Aaron Rodgers Calls First Practice, ‘Strange, Very Strange’

Aaron Rodgers has been through 16 “opening days” — tied for the most in the long and storied history of the Green Bay Packers.

Rodgers, Green Bay’s veteran quarterback, began his 16^th training camp with the Packers Saturday. And the future Hall of Famer admitted it was unlike anything he’s ever been part of.

“It’s strange,” Rodgers said. “Very strange.”

Green Bay tourism officials estimate that training camp brings in approximately $40 million to the area economy. On Saturday, Lambeau Field was a ghost town — and figures to remain so during this summer of COVID-19.

During a typical summer in Green Bay, the bleachers at Ray Nitschke Field are filled an hour before practice begins. Fans are lined three and four deep around the chain-linked fences.

On Saturday, though, it was crickets.

Since at least the Vince Lombardi-era 60 years ago, players have been riding kids’ bikes from the Packers’ locker room to the practice field. This year? Nothing.

For someone like Rodgers — who has seen almost everything possible since coming to Green Bay in 2005 — Saturday was a surreal day.

“Obviously, this is my 16^th training camp, riding a bike the first few years is something really, really special, Rodgers said. “We all get to do and it’s fun to see the guys come in and find their one or two bike kids they kind of stick with.

“My bike kid, he was in the seventh and eighth and ninth grade I think when I was riding his bike. Now he’s 30, I think, he’s in a band, him and I still keep in touch, he lives on the West Coast.

“That’s the beauty of playing in a small town and having great traditions like that. It is really strange. I think there’s a sadness around it, just because when the normalcy gets radically changed, nostalgically you miss some of those really fun traditions that kind of make Green Bay, Green Bay.”

Despite the unique circumstances, most agreed Green Bay’s first practice of the 2020 season was a smooth one.

There was terrific energy. Mental errors were kept to a minimum. And the play was cleaner than most first practices.

“I just thought it was good for guys get out on the grass and compete,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “They haven’t had their helmet on in over six months, so it was certainly fun to see that competitive nature and the camaraderie they have for one another. But until I can go back and look and look at the tape, sometimes it’s tough to tell from my perspective.”

Years from now, that same tape will show empty stands and a barren parking lot outside of Lambeau Field. That’s the “new normal” for 2020 — which briefly left Rodgers romanticizing the past.

“I remember when I was a rookie, whenever (Brett) Favre came out of the Hutson Center, I’d always marvel at the applause he would get,” Rodgers said. “And as I became an older player, I’d kind of got the same type of reception. There was just something special about jogging on the field at getting that type of reception from 5,000 people or so standing around, plus the folks in the stands. There’s just something really special about that.

“There’s something special about the interaction with kind of the first group of fans, and again seeing the dedication. So many of those fans, especially for the morning practices, would be there an hour early getting their spots. I always thought that was such a really cool special tradition.”

For 2020, at least, those traditions are on hold.

NOTES

• Packers nose tackle Kenny Clark signed a four-year, $70 million contract extension, a deal that includes a $25 million signing bonus. Clark, who was entering the final year of his rookie contract, became the 12^th-highest paid defensive player in the NFL.

“I couldn’t be happier for Kenny,” LaFleur said. “Kenny is the epitome of what we’re all about here. He works hard on a daily basis. He is becoming more of a vocal leader for us and just really happy for him.”

Clark, who’s still just 24, equaled his career-high with 6.0 sacks last year. And according to Pro Football Focus, Clark’s 62 pressures trailed only Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams (80).

Clark was also second on the Packers with 89 tackles, had 11 tackles for loss and 28 quarterback hits.

Despite playing just 13 games in 2018, Clark had 6.0 sacks, a team-high 26.5 pressures and was almost immovable in the run game. In 2017, Clark had 4.5 sacks in 2017, two forced fumbles, 11 quarterback hits and 10 quarterback pressures.

“Ah man, it’s a blessing man,” Clark said. “It feels good, just, honestly, I don’t even know what to say. I’m just excited to be a Packer for the long haul and just everything worked out fine.”

• Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby practiced with the team after spending two weeks on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Packers tight end Jace Sternberger, who is also on the reserve/COVID-19 list, was in attendance, but did not practice.