Throughout training camp, we’ll bring you the five things each day that caught our attention — whether it’s a play at practice, something someone said in the locker room, a nugget of news or something offbeat that took us by surprise.
Welcome to the first installment of The High Five.
GREEN BAY — Among the best things about the opening day of training camp each year is seeing players who are new to the Green Bay Packers — whether they’re rookies or dudes who played elsewhere before coming to Titletown — experience the tradition of riding kids’ bikes to practice for the first time.
And no one seemed to get a bigger kick out of their first pedal-to-practice experience than veteran linebacker Zaire Franklin, whom the Packers acquired in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts in March.
Franklin confessed that he was nervous when he saddled up — more on that in a second — but also that while he’d heard about the tradition, he wasn’t exactly sure how it worked. He even reached out to Packers director of player engagement Grey Ruegamer to have it explained to him.
“I actually texted Grey when I was driving back to camp. Like, ‘Damn, was I supposed to buy a bike? Like, I didn’t know,” Franklin confessed afterward.
We’re happy to report that Franklin managed to make it from the players’ exit at Lambeau Field down to Ray Nitschke Field for practice on his borrowed bike without incident, although he did have one issue.
“Bro, the last time I rode a bike, it’s actually it’s been over six years,” Franklin said. “But I think I did a good job. I had cleats on, so I kept slipping. But I didn’t fall, so that’s all I care about.
“I figured if I crashed, that’d be like a bad omen or something. But it was a cool experience. I’m just glad to be here.”
On with our five things that caught our attention on Wednesday:
1️⃣ The Packers know the risk they’re taking with a rookie kicker, and they know there’ll be growing pains. What’ll happen is anybody’s guess.
While Packers rookie kickers have not fared well of late — 2023 sixth-round pick Anders Carlson only lasted a year, and Brayden Narveson, who took over for Carlson in 2024, didn’t even make it to the midpoint of the season — the team has also had two rookie kickers who were instant successes: Ryan Longwell, who helped the 1997 team to a berth in Super Bowl XXXII, and Mason Crosby, who was a rookie sixth-round pick in 2007, when the Packers reached the NFC Championship Game.
What rookie sixth-rounder Trey Smack winds up being, no one can say. But the rookie sixth-round pick has clearly been put in the position that it’s his job heading into the Sept. 13 regular-season opener in Minnesota — despite the addition of German export Lenny Krieg on the eve of camp.
The Packers had two kickers who made kicks in games that actually counted — Brandon McManus, who was released in May, and Lucas Havrisik, who was let go on Sunday when the team added Krieg after he had a strong workout a day earlier.
Asked to explain his reasoning in moving on from two kickers with regular-season NFL experience to essentially hand Smack the job, Gutekunst said he’s willing to live with the predictable growing pains a rookie kicker endures.
“Obviously we really like Trey. It wasn’t something where we went into the draft saying, ‘We’re going to go target a kicker and try to draft a kicker,’” Gutekunst explained. “He was the highest ranked guy on our board, and we felt he has a chance to be a very, very good kicker in this league and be one of those championship level kickers. Otherwise we wouldn’t have taken him.
“As we know with all positions but particularly kickers, it can take some time to become a great kicker in this league. We really like Trey, we really like what he’s made of and we’ll kind of see how it goes. But we’re really optimistic that he has a chance to be one of those guys.”
Asked how much patience he can show with Smack when he struggles, Gutekunst replied, “I’d like to think that I’m going to have more patience than I’ve had [with Carlson and Narveson]. … But at the end of the day, any player, if he’s costing us opportunities to win football games, then we’re going to have to look at that.
“But again, we really have a lot of confidence in Trey and what he’s going to be able to do. But he is a rookie kicker, and he’s got a lot to learn and earn before he gets there.”
2️⃣ As his legal case remains unresolved, the Packers are moving forward as if they’ll have running back Josh Jacobs this season.
Running back Josh Jacobs, who was arrested earlier this offseason in connection with an alleged domestic dispute over Memorial Day weekend, was on the field practicing as expected.
The Brown County District Attorney has yet to determine whether charges should be filed against Jacobs, and if so, what those charges should be. In the meantime, Jacobs is free to practice, and it sounds like the Packers fully expect him to be ready for the opener.
“Really, nothing’s changed,” Gutekunst replied when asked about the case. “. Those things are obviously legal matters that are out of our hands, but he’ll be out there, and we look forward to him being out there. He’s obviously such a big, important part of our football team, and he’s healthy. And I think he looks really good.”
Asked later if he was concerned Jacobs would be suspended by the league, Gutekunst replied in part, “Until [something] transpires, I’m not sure the league will really be involved in it.”
Added quarterback Jordan Love: “It’s great having Josh out there. We know what type of player Josh is, so to be able to continue to keep building as we start training camp. It’s great to have him there.”
3️⃣ The curious case of Keisean Nixon’s hamstring injury — after he passed his physical.
In almost every case, a player who reports to training camp with a preexisting injury flunks his physical and lands on the physically unable to perform list — even for a short time. For instance, left guard Aaron Banks and defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse were both placed on the PUP list upon reporting to camp, but they were activated from it before the start of Wednesday’s first practice.
Which is what makes No. 1 cornerback Keisean Nixon’s hamstring injury so mysterious. Nixon, who is in the final year of his existing contract at a below-market rate of $4.3 million, has a hamstring injury according to the team, which is why he didn’t practice Wednesday.
It’s always dangerous to question the veracity of a player’s injury, but the fact that he was not placed on the PUP list right away leaves more questions than answers, including whether Nixon is staging a “hold-in” in hopes of the Packers upgrading his contract.
Nixon was not in the locker room during Wednesday’s media access period to be asked about the injury.
4️⃣ Luke Musgrave’s neck injury has the Packers concerned.
While the team divulged few specifics about the injury, Gutekunst revealed that the reason No. 2 tight end Luke Musgrave is on the PUP list is a neck injury that either occurred or came to light during organized team activity practices in the spring.
And while pointing out that 2026 is “a big year for him” because he’s in the final year of his rookie contract, Gutekunst sounded as if the team was preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.
“We’re working through to see if it’s going to be something long-term or not,” Gutekunst said. “We’re always [cautious] around here with heads, necks and hearts. It’s a little bit more sensitive than some of the other injuries. You have to take that a little bit slower.
“This is a neck injury, so we’ll take our time and make sure we know what we know before we put him at any kind of risk.”
A second-round pick in 2023, Musgrave was taken one round ahead of Tucker Kraft and started ahead of him as a rookie. Since then, Kraft has emerged as one of the team’s biggest stars while Musgrave has battled a myriad of injury issues.
“You never want to see a guy [in this situation],” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “I know he may not have the production that certainly he wants up to this point in his career, but I do think that he’s got a legit premier trait in terms of [his] speed, and you’ve got to account for that on every play.”
5️⃣ Marlon Jones overcame a lot before Wednesday’s pick-6 interception return for a touchdown. Now he wants to parlay that into making a run at a roster spot.
On the final play of practice, the No. 3 offense was facing a third-and-goal from the 4-yard line when quarterback Kyle McCord’s pass toward the end zone was picked off by undrafted rookie cornerback Marlon Jones, who returned the INT 99 yards for a touchdown.
Jones’ journey to that play was a difficult one. After playing the 2023 college season at Eastern Washington, he transferred to Vanderbilt—only to be diagnosed with cancer, in the form of a Stage 3 classic lymphoma.
He sat out the 2024 season, returned to Vandy in 2025 and — after going undrafted and not even getting a tryout offer for the post-draft rookie minicamps around the league — got a late-May call from the Packers, who signed him after a workout.
“It means a lot, just the story that I’ve had to endure, fighting cancer, going through chemo, having to take a year off of football,” Jones said of the interception after practice. “I definitely took the scenic route to get here, but I don’t regret any of it. I wouldn’t change any of it. I think it’s all made me who I am today.”
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