The Green Bay Packers put on the pads for the first time for Monday’s training camp practice. While a large chunk of the practice is dedicated to sharpening their skills in preparation for the upcoming season, each practice has an unwritten rule that many players understand: Don’t get hurt.
Free agent acquisition Nate Hobbs may not have gotten the memo. The cornerback, who was acquired as a free agent from the Las Vegas Raiders last season, found himself in hot water after a play in Monday’s practice. And it may have been enough to draw the ire of head coach Matt LaFleur after causing a significant injury.
New Packers CB Nate Hobbs Injures RB MarShawn Lloyd After Matt LaFleur’s Warning
According to Aaron Nagler of Cheesehead TV, the play in question occurred when MarShawn Lloyd took a pitch to the outside in Monday’s practice. When Lloyd cut to the corner, Hobbs flew in to make a low tackle and undercut the second-year running back.
“[It was] a physical affair, the pads came on and Nate Hobbs, it doesn’t matter if the head coach tells him to dial it back, he ain’t going to,” Nagler said. “...It was not malicious…it was a good football hit, but certainly not what you want to see at practice. You want to take care of your guys. And Hobbs was not about that life.”
Nagler added that Packers offensive tackle Zach Tom got in Hobbs’s face, and Lloyd was on the ground “for a bit” with the training staff before leaving practice. While LaFleur echoed Nagler’s assertion that it wasn’t a dirty hit, it still had to be frustrating considering he told Hobbs to tone it down during non-padded practices last week.
Matt LaFleur asked if Nate Hobbs needs to tone down his physicality during non-padded practices:
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) July 27, 2025
“The answer is yes. I don’t think it’s malicious.”
Said that’s a part of Hobbs’ game the Packers liked in free agency. pic.twitter.com/YJh1j2Sabx
“The answer is yes,” LaFleur said last week via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “This is what I told him: I don’t think it’s malicious. I think it’s one of the things and one of the qualities that we really admired about him, is how he competes. It’s just, we talk about competing for the football. We just don’t want to go through a person, whoever that person is, to make a play on the ball. I don’t mind him going through the hands. We just don’t want him going through the body because that’s how you end up with people on the ground. We’d all be sick to our stomach if somebody got hurt.”
Hobbs didn’t sound like he received the message.
“I mean, that’s football, you know what I’m saying?” Hobbs said after Sunday’s practice. “Things like that [are] gonna happen. I just feel like it’s the nature of the game, and if you playing it the right way, they gon’ have to tell you to slow down. Obviously, you gotta be a pro about it. Obviously, you need everybody on the team, but I’m a football player, man. I’m not gon’ stop being a football player.”
In this case, Lloyd was the player to take the fall. But it hasn’t dampened Green Bay’s enthusiasm about Hobbs. Fellow defensive back Javon Bullard had kind words about Hobbs’s aggressive style when talking to Schneidman last week, calling him “a dog” and Hobbs’s “belt-to-a**” mentality could be what the Packers need to make up for the loss of Jaire Alexander this offseason.
While LaFleur may secretly appreciate the fact Hobbs is practicing the same way he plays on Sunday, he probably would like him to save it for when they’re playing a different team.