The long journey across the pond is almost at hand for the Packers. The last NFL team to take part in the international series will make it’s first trip to London, England to meet the New York Giants at Tottenham Stadium Sunday morning at 8:30 Titletown time.
Head Coach Matt LaFleur seemed on the edgy side when asked more questions about his team’s spotty play in spite of the 3-1 record, the trip’s itinerary, keeping the lid on too much sightseeing and of course, playing the surprisingly likewise 3-1 Giants. That was before practice. The team dressed in helmets and shoulder pads for what will likely be the most strenuous workout of the week. They’ll practice again on Thursday before departing for Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom late afternoon. The goal is to have the non-stop charter land in time for a decent night’s sleep and a final practice Friday afternoon.
Only one player did not participate in practice today, starting safety Adrian Amos remains in the concussion protocol after exiting late in the first quarter of the Patriots game. Jaire Alexander took part in both stretching and individual drills with the defensive backs, listed as limited but a good sign after suffering a groin pull against Tampa and sitting out last Sunday. The others on the injury report included David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Allen Lazard, Tariq Carpenter and Devonte Wyatt as limited participants. The bookend tackles were on the stationary bikes during team stretch. Caleb Jones was nearby and when drills began, there were only 8 available offensive linemen to work with.
Matt LaFleur welcomes new linebacker Eric Wilson.
With Krys Barnes on injured reserve with an ankle, the Packers needed another inside linebacker and Tuesday, General Manager Brian Gutekunst signed Eric Wilson onto the active roster from the New Orleans Saints practice squad. Wilson is a 6th year vet, played his first four season with the Minnesota VIkings. In 2020, he emerged as a starter and led the team in tackles with 122 while posting three interceptions. He split time with Philadelphia and Houston last season and has 78 career games played that included plenty of special teams action.
Barnes meanwhile, is making rapid progress. After needing a cart for the bad wheel, he quickly moved to a walking boot and today was actually in uniform and working on the side with the rehab group. Sammy Watkins and Amos were also rehabbing. Kylin Hill, eligible to begin practicing to come off the physically unable to perform list, isn’t quite there yet according to LaFleur.
Once the locker room opened up after practice, reporters couldn’t fire off enough questions about the trip fast enough.
Aaron Rodgers held his usual Wednesday court and said the league’s international series is still a big deal and he’s thrilled to finally be able to take part in it.
A collection of thoughts from some of the guys:
Kenny Clark is making his first trip outside the continental United States and he’s excited just for that reason. He plans on taking a walk to soak in some of London but said we have to take care of business on Sunday.
If you get to games early enough, you might see Allen Lazard beginning his warm up with a soccer ball at his feet. It’s become his ritual and is even get a few more players and coaches involved in the exercises. He says it sharpens his focus because juggling a soccer ball takes a lot of practice. It also helps stretch his hips. Lazard is also a “huge Premier League” fan although he wouldn’t disclose his partisan rooting interest.
Maybe the only player who actually played the beautiful game is Mason Crosby. He was an all conference standout soccer player during his Texas high school days. His last competitive match was an indoor soccer game he used to stay fit in the off-season while just focusing on kicking at the University of Colorado. 16 years into the league and a huge fan of the sport, Crosby was hoping to get the chance to cross this off his bucket list. He’s looking forward to kicking in a true, soccer stadium and has heard nothing but rave reviews about Tottenham’s new digs.
I’ll be boarding my plane Thursday afternoon, arriving mid-day Friday in London. Here’s an invitation to come back to the blog for some of my travelogue posts on the sights and people of Britain throughout my first ever visit right through the ballgame itself. Tally Ho!
