logo
Packers WR Dontayvion Wicks, RB MarShawn Lloyd out with new soft-tissue injuries

Packers WR Dontayvion Wicks, RB MarShawn Lloyd out with new soft-tissue injuries

USA Today3 days ago
Wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks and running back MarShawn Lloyd are not practicing on Tuesday after suffering soft-tissue injuries during Monday's practice in Green Bay.
Wicks has a calf injury, while Lloyd has a groin injury, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic.
Wicks exited practice midway through and did not return. Lloyd was injured on a play during an 11-on-11 period. While initially believed to be caused by a low hit from cornerback Nate Hobbs, the Packers said before practice that they think Lloyd's injury happened before the hit. A soft-tissue injury all but confirms this suspicion.
According to both Brian Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur, Lloyd was attempting to plant while turning the corner on a perimeter run when the injury occurred on Monday.
It's unclear the severity of the two injuries, but both players will miss at least one training camp practice.
Wicks was enjoying a strong start to training camp and is in line for a big role in the passing game. The Packers will likely be cautious with an injury in the calf, where re-injury rates are high, especially for a receiver who depends so heavily on stopping and starting explosively.
The groin injury is the latest in a long history of unfortunate injuries for Lloyd, who played in just one game as a rookie after dealing with injuries to his hip, hamstring and ankle and an appendectomy.
"You feel for him," Gutekunst said. "He's worked so hard to get his body into elite shape and overcome these injuries."
Both Wicks and Lloyd have time to heal. The Packers have their annual Family Night practice inside Lambeau Field on Saturday, and the first preseason game arrives a week after on Saturday, Aug. 9. The regular season opener is still over a month away.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Cowboys take stance following Micah Parsons' trade demand
Cowboys take stance following Micah Parsons' trade demand

New York Post

timean hour ago

  • New York Post

Cowboys take stance following Micah Parsons' trade demand

Micah Parsons has made his desire to be traded from the Cowboys abundantly clear, but the team's front office has no plans to make that wish come true. Shortly after Parsons announced his trade request with a lengthy statement on X Friday, The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported that the Cowboys have 'no intention' to trade the superstar defensive end. Russini added that teams around the NFL are planning to check in with Dallas about Parsons' potential availability nonetheless. Advertisement Micah Parsons has requested a trade from the Cowboys. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Parsons, a 26-year-old widely regarded as one of the best defensive players in football, has been in a contract dispute with the Cowboys throughout the offseason. The four-time Pro-Bowler, entering the fifth and final season of his rookie contract, would make $24 million in 2025 if he were to play for Dallas without signing the massive extension he is due for. Advertisement In his statement, Parsons said he personally submitted his trade request to Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones on Friday. 'Unfortunately I no longer want to be here,' Parsons wrote. 'I no longer want to be held to close door negotiations without my agent present. I no longer want shots taken at me for getting injured while laying it on the line for the organization our fans and my teammates… I have made a tough decision I no longer want to play for the Dallas Cowboys.' Kirby Lee-Imagn Images The Penn State product said he had an informal conversation about leadership with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in March, which turned into a discussion about Parsons' new contract. Advertisement Parsons said he explained what he hoped to receive in his new contract and told Jones his agent would be in touch, then ending the meeting. 'In March, I met with Mr. Jones to talk about leadership,' Parsons said. 'Somehow the conversation turned into him talking contract with me. Yes I engaged in a back and forth in regards to what I wanted from my contract, but at no point did I believe this was supposed to be a formal negotiation and I informed Mr. Jones afterward my agent would reach out thinking this would get things done. 'But when my agent reached out and spoke to (ESPN's) Adam (Schefter) he was told the deal was pretty much already done. My agent of course told him that wasn't the case and also reached out to Stephen Jones. Again the team decided to go silent.' The Cowboys open the season on the road against the Eagles on Sept. 4.

Matt LaFleur and Packers coaching staff rated top 10 group but fall in rankings from 2024
Matt LaFleur and Packers coaching staff rated top 10 group but fall in rankings from 2024

USA Today

time2 hours ago

  • USA Today

Matt LaFleur and Packers coaching staff rated top 10 group but fall in rankings from 2024

The Green Bay Packers' coaching staff has been rated as one of the ten best groups in the NFL ahead of the 2025 season by ESPN's Ben Solak, but curiously, their ranking has fallen since 2024. A year ago at this time, Green Bay's coaching staff, consisting of head coach and offensive play caller Matt LaFleur, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich and defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who was entering his first season as an NFL DC, were ranked eighth in the league. LaFleur was credited for launching Jordan Love's career as a starting quarterback, as well as taking the youngest team in the NFL to the playoffs, with the Packers then becoming the youngest group to win a postseason game since 1970. Despite some caution over Hafley as a first-time DC coming over from the college game, Solak expressed belief the former Boston College head coach could improve Green Bay's defense. For Stenavich's part, a former offensive line coach turned OC, Solak was impressed by the Packers' ability to always field a competent unit even in the face of injuries. Then in 2025, the Packers improved their record from 9-8 the previous year to 11-6 despite playing in arguably the most challenging division in football, Love missing 2.5 games early in the year and playing hurt for plenty of others. Green Bay's ability to find a way to put up points on offense and win games with Malik Willis in the lineup, who was acquired in a trade less than two weeks before the season opener, was remarkable. The defense also improved significantly in Hafley's maiden season as an NFL coordinator, and the Packers return the same core three coaches entering the 2025 campaign. Yet their overall standing among NFL coaching staffs has fallen to tenth in this year's version of the rankings. The Packers did not go as far in 2024 as they did the previous year, beaten by the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round, but looking at the entire season, it is hard to argue they were not a better team on both sides of the ball than in 2023. In Solak's rankings, he admitted LaFleur had 'one of his better seasons' as a coach in 2024, applauding the job he did in designing a workable offense with Willis at the helm to keep the Packers afloat until Jordan Love returned. He was also impressed with Jeff Hafley's creativity and ability to have success in his first season calling plays for an NFL defense. So what was the problem? Why the regression in Green Bay's overall ranking? Solak cited the Packers' reliance on turnovers defensively, which can be volatile year to year, and their ranking in defensive success rate against dropbacks (dead last) as evidence the success the unit had a year ago perhaps not being sustainable going forward. Green Bay had 17 interceptions and 14 forced fumbles a year ago. Whether that should take away from the coaching job Hafley did and how he is regarded, rather than being a point of pride is debatable. Hafley and the defensive coaches have placed an extreme emphasis on forcing more fumbles this season, with the players responding by regularly punching the ball out in training camp practices so far. The Packers' poor record in division (1-5, with the lone win coming in last gasp fashion over the Bears) or more specifically, the combined six losses they had against three playoff teams in the Lions, Vikings and Eagles, was also given as a reason for knocking the coaching staff. Solak said Love was 'flummoxed' when facing quality coordinators, while Hafley's defense was 'exposed'. It is true the Packers often did not look ready to play in the biggest games, starting slow too regularly and digging themselves a hole they could not get out of. Love's injuries cloud almost everything that happened on the offensive side specifically though, with the quarterback admitting this offseason the various ailments impacted him pretty much all year. Hafley's defense was mostly responsible for keeping the Packers in some of those games while the offense tried to find its feet. It is worth remembering that tenth is still a good overall ranking, but perhaps the most surprising aspect of the article was the team ranked one spot above Green Bay: The Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders were ranked 32nd, dead last, in this exercise a year earlier, and this offseason hired 73-year-old Pete Carroll to be their new head coach as well as Chip Kelly to call plays on offense. Carroll's bona fides are well known, but he has not won 10 games or more as a head coach since the 2020 season and has no playoff wins since the 2019 campaign. Kelly is an intriguing hire which may prove to be inspired, but his last two years working in the NFL with the 2015 Eagles and 2016 49ers did not go well. Las Vegas retained defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who has a good reputation around the league, but the Raiders defense has ranked no higher than 14th in expected points added in his three years leading the unit. Hafley's Packers were 5th in that statistic in 2024. The other eight teams ranked above the Packers in order of worst to best are the Eagles, Bills, Broncos, Rams, Ravens, 49ers, Chiefs and the Vikings at number one overall. That puts Green Bay's coaching staff eighth among the 14 playoff teams from last year. The Packers will not be losing sleep over their arbitrary ranking, which is still strong, but the decision to drop them two spots, especially given some of the teams placed above them, is certainly an interesting one.

Former Packers starting cornerback available after release: Could he help Green Bay?
Former Packers starting cornerback available after release: Could he help Green Bay?

USA Today

time2 hours ago

  • USA Today

Former Packers starting cornerback available after release: Could he help Green Bay?

A former defensive starter for the Green Bay Packers is available after being let go by his previous team. Cornerback Corey Ballentine was released by the Indianapolis Colts on Friday, after the team signed another corner in Chris Lammons. Ballentine spent three seasons with the Packers between 2022 and 2024, leaving the team at the conclusion of last season before signing a one-year, $1.338m deal with the Colts on March 14, which included a $167,500 signing bonus and $482,500 of guaranteed money at signing. A sixth-round pick of the New York Giants out of Washburn back in 2019, Ballentine bounced around the league, spending time with the Jets, Lions, Falcons and Cardinals before arriving in Green Bay, where he spent by far the longest stretch of his career. He was a fairly prominent part of Green Bay's defense in 2023, playing 534 snaps and starting six games. Ballentine earned a 60.8 overall PFF grade for that season, ranking 78th out of 127 qualified corners, and had a 62.3 coverage grade. Ballentine notched his lone career interception in 2023 and played more defensive snaps that year than in the rest of his NFL seasons combined (497), and now 29 years old, is looking for a new team. There could be an argument for the Packers having an interest in bringing him back to Green Bay. After jettisoning Jaire Alexander and signing Nate Hobbs this offseason, there is some clarity of their top three corners of Hobbs, Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine, with Javon Bullard also expected to contribute in the slot. The back end of the depth chart is far from settled though, with current or former late-round picks Kamal Hadden, Kalen King, Micah Robinson and Gregory Junior fighting for roster spots alongside former wide receiver turned corner Bo Melton. Ballentine was a special teams regular in Green Bay, playing 450 snaps on teams in his three years with the team between the kick return, kick coverage, punt return and punt coverage units. He would be a known commodity in the cornerback room, although lacks the potential upside of the Packers' younger options at the position. The Packers did not see fit to re-sign him in the offseason and are likely to want to see what they have in their gaggle of young corners as they battle it out during camp before adding someone like Ballentine to the mix. However, he could be an option closer to the season depending on how the next few weeks play out.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store