The Green Bay Packers have completed their annual Family Night practice, which dates back to 2001, giving players a chance to play in front of the fans at Lambeau Field before the preseason and families an affordable chance to see the team in its historic stadium.
While the format of the event has changed from an annual scrimmage of offense vs. defense to essentially just another training camp practice, the tradition has still been a constant in the Green Bay area. Other teams have tried to offer a similar event, but it arguably hasn't reached the same level. In Green Bay, the streets shut down, people tailgate, and overall it feels more like a game than a practice.
At the end of the day, though, it is just one practice, even though it had a much bigger audience than the hundreds that show up at Ray Nitschke Field. The odds are that no one won or lost a roster spot on Friday night. That said, with the bright lights of Lambeau Field shining, there certainly were a few standouts in this year's Family Night festivities.
Four players who stood out during Packers' practice at Lambeau Field
1. WR Matthew Golden
Arguably, the biggest splash of the night came when Matthew Golden got behind Javon Bullard for a 52-yard touchdown, with Jordan Love throwing the ball into a perfect spot where only his receiver could make the catch.
The touchdown is what is going to stand out the most, but Golden was everywhere during the practice, whether it was in team drills or cooking Keisean Nixon in one-on-one reps. By all reports, Golden has been phenomenal thus far, and he used the Family Night practice to build on what has already been an incredible training camp.
In his rookie campaign last year, things just never seemed to fall into place. Whether it was playing time, slight misses by Love, or any number of other possibilities, the numbers just didn't come for Golden. Whatever it was, though, seems to be in the past, and the former Texas Longhorns receiver notched another great day.
2. K Trey Smack
For many Packers fans, it's easy to remember the days when the kicker was an afterthought. During the early 1990s, Chris Jacke was the guy, earning an All-Pro nod in 1993 and helping Green Bay get back to being Titletown USA with the Super Bowl XXXI win. Jacke gave way to Ryan Longwell, who would go on to become the franchise's all-time leading scorer. Save for one season of Dave Rayner in 2006, Mason Crosby was the heir apparent, holding down the kicking duties from 2007 until 2022, with just a couple of scares along the way.
Since then, though, kicker has been a revolving door at 1265 Lombardi Ave. Anders Carlson, Brayden Narveson, and Brandon McManus ultimately didn't cut it, leading Green Bay to trade up into the sixth round of this year's draft and select Trey Smack out of Florida.
Smack had been a bit rocky through camp so far, but Family Night was exactly what the rookie kicker needed to right the ship. In his first time kicking at Lambeau Field, Smack went 5-for-6, with his lone miss during the team periods coming from 51 yards, missing that one to the left. He even connected from 61 yards in the warm-ups.
With what figures to be another tight race for the NFC North, having a consistent kicker with plenty of leg power goes a long way. It certainly hasn't been the greatest training camp for Smack, but Friday night seemed to be a big step in the right direction.
3. EDGE Barryn Sorrell
Expectations shifted dramatically for the Packers when they traded for Micah Parsons. The "rebuild" was over, and the team was no longer playing with house money. It was time to win. Now, nearly a year later, the Packers find themselves in a similar position to start the season as they did before the trade, wondering which pass-rusher is going to emerge.
The Packers landed Sorrell to great fanfare on Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft. When Green Bay made the pick, the front office didn't know Sorrell was still across the street in the Resch Expo in the green room after not hearing his name on Day 2. But he was able to come out, shake the commissioner's hand, and receive a warm welcome from the thousands of Packers fans.
Sorrell didn't log many snaps as a rookie, in large part due to the depth ahead of him. Things are much different now. Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare are gone, Parsons is likely out for at least the first four games of the season, and Lukas Van Ness is still struggling to reach the expectations of a first-round pick.
Coming off a pick-six in practice early this week, Sorrell was all over the field at Family Night, stopping MarShawn Lloyd in the backfield multiple times. With a wide-open competition to fill the other starting edge-rusher spot aside LVN in Week 1, Sorrell definitely helped his case.
4. The fans
Yes, it's cheesy, but Packers fans deserve some love too. Other teams are trying to host open practices at their stadiums, but it hasn't been done to the same level that Green Bay does it. Year in and year out, over 50,000 fans come to Lambeau Field for a practice.
Despite the nearly yearly tradition of bad weather threatening to shorten or cancel the event, it went off without a hitch, and without any major injuries. Preseason football is almost here, as the Packers travel to Pittsburgh for Thursday night's game against Mike McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers, and the Steelers.
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