Packers: 3 biggest question marks at 2021 OTA’s
The Green Bay Packers began their team offseason workouts on Monday when Organized Team Activities, AKA OTAs, began. They had a private session on Monday with their next one on Tuesday open to the media.
These OTAs are completely voluntary for players, however, it’s nice to get back into the groove after tons of missed practice time last year. A lot of players also have bonuses worked into attending these events so that the coaching staff can get their hands on players bright and early.
Although you must be cautious with what you glean from these glorified practice sessions, it’s always the first opportunity to see how players have changed for better or worse since the end of last season. With that in mind, here are the three biggest questions about this summer’s OTAs.
With the Green Bay Packers beginning Organized Team Activities for the 2021 season, these three questions loom over the team.
3. Will key players show up?
We already know what’s going on with Aaron Rodgers–more on that in a moment–but who else won’t show up for these practices. So far, 79 of the Packers’ 89 man roster has been on the field in one capacity or another.
Other than the disgruntled quarterback, none of the Packers’ top five wide receivers (Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard, Devin Funchess and Equanimous St. Brown) showed up. They are all free agents after this year and, perhaps, some of them are waiting for contract extensions.
The other guys who were no-shows were David Bakhtiari, Jaire Alexander, Ka’dar Hollman and Stanford Samuels. Bakhtiari is hurt so that’s understandable, but will guys like Alexander, Adams and the rest of the wide receiver crew show up in some capacity?
2. How will the Packers assemble their offensive line?
Bakhtiari’s recovery from ACL is about six months in and he’ll need more time until he’s ready to return to the football field. Meanwhile, Green Bay also has to replace All Pro center Corey Linsley at the center of their offensive line as well. On Tuesday, the Packers lined up in the following fashion from left tackle to right tackle: Elgton Jenkins, Jon Runyan Jr., Josh Myers, Lucas Patrick and Billy Turner. Let’s see if that holds moving forward.
1. How will the Aaron Rodgers’ saga affect the rest of the team?
It’s pretty clear Rodgers isn’t going to show up for OTAs so we can probably eliminate that as a question. But will the affect the guys who are there? Jordan Love got tons of practice in on Monday and Tuesday and his footwork appears to have improved according to the media who was there. Will he continue to keep his mind focused on football and take the necessary steps to improve his game?
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Will the other guys be affected as well? Aaron Jones already shared he hadn’t talked to Rodgers and wasn’t aware of the situation before he re-signed with the Packers in the offseason. The questions about the reigning MVP aren’t going to go away. Can the rest of the team remain patient with the questions and continue to focus on the guys who are there?