Three questions the start of training camp won't help us answer about the 2025 Green Bay Packers

Football gets settled on the field. That's how spots are won and lost, especially in Green Bay. So, what won't we know that we're wondering heading into training camp?

Good morning!

Training camp opens with the team’s first full practice on Wednesday, and the team has to figure out where Matthew Golden and Savion Williams fit into this offense, how the offensive line will be configured, where new cornerback Nate Hobbs fits best, and more.

Today’s Free Monday newsletter, though, focuses on questions the play on the field won’t help us answer as training camp starts, at least not right away.

If you missed our Ranking the Packers series, you can go back through our archives. We finished the rankings on Friday with the best players on the team heading into 2025.

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What the hell is going on with Elgton Jenkins?

Peter Bukowski: The Packers placed their presumptive starting center on the Non-Football Injury list with a bad case of Iwannanewcontractitis. Brian Gutekunst already said he believes Elgton Jenkins can be an All-Pro center, which Jenkins’ agent will be using against the Green Bay GM in negotiations, which may be why a new deal hasn’t been done.

We know what’s at issue here: Jenkins wants to be rewarded for being a good teammate and switching positions (again), while his current contract makes him a prime cut candidate next spring. He wants assurances that won’t happen in the form of a new contract. The Packers will argue he’s already getting paid at the top of the center market, so what needs fixing?

If Gutey thinks he’s an All-Pro, this should be easy, then, right? Pay him at the top of the market as a center (again), even though he’s been a guard, and move forward with one of the best and deepest offensive lines in the league.

Well, they’re not.

So … why not? Is it faith in Jacob Monk in the case of a holdout? Is it that they truly don’t want to commit to Jenkins beyond this year? Are they quibbling over numbers? Or is this standard contract posturing, and a contract will get done in mid-August with plenty of time to get Jenkins up to speed for the regular season?

We don’t know. And training camp probably won’t tell us much.

What’s the plan until Christian Watson comes back, and when will that be exactly?

PB: Matt LaFleur threw cold water on the idea that Christian Watson would come back early, and Watson hit the PUP list to open camp, though he could be taken off at any point. That would start the clock on Watson, and if he opens the season still on PUP, he’ll have to sit at least the first month.

LaFleur isn’t going to show any wrinkles for beating man coverage in camp, something at which Watson has excelled in this Packers offense, but we will see who will be running those clear outs and getting the deep shots called.

It won’t be obvious how effective that will all be against friendly fire on defense, but joint practices will offer some indication, particularly with the Packers facing off against a talented Seattle Seahawks secondary in late August.

Watson, for his part, has reportedly looked extremely fit at practice, racing players along the sidelines as drills take place and he rehabs off to the side. There’s not going to be any rush, especially if Golden and or Savion Williams showed promise early in camp, but Watson has fundamentally altered this offense when he’s played, and we have no idea if anyone else is truly able to fill that void or how well the offense can function in the meantime.

How many yards will Josh Jacobs rush for in Week 1 against the Detroit Lions?

PB: My Locked on Lions colleague Matt Dery says the answer should be 200. The Detroit Lions’ defensive line will open the season much the way it ended last season: depleted.

Head coach Dan Campbell confirmed over the weekend that defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike tore his ACL and will miss the season. Dominating nose tackle Alim McNeill tore his ACL in December, and reports from April suggested he’d “probably” miss time early in the season. Run-stopping defensive end Josh Paschal had what Campbell described as a cleanup surgery, and his status for Week 1 is very much in doubt.

“Paschal will be just a tick longer (than Taylor Decker), probably early September,” Campbell told the Detroit media over the weekend.

“Labor Day, maybe we can start working him into practice. That’s the plan right now.”

This update from Campbell also casts doubt on the ability of starting left tackle Taylor Decker to be ready for Week 1.

Detroit should get Aidan Hutchinson back, but in what shape will his body and his wind be playing football for the first time since a gruesome leg injury ended his 2024 season? And the Lions grabbed Ohio State nose tackle Tyleik Williams, but he’s a rookie. Expect the Packers to come out forcing this Lions team, now also without defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, to prove they can win in the trenches on defense.