The Green Bay Packers enter the final week of the preseason after opening the exhibition schedule with a dominant win in Cleveland and then a much-maligned one in Denver. This week, the Packers host the Baltimore Ravens for a joint practice and preseason finale at Lambeau Field.
The NFL is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league. The one-sided win over the Browns in the preseason opener is now a distant memory. The narrative has shifted rapidly toward concerns raised in Denver over the past few days.
So where are the levels of concern in several questionable areas? Let’s measure.
Reserve quarterback
Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt were mostly excellent in Cleveland against the reserves. They were mostly awful against Denver’s mix of starters and reserves. Clifford had a tumultuous summer, and Pratt is a seventh-round rookie, so any regression on the field is cause for concern, considering they are the only two quarterbacks competing to replace Jordan Love. It would be captivating to see how Clifford or Pratt fare behind the No. 1 offensive line and with all the weapons Love enjoys, but those opportunities are confined. If Love gets seriously injured, the Packers’ season is over anyway. But can Clifford or Pratt step in and lead the Packers to a win or two during a brief but multi-game absence? The evidence is meager. I wouldn’t expect the Packers to overreact, but it’s clear that Matt LaFleur is getting impatient. Sunday night in Denver was a confidence-boosting experience for the passing game, and the Packers are running out of time.
Concern level: 6 out of 10
Kicker
Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph started training camp robust, but their rivalry quickly became a concern. Both kickers had a tough week last week, with Joseph missing the Packers’ only kick attempt in Denver. Entering the final week, Carlson and Joseph are both hovering around 80 percent of their kicks. That’s not enough. The kicker scores, and every miss is a missed opportunity — as the Packers learned the difficult way when they ended their 2023 season. Perhaps the Packers are simply reaping what they sow; Carlson and Joseph have always been talented but inconsistent kickers. If neither of them can get going this week, the Packers may have to look outside their current roster for a kicker in Week 1. That’s a scary prospect for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
Concern level: 9 out of 10
Reserve offensive quarterback
Andre Dillard has seemingly secured one spot on the roster. He’s been solid as a pass protector, playing both left and right quarterback this offseason. But it’s worth considering that Dillard is coming off a terrible season in Tennessee, and the depth behind him hasn’t improved this summer. Kadeem Telfort, Travis Glover, and Caleb Jones have struggled in both pass protection and run blocking. Perhaps the Packers will coach Jordan Morgan at offensive quarterback, and the combination of Dillard and Morgan will be enough to back up Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom. Elgton Jenkins also has previous experience at left and right. The difficult truth is that very few teams have real depth at offensive quarterback. The Packers’ current situation is the way most teams live.
Concern level:4 out of 10
