With 35 Players Absent, Jones Provides ‘Example’ by Attending OTAs

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With just about every other starter absent, Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones was on the field for the eighth of nine voluntary OTAs on Tuesday.


GREEN BAY, Wis. – Davante Adams wasn’t at practice on Tuesday, Neither was Jaire Alexander. Or Jace Sternberger, for that matter. And it was hardly worth the 94 characters needed to mention Aaron Rodgers wasn’t there, either.


But star running back Aaron Jones was at Day 2 of the Green Bay Packers’ third and final week of voluntary organized team activities. He wasn’t just present but active, taking his full complement of reps in individual drills and the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods.

“He doesn’t have to be here. He was here from Day 1, being that example, being that guy everybody was looking at,” rookie receiver Amari Rodgers said after practice. “Once he catches the ball, once he gets the ball, he’s finishing almost through the end zone. He’s just being that example the whole minicamp, that person that you look at it, like ‘OK, that’s the way I need to practice.’ So, he’s definitely been that guy that I’ve been looking at, trying to learn from as far as how to practice, how to push through when you’re maybe tired and stuff like that. Having a guy like that on your team is always great.”

Of the 90-man roster, 35 players weren’t present. Of the team’s presumptive starters, only Jones and linebackers Krys Barnes and Kamal Martin were on the field. Newly signed veteran De’Vondre Campbell, who will compete with Barnes and Martin for a starting job, practiced, as well.

That made for some odd situations, like defensive coordinator Joe Barry lining up as a slot cornerback for one snap. At tight end, with Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis and Sternberger not at practice, Dominique Dafney sidelined with a wrap on his right knee and Josiah Deguara rehabbing from his torn ACL, Bronson Kaufusi was the last man standing. In two-tight-end sets, an assistant coach jumped into the action.

Only five of the 11 receivers were available. One of them was Equanimeous St. Brown, who skipped the first two weeks of OTAs.

After an off-day on Wednesday, OTAs will wrap up on Thursday. Training camp is scheduled to begin on July 27.

Who Wasn’t at Practice on Offense?​


QB: Aaron Rodgers

RB: AJ Dillon, Dexter Williams

WR: Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, Devin Funchess, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Malik Taylor

OL: LT David Bakhtiari, LG Elgton Jenkins, RG Lucas Patrick, RT Billy Turner, OT Yosh Nijman

TE: Robert Tonyan, Jace Sternberger, Marcedes Lewis

Who Wasn’t at Practice on Defense?​


DL: Kenny Clark, Dean Lowry, Kingsley Keke, Tyler Lancaster

OLB: Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Rashan Gary, Randy Ramsey, Jonathan Garvin

ILB: Oren Burks

CB: Kevin King, Jaire Alexander, Chandon Sullivan

S: Adrian Amos, Darnell Savage, Will Redmond

Who Wasn’t at Practice on Special Teams?​


K Mason Crosby, P JK Scott, LS Hunter Bradley

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I think danno said it earlier, in another thread, Jones is stepping up as a leader. Now, I'm not saying he's "The Leader", and I know some may turf it off as a non story because he's the only big name at practice, but it tells me a lot about the maturity of this young man. I like it. Nice job Mr. Jones. Your teammates will take notice.
 
Bill Huber said:
At tight end, with Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis and Sternberger not at practice, Dominique Dafney sidelined with a wrap on his right knee and Josiah Deguara rehabbing from his torn ACL, Bronson Kaufusi was the last man standing.
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no issues there.
 
You figure guys like Taylor, Patrick, Nijman, Lancaster, Ramsey, Garvin, Burks, Redmond, Bradley, Scott are all guys who could be replaced and cut at the end of camp you would want to show up to al the OTA's and show coaches you are committed and trying to get better. To me this shows the opposite and coaches will remember this at cut down time and these guys will only have themselves to blame if they are told to turn in their playbook and they are being cut.
 
GBP4EVER said:
You figure guys like Taylor, Patrick, Nijman, Lancaster, Ramsey, Garvin, Burks, Redmond, Bradley, Scott are all guys who could be replaced and cut at the end of camp you would want to show up to al the OTA's and show coaches you are committed and trying to get better. To me this shows the opposite and coaches will remember this at cut down time and these guys will only have themselves to blame if they are told to turn in their playbook and they are being cut.
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"The high numbers were not unexpected, with coach Matt LaFleur essentially giving his veteran players a free pass so long as they took part in the virtual sessions."
 
realitybytes said:
"The high numbers were not unexpected, with coach Matt LaFleur essentially giving his veteran players a free pass so long as they took part in the virtual sessions."
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Still if you are a guy likely on the fence would you not want as much time as you can get? To me it shows that these guys prefer not to put in the extra time to get better.
 
Packinatl said:
Its OTA's. Glorified walk thru's and drills. You get judged when the pads go on
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In a normal season I would agree with you. But since there were no OTA's or minicamps last year, physical attendance at this year's minicamp should have been attended by the starters. "virtual" is nice, but it does not replace face to face interaction, and you don't play these games virtually.
 
HowardK4 said:
In a normal season I would agree with you. But since there were no OTA's or minicamps last year, physical attendance at this year's minicamp should have been attended by the starters. "virtual" is nice, but it does not replace face to face interaction, and you don't play these games virtually.
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i don't disagree, but when the head coach encourages veteran players not to attend, should fans be upset when they don't?
 
HowardK4 said:
In a normal season I would agree with you. But since there were no OTA's or minicamps last year, physical attendance at this year's minicamp should have been attended by the starters. "virtual" is nice, but it does not replace face to face interaction, and you don't play these games virtually.
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And that’s valid, but it’s not about installs or 11 on 11 stuff for the most part, it’s drills and some conditioning. That’s a valid point
 
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