GREEN BAY, Wis. – Throughout Green Bay Packers training camp, Sean Clifford has consistently taken the second-team reps behind Jordan Love. However, after Clifford threw a couple of interceptions on Tuesday, rookie Michael Pratt stepped in and took over the No. 2 reps for the final two periods of the day.
In his next session, Jordan Love completed 3-of-6 passes, but two of those completions resulted in significant gains. First, he connected with Bo Melton along the sideline, despite tight coverage from Jaire Alexander. On the following play, Love delivered a perfect strike to Jayden Reed, threading the ball into a gap behind a trailing Javon Bullard and an approaching Xavier McKinney from center field, resulting in a gain of 35 to 40 yards.
Next up was an unscripted move-the-ball drill, which nearly ended in disaster. On first down, Love targeted Romeo Doubs on a slant route but failed to spot linebacker Kristian Welch, who almost intercepted the pass. On second down, Love’s deep pass to Doubs was slightly underthrown, allowing Eric Stokes to break up the play.
However, Love managed to move the chains with a screen pass to Luke Musgrave. Shortly after, he attempted a deep pass to Bo Melton, but the wobbly throw hung in the air and was broken up by safety Anthony Johnson. Despite this, rookie safety Evan Williams collided with Melton, drawing a pass interference penalty. On third-and-3, with no open receivers, Love had to throw the ball away, setting up an easy field goal attempt.
Following that, the team practiced two end-of-half scenarios. In the first, the offense started at the defense’s 18-yard line with 22 seconds left and no timeouts. On first down, Love hit Dontayvion Wicks on a slant for 16 yards. Javon Bullard made the “tackle,” allowing Love to spike the ball with 9 seconds remaining. On the next play, Romeo Doubs lined up inside in a three-receiver set to the right, motioned out, and ran an out route to get wide open for the touchdown.
The day concluded with a 2-minute drill, where the offense started at their own 45-yard line with 40 seconds remaining but failed to make progress. Jaire Alexander nearly intercepted Love’s pass to Dontayvion Wicks on first down. On second down, Preston Smith’s pressure forced Love to throw the ball away. On third down, Love overthrew AJ Dillon on a deep pass intended for Eric Wilson.
The Packers will resume practice in Green Bay on Wednesday before their joint practice with the Denver Broncos on Friday. Love is not expected to play in the game on Sunday night.
“I think we’ll treat it the same way even if we were playing a couple of snaps,” Love said. “Just try to get the most out of practice. It’s good to play against somebody else for a change, see different periods, pressures, and schemes. It’s beneficial, but we approach it the same way.”
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