GREEN BAY – Although Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst added a couple of wide receivers a week, leading to the first training session of the training camp team, there is no indication that both will be a long shot to make the 53-man roster.
The Packers had just eight wide receivers on the roster after free agent Devin Funchess knocked out the season due to the coronavirus and it is likely that Good Art and coach Matt LaFleur felt they needed more bodies to get through camp.
Good Art signed Malik Turner, a 6-foot-2, 202-pound third-year player who was released by the Seattle Seahawks in April and claimed Travis Fulgham a 6-2, 211-pound sixth-round draft pick from the Detroit Lions in 2019.
Turner signed with the Seahawks as a developed free agent from Illinois in 2018 and appeared in 21 games in two seasons with three starts. He had 17 catches for 265 yards and a touchdown.
His most notable play last year was a drop in the playoffs of the NFC Divisional Round against the Packers, who kept a potential game-winning drive alive.
“He’s just a boy,” said a scout from an NFC West team. ‘He’s the type of player you’ll like in the practice team, because you trust him to be the fifth or sixth receiver on game day if you need to.
“But not much more value than the last man in that position group.”
Turner did not run the 40-yard dash on the combined as his pro-day in 2018 due to a broken foot. He weighed 225 pounds 17 times on his pro day.
The Packers had Turner in for a tryout in a post-draft minicamp in ’18.
In Illinois, he had the ninth-most receiving yards (1,804) and receptions (143) in school history. He played in 2014-15 with former Packers receiver Geronimo Allison.
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Fulgham spent most of last season on the Detroit practice team, but was activated for the last three games and did not pick up a pass.
“Travis is a great, talented receiver, but he’s raw and he had trouble paying attention to detail,” said an NFC scout. “Just a great kid type.”
Fulgham played in 39 games at Old Dominion and scored 128 passes for 2,044 yards and 18 touchdowns. In the scout combination, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds, had a 36½-inch vertical jump and bench 225 pounds 15 times.
Pads set
The Packers’ first padded practice in camp will likely come on their third day on the field, providing one sense of normalcy to this training camp like no other.
The Packers typically take two non-padded practices before padding, following NFLPA guidelines. They will do the same next week, despite their first refurbished practice coming at a point in the calendar as they would typically prepare for their second precision game.
The team will first perform non-padded practices on Saturday and Monday (all practices are closed to the public). LaFleur opened up the possibility that the team could wait until its fourth practice to strap pads.
Without giving specifications, LaFleur said the NFL sent a list of drills banned due to COVID-19 protocols. Otherwise, he said, the practice “will have a normal feel” expected from either OTAs (non-padded) or camp (padded).
“Sure, we’ll try to remind our boys to keep their distance when they’re not there,” LaFleur said, “whether it’s in the drills now or when we do 11-on-11. But I think it’s a “We’ll have to think just like that. We just have to think like coaches, if the players are not in the specific drill or there are 11-on-11s, stay away from each other.”
The NFL has strict restrictions on practice time, LaFleur said.
The first padded exercise of the team should not be longer than 90 minutes. The practice time increases every day thereafter by 15 minutes, except following an off-day, if the practice can not be longer than the previous time. So if an exercise that introduces an off-day is 105 minutes, the practice after an off-day should not be longer than 105 minutes.
The maximum designated practice time on the field will be two and a half hours.
LaFleur said veterans and younger players will be on separate schedules.
“If we continue,” said LaFleur, “we will try to keep our veteran players we know very well, we will try to keep them below that two-hour limit, but we will stay out of it. some of our younger players and really give them a chance to get more reps and give us the chance to evaluate these guys. ”
Savage remains focused
When he was not back home in Maryland, safety Darnell Savage said he would stay in Green Bay this offseason to continue his training.
In normal times, this whole season would be a crucial moment in the development of Savage. After playing 865 snaps (83.1 percent) as a rookie last season, the Packers’ first-round pick would have introduced his first, full offseason program this spring. The COVID-19 crisis diminished his offseason, limiting interactions with his team until Zoom meetings.
“I just wanted to be somewhere where I felt comfortable,” Savage said. ‘I was not worried about another place until in Florida, California, nothing like that. I just wanted to be comfortable and still be able to get good work in. ”
Savage, who had a defensive pass in each of his first three games, had a quick start to his career. He had six tackles and forced a fumble Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings. His first interception came Week 3 against the Denver Broncos.
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An ankle injury in October forced Savage to miss two games. After returning, Savage had six tackles only once in his last nine games, with two defensive passes and one interception.
Now healthy, Savage said he wants to make the proverbial leap of second year. He hopes his time in Green Bay will help this entire season, even with training restrictions during the pandemic.
“Really just studying film, learning the game more, teaching myself more,” Savage said. ‘It’s a long season, and there are a lot of takeaways you can take from the season that is good and bad. Really just learn and keep growing as a player. ”
Keep it clean
On Wednesday, the NFL and the Players’ Association announced that daily testing of COVID-19 would take place through the September 5 second cut, although the NFL Network reported that the league’s chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills said the positive test rate through Tuesday was at 0.81% for players and 0.46% overall.
That on the surface shows that players are minded. But in Seattle, NFL Media reported that Seahawks cut rookie cornerback Kemah Siverand for trying to sniff a woman in the team hotel.
“Yeah, I have no indication that guys are behind it,” LaFleur said of his team. ‘I feel like we really hammered that message home to make sure they protect the team. I mean, that’s a main rule of ours, the team is placed first and I have a lot of confidence in the guys we have in that locker room. We have a lot of great character and I think our boys will go the right way over the company. ”
