The Green Bay Packers are one of the best up-and-coming teams in the NFC, and we saw last season that they might shed the "up-and-coming" label if they haven't already. It's been an outstanding 12 months for Packers fans, who have witnessed Jordan Love become the latest in a line of unprecedented success in finding franchise quarterbacks.
Not only that, but the Packers really wiped away the last remaining "major" concern of the offseason by signing Love to a long-term contract extension worth $55 million per season, making him one of the highest-paid players in NFL history up to this point.
Even with all of the good news, the Packers -- like everyone else in the league -- are still dealing with some issues at training camp.
What have been the most pressing concerns to pop up so far?
Top 3 problems for the Green Bay Packers so far at training camp
1. Offensive line depth (or lack thereof)
The Green Bay Packers are dealing with a number of missing players on the offensive line so far this offseason. Notably, they don't have starting center Josh Myers out there (personal matter) as well as starting right tackle Zach Tom (pectoral).
With Myers out, the Packers have rotated a number of players in at the center position, including starting left guard Elgton Jenkins and former third-round pick Sean Rhyan. But where their lack of depth has been a bit of concern is more so at Tom's right tackle position.
With Tom missing time, the Packers have gotten looks at both Andre Dillard and Kadeem Telfort out there and neither has had much success. In fact, they've gotten victimized by the Packers' defensive front at times.
Does this Green Bay roster have the depth necessary for the long haul of an NFL regular season right now? Because of the lack of proven depth for this Packers team, we could be looking at a situation where both Royce Freeman and Andre Dillard make the 53-man roster. Not great.
2. Backup quarterback play
If there's one team in the NFL right now that really needs to make an effort to upgrade its QB2 spot, it's the Green Bay Packers.
I've mentioned this many times in the past, but let's go through a hypothetical scenario.
The Packers are on the cusp of taking a lead in the NFC North at some point in early December, but Jordan Love goes down late in a game with an injury that's going to cost him 2-3 weeks. The Packers are now in the midst of a division title hunt and Wild Card hunt when all of a sudden, QB1 goes down.
Not every team is going to have a superstar backup quarterback, but the Packers would have to turn to Sean Clifford or Michael Pratt in that instance. And what we've seen and heard from those two guys throughout OTAs and training camp has not been indicative of anything you'd want to have stepping onto the field for a regular season game with playoff implications.
The Packers need to monitor the trade market and free agency for quarterback help, and with Ryan Tannehill still sitting out there waiting for an opportunity, you can't help but wonder...
While Jordan Love was sitting out of practices early on in training camp due to his contract situation, the other quarterbacks were throwing the ball to the defense left and right. Through the first few days of camp, it felt like almost everyone on the defense took their turn at picking off at least one pass. During a practice on July 24, Andy Herman of Packer Report said the offense was a "nightmare right now without Love" and that they had thrown five picks.
This is something the Packers are going to have to look into changing before the regular season kicks off.
3. Injuries starting to pile up
The last thing you really want to see in any NFL training camp is a bunch of early injuries, but they are an unfortunate reality that every team has to deal with.
But for the Packers, these are not the names you want missing time:
Free-agent running back addition Josh Jacobs is dealing with a groin injury. Second-round linebacker Edgerrin Cooper is dealing with a hip injury. Starting right tackle Zach Tom is dealing with a pectoral injury. Promising young tight end Tucker Kraft is still on the PUP with a pectoral injury. Third-round running back MarShawn Lloyd has missed time with a hip injury. Cornerback Carrington Valentine has missed time with a hamstring injury, and it's unclear when he will return.
Promising rookies Kitan Oladapo and Donovan Jennings have also been sidelined for much of training camp.
Again, there's nothing overly uncommon about guys missing time in training camp, but it's something that's certainly starting to pile up for Green Bay and can't be ignored at this point.
Specifically, the injuries on the offensive line are frustrating. Zach Tom dealing with an injury and Josh Myers being gone for a personal matter has given the Packers a pretty clear look at what life could be like if they start seeing some guys go down in 2024. Even though this team clearly values versatility on the offensive line, that versatility hasn't translated to a bunch of winning combinations just yet.
The Packers need their starting five up front to stay on the field as much as possible this season.