Matt LaFleur reveals which Packers starters will play in preseason Week 2

The Green Bay Packers got the preseason started off in style against the Cleveland Browns, taking home a 23-10 victory that featured a touchdown pass from Jordan Love and a strong defensive showing. Head coach Matt LaFleur had to be thrilled with his club's showing as 2024 kicks off.

The Packers have their eyes on contending this season, which could lead LaFleur to be a bit more cautious with how he approaches the preseason. The time for developing young players is at an end, and one injury to an entrenched starter could be lethal for their chances of making it big.

Green Bay's next preseason game is against the Denver Broncos, who are fresh off putting up 34 points in their preseason debut against the Colts. According to LaFleur, many of the big-name Packers on the roster will sit this one out. He did leave the door open for some of those starters to suit up in the final exhibition against the Baltimore Ravens.

“Right now, I don’t anticipate those guys playing versus Denver, the majority of the starters," LaFleur said. “We have the competitive practice versus the Broncos, use that as their game reps and let the other guys play for the most part in that second preseason game, and then we’ll re-evaluate for the third one.”

Matt LaFleur says Packers starters likely won't play in preseason game vs. Broncos

Love threw just two passes, but he completed both of them, including a 65-yard touchdown to Dontayvion Wicks. Josh Jacobs only received one carry as the starting running back, and many of the defensive starters were out after a few touch-and-go maneuvers.

Expect the quarterback responsibilities to be split up between Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt as they fight it out for the right to be Love's backup. Clifford has the experience, but Pratt looked like a natural during his first extended action with the Packers.

One fringe starter who could see a ton of reps is running back AJ Dillon. With Jacobs likely going to sit out and rookie MarShawn Lloyd recovering from an injury suffered in this game, the bulky power back will need to get back on the right track after tallying just two yards on four carries against Cleveland.

The Packers will use most of the next two weeks as an evaluation period to strengthen the bottom half of the roster. There is no need for them to put someone like Love in jeopardy in a game that doesn't mean much of anything.