Green Bay, Wis. – Kenny Clark is hosting his fellow Green Bay Packers pass rushers for weekend offseason gatherings in hopes of producing more frequent get-togethers in opposing backfields each Sunday this fall.

The three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman realizes Green Bay’s pass rush can’t afford a repeat of its inconsistent 2024 performance.

“It was on and off,” the three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman said during organized team activities this week. “Honestly, not good enough. Not good enough. Not good enough to win a championship, so we’ve got to be better.”

That’s why Green Bay’s pass rushers have been conducting regular offseason film sessions at Clark’s home.

Rashan Gary, a Pro Bowl defensive lineman from the University of Michigan entering his seventh season in Green Bay, says this marks the first time they’ve had these types of weekend film studies at somebody’s house this early in the year.

“KC’s is the spot,” Gary said. “KC’s is the film study house. Everybody pulls up (to) KC. We might have pizza, wings, things like that, but we’re getting together and we’re locking in on details.”

Green Bay collected 45 sacks last season to tie for eighth place among all NFL teams, but more than half of those sacks came in just four games. The Packers had eight sacks against Tennessee, seven against Seattle, five against Miami and four against Houston.

In seven of their 17 games, the Packers had no more than one sack. They sacked Jalen Hurts twice in their 22-10 wild-card playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Green Bay ranked 16th in pressure rate, which calculates the number of hurries, knockdowns and sacks for each team divided by an opponent’s dropback attempts.

The Packers must find creative ways to improve because they didn’t add proven pass rushers in the offseason. Their main free-agent move involving a player on the front seven was allowing T.J. Slaton to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Green Bay did add three defensive linemen in the final day of the draft by selecting Texas’ Barryn Sorrell in the fourth round, Oklahoma State’s Collin Oliver in the fifth and Georgia’s Warren Brinson in the sixth.

Perhaps their biggest offseason move to address the pass rush was the hiring of defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington to replace the fired Jason Rebrovich, who now is an assistant defensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills. Covington spent the last eight seasons in New England and was the Patriots’ defensive coordinator in 2024.

“He’s just a leader of men,” defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness said. “We’ve started doing handshakes at the beginning of every meeting, just building that camaraderie. I think when you want to play for the guy next to you on the field, it’s a brotherhood. Together when we’re one, that’s when we’re the best.”

The Packers believe they can get more production from their returning players.

“There’s a number of young players that are coming into their own and should play their best football in front of them,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said after the draft.

A couple of them were playing through injuries last year.

Clark injured his right foot during the Packers’ season-opening loss to the Eagles in Brazil – he complained about the Corinthians Arena playing surface after the game – and underwent surgery in the offseason. Clark went from having a career-high 7 ½ sacks in 2023 to a career-low one in 2024.

“You’re taking every step and the toe is busting,” Clark said. “It’s something you’ve got to deal with, but it is what it is. That’s done. I got the surgery done, and yeah, we’re moving forward.”

Van Ness, the 13th overall pick in the 2023 draft, said he wore a cast on his broken right thumb until about the 10th or 11th week of the 2024 season. Van Ness recorded three sacks last season, none after Thanksgiving.

“I don’t know if any of you guys have ever broken a thumb or hand or anything, you kind of get a little bit of a mental block, and it’s kind of taken me a little bit of time to gain some confidence again in utilizing my hand to its fullest extent,” Van Ness said.

The Packers expect to be healthier this year. They also should be more comfortable now that they’ve had time to adapt to second-year defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and his 4-3 scheme.

They just need to be more dynamic on a week-in, week-out basis. They’re hoping that improvement starts in Clark’s home.

“The main thing is just getting the bonding. Just building as a team,” Clark said. “We’re going to need everybody, and need everybody to be playing at a high level to start the season, and so forth. So (we’re) just make sure we’re hitting on all cylinders.”

Browns’ Shedeur Sanders shows promise

Berea, Ohio – The dichotomy that is Shedeur Sanders’ development as a rookie quarterback and the heightened expectations for him with the Cleveland Browns was again evident Wednesday.

Sanders had the best throw of the day during organized team activities when he zipped a pinpoint pass to tight end Caden Davis in the back of the end zone during a 7-on-7 red-zone drill. Whether or not Davis got both feet in before going out of bounds was up for debate on social media.

However, Sanders was the only one of Cleveland’s four quarterbacks not to take a snap with the first-team offense during 11-on-11 drills. He did take second-team snaps, but slipped and fell on the first play.

Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees lauded Sanders for his work ethic amid what some still see as a steep learning curve for the fifth-round pick.

“He’s really put in a lot of work as all those guys are, but you could tell on the mental side of the game and learning the system and calling it and having that rhythm to it, he’s put a lot of work and time and effort into that. And then when you do that, the game starts to slow down and you can focus on finding completions. And he’s done a nice job of that as camp’s progressed,” Rees said.

With three young quarterbacks in camp – third-round pick Dillon Gabriel, Sanders and fourth-year pro Kenny Pickett – Rees said a large amount of the offense has been installed while keeping a close eye on the growth and progression of all three.

“Definitely pushing them and pushing where we want them to go, but also being cognizant of, hey, we want them to go out there with confidence and making sure that it’s beneficial to how they’re learning and the way they’re going,” Rees said.

Joe Flacco and Pickett remain the front-runners to be under center on Sept. 7 when the Browns open against the Cincinnati Bengals. The amount of snaps all four will get during the first two weeks of training camp remain fluid.

“We’re going to find ways to be creative and make sure they all have opportunities to develop and put their best foot forward. And when the time comes, we will continue to push guys forward as they earn it,” Rees said.

The number of snaps all four will receive during the three days of next week’s mandatory minicamp also has to be determined.

When it comes to who may win the starting job, Rees can see valid arguments for any of the four.

“We’re so early in the process and in evaluating it. I think we have a good group of guys that will continue to push one another and by the time September rolls around, we’ll be ready to go,” he said.

Titans revamp O-line to protect Ward

Nashville, Tenn. – Trying to fix the offensive line was this offseason’s top priority for the Tennessee Titans even before quarterback Cam Ward became the No. 1 overall pick.

Only four NFL teams allowed more sacks in the 2024 season than Tennessee and that was a reason why the Titans won only three games in coach Brian Callahan’s debut season.

New general manager Mike Borgonzi signed Dan Moore Jr. as the Titans’ left tackle along with veteran Kevin Zeitler as a right guard. JC Latham, their first-round pick a year ago, has switched ends to right tackle.

Protecting the quarterback better is a priority. That’s why offensive line guru Bill Callahan has taken his linemen back to fundamentals this offseason.

“I think we have a good vision,” Callahan said Tuesday. “I think we’ll have a better idea as it unfolds here in training camp.”

The Titans have plenty of room for improvement with only Houston (54), Seattle (54), Cleveland (66) and Chicago (68) giving up more than Tennessee’s 52 sacks allowed.

Center Lloyd Cushenberry, who missed eight games with an Achilles’ tendon injury, is busy rehabbing along with Zeitler. Brian Callahan said that’s by design as the Titans try to manage the 35-year-old Zeitler.

“Don’t need to see a lot of Zeitler at the moment,” the Titans coach said. “He’s pretty proven at this point in his career. So more just about being smart than anything else. But he’s here, he’s participating, he’s around, he’s in meetings and he’s with us.”

The Titans made a beeline for Moore in free agency. The Pittsburgh left tackle got a four-year deal worth $82 million and $50 million guaranteed as a rare starting offensive tackle available in free agency.

“It’s hard to find, you know, quality tackles any more in free agency because everybody’s keeping them,” Bill Callahan said.

The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Moore’s best ability might be his availability. He started all 66 games he’s played, including 17 last season. His arrival helps Tennessee try to fix right tackle where four different players started last season.

Moore’s big contract is a sign the Titans see beyond the NFL-high 12 sacks along with 41 quarterback pressures allowed by Moore, according to Pro Football Focus. Moore said he thought he played well last season and expects to improve his game with Bill Callahan’s help.

“All I’m looking forward to is the future,” Moore said.

Latham has spent the offseason losing weight after getting up to 370 pounds at the end of his rookie season with the added heft slowing him down. He met with his position coach and worked with the Titans’ nutritionist and his own chef to cut down his food.

That is why Latham showed up for the third phase of the offseason program at 337 pounds, and he is working to get closer to 325 or even 320 as he settles back in the position he played in college at Alabama. Latham said he’ll play wherever the Titans want him.

The Titans linemen hope to build on chemistry started this offseason working out at offensive line coach Duke Manyweather’s gym in Texas. Moore was there with Latham and left guard Peter Skoronski, going into his third NFL season with yet another left tackle.

Skoronski, the 11th pick overall in 2023, said he’ll miss Latham but sees Moore’s experience as being helpful.

“He’s got a great attitude and works super, super hard,” Skoronski said of Moore. “So we already gel pretty well. And you always want to have a great relationship with your left tackle. So I think we’re off to a good start with that.”

Lions 2025 schedule

▶ Week 1 — Sunday, Sept. 7: at Green Bay Packers (4:25 p.m., CBS)

▶ Week 2 — Sunday, Sept. 14: vs. Chicago Bears (1 p.m., FOX)

▶ Week 3 — Monday, Sept. 22: at Baltimore Ravens (8:15 p.m., ESPN/ABC)

▶ Week 4 — Sunday, Sept. 28: vs. Cleveland Browns (1 p.m., FOX)

▶ Week 5 — Sunday, Oct. 5: at Cincinnati Bengals (4:25 p.m., FOX)

▶ Week 6 — Sunday, Oct. 12: at Kansas City Chiefs (8:20 p.m., NBC)

▶ Week 7 — Monday, Oct. 20: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7 p.m., ESPN/ABC)

▶ Week 8 — BYE

▶ Week 9 — Sunday, Nov. 2: vs. Minnesota Vikings (1 p.m., FOX)

▶ Week 10 — Sunday, Nov. 9: at Washington Commanders (4:25 p.m., FOX)

▶ Week 11 — Sunday, Nov. 16: at Philadelphia Eagles (8:20 p.m., NBC)

▶ Week 12 — Sunday, Nov. 23: vs. New York Giants (1 p.m., FOX)

▶ Week 13 —Thursday, Nov. 27 (Thanksgiving Day): vs. Green Bay Packers (1 p.m., FOX)

▶ Week 14 — Thursday, Dec. 4: vs. Dallas Cowboys (8:15 p.m., Amazon Prime)

▶ Week 15 — Sunday, Dec. 14: at Los Angeles Rams (4:25 p.m., FOX)

▶ Week 16 — Sunday, Dec. 21: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (4:25 p.m., CBS)

▶ Week 17 — Thursday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day): at Minnnesota Vikings (4:30 p.m., Netflix)

▶ Week 18 — at Chicago Bears (day, time, network TBD)

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