The Green Bay Packers' season ended in chaos, embarrassment, and uncertainty. In the four-plus months since, it has been the total opposite.
General manager Brian Gutekunst has quietly gone about his business, but outside of a few moments, it hasn't been all that exciting. A lack of signings in free agency. Predictable departures. No first-round pick. A solid and smart draft, but no true wow pick.
That starts to change now. On Tuesday, the Packers begin their organized team activities (OTAs), the next notable landmark on the road to the 2026 season. Now is when things begin to get interesting.
Packers' OTAs will begin to answer several burning questions facing Matt LaFleur's team
Gutekunst is correct when he says roster building is a 365-day process, but the heavy lifting is over. Outside of a potential summer addition or two, the 53 players the Packers will take into Week 1 are mostly already in the building.
But with the acquisition phase of the offseason in the rear-view mirror, we will finally get some important updates from the practice field.
OTAs aren't the be-all and end-all, but they will shed light on some of the questions the Packers need to answer this summer.
How do the rookies look against the veterans? Is kicker Trey Smack as good as advertised, or will he face pressure from Lucas Havrisik? The Packers need Smack to make a fast start after releasing veteran Brandon McManus.
How does MarShawn Lloyd look? Is he finally healthy and ready to take on the RB2 duties behind Josh Jacobs? Can any of the other running backs step up and make an impact?
What about the trimmed-down wide receiver corps without Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks? Can an undrafted rookie emerge, like J. Michael Sturdivant? The offensive line? Is Sean Rhyan's job safe at center, or could rookie Jager Burton push him immediately?
Will OTAs provide some early clues into the pass-rush rotation while Micah Parsons is out, or the competition for starting jobs at cornerback?
Here are the dates of the Packers' OTAs: May 26-27, May 29, June 1-2, June 4, June 15-16, June 18.
The practices are voluntary, but the Packers will also hold their three-day mandatory minicamp in between their OTAs, from June 9-11.
We won't get definitive answers over the next few weeks, but we will get some clues. Some players may increase or decrease their stock with their work on the practice field.
It's the warm-up to training camp, which is when things will truly heat up. But in what has largely been a steady but uneventful offseason, the OTAs will give us some welcome updates and early answers to the Packers' most pressing questions.
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