of mastery of the offense and appearing in full command. Love has had elite stretches of play in the last two seasons, most prominently in 2023, but a host of injuries robbed him of the opportunity to kick on in 2024 before he could even get going. The most straightforward path to the Packers becoming a legitimate Super Bowl contender is Love elevating to being a no doubt top-10 quarterback, if not closer to the top five. Whether he can do it will have a huge bearing on the outcome of Green Bay's season, and his performance in camp should provide an early indication of whether the lofty expectations for him in 2025 are justified. -- Mark Oldacres Young player to watch: Sean Clifford Malik Willis is the unquestioned backup for Jordan Love. Who will be the emergency third quarterback for the Packers? Taylor Elgersma has a live arm and is likely going to make a 'wow' throw at every practice that will have fans rooting for him to win the QB3 battle between him and Clifford. However, Clifford has the upper hand as he enters year three in Matt LaFleur's system. Can Clifford stack continued success and make the easy plays throughout camp and the preseason? If he can show that he can command the offense and limit his mistakes, he should be able to hold down the No. 3 QB spot behind Love and Willis. If Clifford can show growth this summer he could be the long-term backup for Love. -- Brennen Rupp
USA Today
18 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
NFL Top 100: Arizona Cardinals to face No. 80 Packer DE Rashan Gary in 2025
The No. 80 player in the 'NFL Top 100' is Packers DE Rashan Gary, whom the Cardinals face in Week 7 in 2025. The NFL began its third week of revealing players in the "NFL Top 100" on Monday, beginning the week with two players the Arizona Cardinals will face in 2025. Player No. 80 is Green Bay Packers pass rusher Rashan Gary, who was No. 50 last year. The former first-round pick enters his seventh season and made the Pro Bowl in 2024 for the first time in his career. In six seasons, he has 39 career sacks. Last season, he had 7.5. New York Giants running back Dante Miller described Gary as "a nasty player" and spoke how he hits when he makes tackles. "You can feel it every time," he said. Two of Gary's sacks last season came against two of the best tackles in the league — Detroit's Penei Sewell and Philadalphia's Lane Johnson. The Cardinals play the Packers at Lambeau Field in Week 7 in 2025. Last season, they held their own against Gary, holding him to simply three tackles and one quarterback hit. 'NFL Top 100' opponents for Cardinals in 2025 Of the 22 players in the top 100 revealed as of Monday, the Cardinals face the following: Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
USA Today
18 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Ranking the 5 best and 5 worst Packers teams of the last 25 years
The Green Bay Packers have played 25 seasons of football since 2000. The first quarter of the century featured many great Packers teams but also a few disappointing seasons for a franchise that won a Super Bowl and ranked in the top five for regular season wins and playoff wins between 2000 and 2024. With consulting help from @HistoricPackers on X, here are the five best Packers teams and five worst Packers teams over the last 25 years: Best Worst
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Packers DE Rashan Gary ranks No. 80 in 'NFL Top 100 Players of 2025'
For the second consecutive season, Green Bay Packers edge rusher Rashan Gary has made the "NFL Top 100 Players" list. After ranking No. 50 entering the 2024 season, Gary checked in at No. 80 overall in "NFL Top 100 Players of 2025" list. The first 20 players on the list have now been revealed, and Gary is the first Packers player to make the list. A first-time Pro Bowler in 2024, Gary produced 7.5 sacks, 15 quarterback hits, nine tackles for loss, 49 total pressures and a forced fumble across 17 regular season games for the Packers last season. His overall numbers took a step back -- Gary had 9.0 sacks and 22 quarterback hits in 2023 -- but a strong overall season, in which he became a top run-defending edge rusher -- helped keep Gary in the top 100 list. Gary moved from standup outside linebacker in the 3-4 defense in 2023 to a true 4-3 defensive end for Jeff Hafley in 2024. According to ESPN Analytics, Gary ranked first among all edge rushers in "Run Stop Win Rate" after producing 63 wins on only 170 plays in 2024. He also produced a career-high 33 stops, or a tackle creating a failure for the offense, per PFF. However, Gary had only 47 pressures, down from 60 in 2023, and his pass-rush win rate dropped to 12.7 percent, which ranked 33rd among all edge rushers with at least 280 pass-rushing snaps in 2024. Despite getting a spot in the top 100 list, Gary did not make ESPN's list of top 10 edge rushers entering 2025.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
30 Most Important Eagles of 2025: No. 21 AJ Dillon
Every day from now until the start of training camp, we're counting down our 30 Most Important Eagles for the 2025 season. The Philadelphia Eagles are gearing up for Super Bowl defense, which features plenty of new and returning faces within the organization. Several players, coaches, and front-office members are crucial to the team's success this season. Every day from now until the start of training camp, we're counting down our 30 Most Important Eagles for the 2025 season. We'll recap their 2024 season, look ahead to 2025, and tackle the most significant question facing them this year. Next up is running back AJ Dillon, a physical and impactful veteran, looking to return to the field after missing the entire 2024 season. Background Position: RB Age: 27 Experience: 6th-year pro 2025 cap hit: $1,197,500 2024 recap Last summer, Dillon was set to enter a contract year in 2024, but he was placed on injured reserve with a neck injury and missed the entire season. 2025 outlook Kenneth Gainwell departed for Pittsburgh after spending his first four NFL seasons in Philadelphia as the backup running back for the Eagles. Gainwell appeared in 66 games, including four starts, and carried the ball 280 times for 1,185 yards, a 4.2-yard average, and 12 touchdowns. Gainwell also had 102 receptions for 721 yards, a 7.1-yard average, and one touchdown. He also has 27 kickoff returns for 612 yards, a 22.7-yard average. Dillon and Aaron Jones teamed up in Green Bay for a dynamic one-two punch, and that could happen in Philadelphia with the Eagles looking to take some of the load off of Saquon Barkley following a season in which he led the league with 2,0005 yards. Biggest question: Can Dillon take a load off Saquon Barkley? Dillon was selected 62nd overall (second round) in the 2020 NFL Draft. The six-foot, 247-pound back, known as "Quadzilla" by Packers fans, has been cleared for action. Dillon averaged 15 games played per campaign in his time in Green Bay -- excluding the missed 2024 season -- but only started 11. Dillon recorded 2,186 rushing yards between 2021 and 2023. The 6-foot, 247-pound back ranked second on the Packers with 2,928 yards from scrimmage from 2021-23, posting 50+ yards from scrimmage in 30 games. Two years ago, before the injury, Dillon appeared in 15 games with six starts during the 2023 season, posting 613 yards and two touchdowns on 178 carries while adding 22 receptions for 223 yards in the passing game. 30 Most Important Eagles of 2025 We're counting down our 30 Most Important Eagles of 2025. Check back every day leading up to the start of training camp. No. 30 OL Kendall Lamm, No. 29 Azeez Ojulari, No. 28 Kevin Patullo, No. 27 Will Shipley, No. 26 Moro Ojomo, No. 25 Andrew Mukuba, No. 24 Tanner McKee, No. 23 Jahan Dotson, No. 22 Tyler Steen
