The “rookies” for the Green Bay Packers got to work on Friday. Rookie orientation started Thursday, but I don’t consider that work. Practice for the “rookies” is Friday and Saturday. I put the word rookies in quotes because any player who has not made the active roster can participate in this camp, not just the true rookies. That means guys from last season’s practice squad, like Matt Rotheram and Christian Ringo, were also there.
Following the example of several other teams and the general trend in the NFL, the Packers shortened the actual practice portion of the camp by ending it on Saturday rather than Sunday. They also removed 11-on-11 drills from the camp, limiting the number of times that players are directly competing against each other.
The idea behind this, league-wide, is that teams are sick of losing players at even this early juncture in the offseason. The fewer reps in practice, the less likely they are to get injured.
This means that the majority of the practices involve individual drills and positional work.
You can’t tell a lot from guys running around in shorts and shells, but Trevor Davis and Blake Martinez are probably the most noticeably impressive players so far in the camp. Davis impressed thanks to his speed and sure hands while Martinez impressed with his fluid athleticism and ability to play the football.
This early in the program the rookies are protected from boneheads like you or I and so their practices are not open to the public.
Lastly, the Packers’ veterans are still in workouts while the Rookie Symposium goes on.