One of the biggest talking points during and after the Green Bay Packers’ second preseason game was the performance of second-round pick Anthony Belton.
The rookie offensive tackle struggled mightily in the first half against the Indianapolis Colts after playing well in his debut in the opener against the New York Jets. In the opener, Belton played 42 snaps at right tackle, including 25 as a pass blocker, where he didn’t allow a single pressure.
However, the rookie lineman had a couple of mental errors as he was penalized twice. Those issues became a bigger issue against the Indianapolis Colts, as Belton was flagged five times.
According to Zach Kruse of Packers Wire, Belton was flagged twice for illegal formation, once for facemask, once for unnecessary roughness, and once for a false start. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur wasn’t pleased with the mistakes and talked about it after the game in his press conference.
Rasheed Walker on Anthony Belton's flags:
"Everybody was saying something to him. I feel like he got the message. I think I just gave him a snack to kind of clear his mind ... just eat this clementine, man. Just refocus. It's all good. And that's when he had a good second half."
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 18, 2025
Anthony Belton Gets Big Assist from Rasheed Walker During Poor Performance
That being said, not everyone piled on the rookie lineman. In fact, Packers veteran Rasheed Walker looked out for the youngster and gave him some encouragement.
“Everybody was saying something to him. I feel like he got the message. I think I just gave him a snack to kind of clear his mind ... just eat this clementine, man. Just refocus. It's all good. And that's when he had a good second half, Walker said (h/t Matt Schneidman of The Athletic)
It’s good to see a veteran step in and help the rookie because we can only imagine how fast the game was moving for him. Then, when you add in the penalties, it was a recipe for disaster.
Walker and most vets likely understand what Belton went through, regardless of the position that they play.
Life in the NFL isn’t easy for a rookie, no matter how talented that player is. There will always be growing pains as they learn to become a pro and hopefully the best player at their position. The Packers hope that Belton can learn from this experience, as he has the size and skills to be a starting-caliber tackle.
The Packers hopefully won’t need Belton to start immediately, as they have Zach Tom holding it down at right tackle. However, if called upon, the rookie will need to be ready to go.
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