Complete Green Bay Packers Training Camp Preview

Both the Green Bay Packers' rookies and veterans will report to St. Norbert College on Wednesday to kick off training camp this summer. The first practice will be held on Thursday, July 30, at 8:20 a.m. CT at Ray Nitschke Field. 

If you're one of the 90,000 visitors expected to attend Packers camp this summer, per Packers.com, you'll quickly find that daily practices open to the public are just a fraction of the ways fans can interact with the team and players. 

Even fans who can't make it to Green Bay will be following the daily reports closely, scanning tweets and articles for news of injury updates, position battles and progress reports.

This primer provides fans with an overview of how to best follow and experience camp whether you're in Green Bay, Wisconsin or Greenland. 

Practice Schedule

Matt Ludtke/Associated Press

Date	Event	Time (CT)
Thu, Jul 30	Practice	8:20 a.m.
Fri, Jul 31	Practice	8:20 a.m.
Sat, Aug 1	Practice	8:20 a.m.
Mon, Aug 3	Practice	8:20 a.m.
Tue, Aug 4	Practice	8:20 a.m.
Thu, Aug 6	Practice	8:20 a.m.
Fri, Aug 7	Practice	8:20 a.m.
Sat, Aug 8	Packers Family Night	6:25 p.m.
Mon, Aug 10	Practice	12:15 p.m.
Tue, Aug 11	Practice	11:45 p.m.
Thu, Aug 13	Preseason Game: Packers at New England Patriots	6:30 p.m.
Sat, Aug 15	Practice	12:45 p.m.
Mon, Aug 17	Practice	12:15 p.m.
Wed, Aug 19	Practice	12:15 p.m.
Thu, Aug 20	Practice	11:45 a.m.
Sun, Aug 23	Preseason Game: Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers	Noon
Tue, Aug 25	Practice	12:15 p.m.
Wed, Aug 26	Practice	11:45 a.m.
Sat, Aug 29	Preseason Game: Packers vs. Philadelphia Eagles	7 p.m.
Mon, Aug 31	Practice	11:45 p.m.
Thu, Sep 3	Preseason Game: Packers vs. New Orleans Saints	6 p.m.

Attending Practice and Camp

Matt Ludtke/Associated Press

Now that you've seen the practice schedule, you can begin to plan a visit to attend training camp if you're able. Here are some helpful tips courtesy of Packers.com and my own experience attending camp. 

Attending Practice

Bleacher seats to watch practice fill up hours ahead of time, especially on the weekends.

Your best bet to make sure you get a prime seat and won't have to watch practice through the fence is to show up an hour or two ahead of the slated practice time and wait along the fence until the gates to Ray Nitschke Field are open. Gates open 90 minutes before practice begins.

Don't forget to tailgate ahead of time! The Lambeau Field parking lots are open for tailgating during camp. 

Remember that recording video at practice is strictly prohibited, including on camera phones. 

Small bags and coolers are allowed to be carried into Ray Nitschke Field, but no alcohol is allowed in the stands. 

Meeting Players and Staff

If you have small children, one of the best ways to meet a player is to have your child bring his or her bike to the American Family Insurance DreamDrive at the Oneida Nation Gate for a player to borrow to ride down the street to Ray Nitschke Field. 

When the players ride children's bikes to practice, they will stop at the entrance to the field and often pause to talk with fans and sign autographs. 

Children aged 12 and younger may also meet players at Future Lambeau Leapers Autographs in the Don Hutson Center on multiple dates throughout camp. 

After practice has concluded, fans may be able to interact with players along their walk or ride back to the locker room at Lambeau Field. 

Other Activities 

Practice takes up a small portion of the day during training camp, but there are plenty of other activities to fill a trip to Lambeau. Fans can visit the Packers Hall of Fame in the Lambeau Field Atrium and see the team's four Lombardi Trophies. 

Stadium Tours of Lambeau Field are also available from the main atrium. Fans can walk through the same tunnel out onto the field as the players on game day. As the team's website stresses, tours are first-come, first-served daily, so arrive early to buy tickets. 

Fans from out of state (and out of the country!) will be pleased to discover that virtually any item that could boast a Packers logo is available in the Packers Pro Shop off the atrium. 

Injury Updates

Morry Gash/Associated Press

There are a handful of injuries to be aware of heading into this summer's first training camp practice, which have been broken down below. The most valuable injury information will come at the conclusion of the team's first practice on Thursday, when the injury report is updated. 

CB Casey Hayward: Foot

Good news for Green Bay's secondary: Per Weston Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Hayward will be ready to go to begin training camp after a foot injury kept him out of OTAs and the mandatory minicamp. 

If he can remain healthy throughout camp, the starting outside corner job opposite Sam Shields is Hayward's to lose given his experience. 

"

Also from today's story Casey Hayward said he has the green light to return from foot injury that kept him out of offseason program #Packers

— Weston Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) July 28, 2015"

RB John Crockett: Ankle

Undrafted rookie John Crockett is a candidate to earn the No. 3 spot in the backfield behind Eddie Lacy and James Starks, but his ability to compete for that job will depend on how much of training camp he can attend. 

Crockett injured his ankle in mid-June during an offseason practice. 

"I'll be ready to go when the time comes," Crockett said at the time, per Bill Huber of Packer Report. We'll find out this week if that's the case. 

OLB Nick Perry: Shoulder

Many were surprised to learn that linebacker Nick Perry was struggling with a shoulder injury throughout the season in 2014 for which he had surgery this offseason.

As the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported back in mid-June, the Packers hope to have Perry back in time for the start of camp. 

"

Shoulder surgery is keeping Nick Perry out of #Packers practices, but they hope to have him back by training camp http://t.co/d40LXr3MBx

— Packers News (@PGPackersNews) June 17, 2015"

Perry had an ineffective year on the whole last season considering it was his third year with the team, with just 16 total tackles and three sacks. The Packers opted not to pick up the fifth-year option on his contract, so 2015 is an essential year for Perry to prove his worth to Green Bay.  

Top Position Battles

Morry Gash/Associated Press

Running Back

There are three players who will compete during camp to earn the No. 3 spot behind Eddie Lacy and James Starks: former practice-squad player Rajion Neal and undrafted rookies John Crockett and Alonzo Harris. 

Neal has the most experience in the system and also offers a skill that is most different from Lacy and Starks: He has the best receiving ability out of the backfield.

In college, Crockett had three consecutive seasons of 1,000-plus rushing yards, and in his senior year, he set school records for all-purpose yards (2,419), rushing yards (1,994) and rushing attempts (368). 

Crockett also has the ability to contribute as a kick returner, an important factor when considering how he fits in the overall roster. 

Harris was a hard-nosed inside runner for Louisiana-Lafayette, averaging 4.7 yards per carry over his career. 

Tight End 

At this point, let's set aside who could potentially be the Packers' No. 3 tight end among rookie Kennard Backman, former practice-squad player Justin Perillo and undrafted rookies Henry Mitchell and Harold Spears. 

First, the Packers will have to determine which of veteran Andrew Quarless or second-year player Richard Rodgers will win the starting job. 

As Brian Carriveau of 247Sports reported, Quarless' court date for allegedly firing a gun in public has been set for August 10. That only gives the team about a month to decide how big a role Quarless will play for it in 2015. 

Rodgers had five starts in 2014, per Pro Football Focus, while Quarless had 11. Rodgers finished the regular season with 225 yards on 20 receptions and two touchdowns, and Quarless had 29 receptions for 323 yards and three touchdowns. 

Rodgers finished the year as the No. 5 tight end in pass blocking in the league, per Pro Football Focus. While still developing, he has shown flashes of being a complete tight end. 

Wide Receiver

Whether the Packers keep six wide receivers on their 53-man roster will depend on how well the contenders for that sixth spot perform in camp. 

Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Davante Adams and rookie Ty Montgomery are essentially guaranteed roster spots. Second-year players Jeff Janis and Jared Abbrederis are the most likely candidates to compete for the No. 5 and No. 6 spots.

However, practice-squad holdover Myles White and undrafted rookies Ricky Collins, Javess Blue, Adrian Coxson, Jimmie Hunt and Larry Pinkard will all be looking to make big plays in camp as well. 

Coaching Changes

MIKE ROEMER/Associated Press

Multiple coaching changes will affect the way the Packers structure their practices—and who leads them—during training camp and into the season. 

Head coach Mike McCarthy passed on play-calling duties to former offensive coordinator and now associate head coach Tom Clements. 

McCarthy also fired special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum and promoted his assistant, Ron Zook. Edgar Bennett, former wide receivers coach, was promoted to offensive coordinator, and Alex Van Pelt became the quarterbacks/wide receivers coach.

Now, McCarthy will have more time to focus on special teams and the defense during camp as well as in game preparation and on game days. 

The quarterbacks and wide receivers under Van Pelt will now share meetings, as the two units have moved under one coaching umbrella. 

Suspensions

Morry Gash/Associated Press

The following players will be suspended to begin the Packers' 2015 season, though they will be able to participate in training camp. 

Player	Length of Suspension	Reason
Datone Jones, DE	1 game	Violation of substance-abuse policy
Letroy Guion, DT	3 games	Violation of substance-abuse policy

Jones' and Guion's suspensions leave the Packers short on defensive line help for when they open the season against the Chicago Bears. The Packers will likely use defensive lineman Josh Boyd next to B.J. Raji and on the other side from Mike Daniels in the base defense. 

Tight end Andrew Quarless could also face discipline from the league for allegedly firing a gun in public in July under the personal conduct policy.