The Green Bay Packers opened their three-day mandatory minicamp on Tuesday. Except that it is no longer mandatory for everyone.
The Packers excused a group of veteran players from the affair. After taking their physicals, anyone who entered the league before 2012 was sent on vacation.
That group would be as follows.
- Bryan Bulaga
- Morgan Burnett
- Randall Cobb
- Jared Cook
- Mason Crosby
- Letroy Guion
- T.J. Lang
- Tim Masthay
- Clay Matthews
- Jordy Nelson
- Julius Peppers
- Aaron Rodgers
- Sam Shields
- Josh Sitton
- James Starks
The Packers will return for training camp in mid-July, which is earlier than normal. They can thank their fifth preseason game — the Hall of Fame game — for the early start this year.
Coach Mike McCarthy cited that as the reason for sending his vets home.
“There’s a lot that goes into training a football team. Frankly, the Hall of Fame game is a big part of this decision. We have an extra week of work. … They’re excused three practices today, but they’ll have four or five practices that first week, so it’s the same amount of work, or even a little bit more than they’ll have in a normal training camp. … This gives us four or five practices to get those young players ready to play in the first game.”
That’s bad news if you’re a fan and wanted to go get a look at Aaron Rodgers this week.
Overall, it’s a good idea, though. More practice reps for the guys who need them.