Trey Smack made seven out of eight field goal tries in Day 1 of minicamp, including a 58 yarder. After his rough day in OTAs, you Chicken Littles can stand down (for now).
Lukas Van Ness was reportedly highly disruptive (in shorts, of course) during day one of minicamp. The player Micah Parsons praises the most has looked quicker and more explosive off the ball by most reports. Van Ness hinted that "play style" was what he has learned the most from having Parsons as a teammate. He also said that new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon's defense is "allowing us to play free without thinking." I have to wonder if he is implying that Hafley's system was more complex than Gannon's?
On the flip side, Van Ness' success in the practice was mostly at the expense of Jordan Morgan, but without pads, I'm not going to get to excited about any of this.
Jager Burton continued to see first-team snaps, albeit because Aaron Banks was seen in the rehab group, which is quite a large group, with an estimated 14 players participating there. But back to Burton, it's good to see the Packers are already considering him as the primary guard backup, since I have little confidence in Donovan Jennings and zero confidence in Jacob Monk.
Bo Melton will once again be on this team, this time as a full-time WR. Bet the house.
Hammond Bears - OK, OK, it's fun to tweak Bears fans about this right now, but in reality, it's not going to mean very much to the rivalry down the road. The "New York" Giants and Jets play in my home state of New Jersey. Nobody makes a big deal about it anymore and it's a non-factor rivalry-wise. The Eagles fans don't care the Giants aren't in NY and Patriots fans couldn't care less where the Jets play. Neither team is mocked for not playing in the state that bears their name (no pun intended). But do have fun with it for now,
Christian Watson will be a Green Bay Packers for the next couple of seasons and that makes me very happy. I've seen people grousing about the contract. I'm no contract/salary cap expert, but even before the full details came out, I thought it was a good deal for both sides. Four years, $110 million - an average of 27.5M per year. But let's look at the full details:
As former CHTV writer Wendell Ferreira laid out in this article, the extension is actually 4 years, $92M (base of $23M per year) plus $18M in incentives. Add in what he was set to make this season ($7.2M) and the contract base value is $99.2M over five years - an average of $19.8M per year (plus those incentives). Even better, only $31M is guaranteed, distributed as a signing bonus, There are 25 other wide receivers in the NFL with more guaranteed money in their deals, including Romeo Doubs ($35M).
According to Spotrac, the cap hits are as follows:
2026: $10.5M
2027: $11.5M
2028: $24.5M
2029: $29.1M
2030: $26.2M
Incentives/Bonuses:
2026 Per Game Active Bonus: $107,352 ($1.825M)
2027-2030 Per Game Active Bonus: $125,000 ($2.125M)
2028 Roster Bonus: $13M (3rd league day of 2028)
2027-2030 Escalators available (TBD)
If you break this all down, the Packers are getting two years of Watson at a below market cost, and after that, how Watson performs/stays healthy in those two years will determine if the Packers continue with the contract, restructure it or bail on it. It's a good deal for the Packers and Watson gets a tractor trailer full of $100 bills.
Go Pack Go!