August 28, 2025 • 29 mins
Mike and Wes examine the stories surrounding the Packers’ initial 53-man roster, including CB Bo Melton making the team at a new position (:27), DL Nazir Stackhouse continuing the undrafted rookie streak (6:38), and newcomers already being added (9:10). They also provide an injury update as the team returns to the practice field (16:51) and congratulate Mark Murphy on his Packers Hall of Fame induction (23:54).
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always
by my partner in everything Packers, Wes Hodkowitz. Wes, we
have a ton of ground to cover on this show,
and uh, we're just gonna start with the fifty three
man roster. There's still been some changes and adjustments continue
(00:30):
to go on with it. But uh, I know we've
talked about this in the past, but I just I
need to start here because I think the story of
training camp in twenty twenty five for the Green Bay
Packers was bell Bo Melton. Excuse me, making a position
switch and making the team. I mean, this is my
(00:50):
twentieth training camp with Packers dot Com. You can add
a few more for my newspaper days back when I
was even younger. I don't I have never seen a
play who was asked to make a position switch and
then make the team that that guy has always ended
up getting cut. There isn't room for him, It doesn't
work out. Bowl Melton switches from receiver to cornerback. He's
(01:11):
obviously still a big part of things on special teams,
but he makes the squad and I can do nothing
but tip my cap to him.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
It's all you can do.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
I mean, when you make a switch like that, historically
that's usually a death now, right when when you're trying
to make at twenty six years old, he's been a
receiver all his life. And we get to mini camp
in the middle of June. Wasn't even at the beginning
of the offseason program. It was in the final stretch,
and he starts lining up with the cornerbacks and everybody's
kind of like, oh, well, this is interesting. Yeah, And
then he comes back at the start of training camp
(01:40):
and I think it was right from the first presser
that Brian Guducun said, Hey, he's going to be out
there with the defensive backs today. And as Gudacun's also
talked about after he was reviewing the fifty three man
roster with the media on Wednesday morning, this wasn't a
situation where it was like, okay, well, they just they
gave him a spot, like they were honestly surprised how
comfortable he looked there. He did not look like a
(02:01):
fish out of water in the cornerback position, which is
remarkable when you think about the fact that he's been
playing football's entire life. He's been mostly concentrated on receiver
in his college and professional career, and here he is
flipping sides and I even I'm between you, me and
our viewers. I messaged him yesterday. I was texting him
a little bit and said, the fact that he did
that in eight weeks is legendary.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yeah, it is like that is wild that he was
able to pull that off.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yeah, it's not just the story of this training camp
in twenty twenty five, it's it's one of the best
training camp stories that either one of us has has
ever come across. And just kudos to Melton. I'm really
excited to see exactly what happens and what his role
becomes on this team as far as the depth at
cornerback and then and then what he perhaps brings on
(02:49):
special teams. Another guy to mention at cornerback before we
move on to some other spots. We knew going in
there's gonna be a lot of competition for the depth
and how that was going to shake out at that position,
and Kamal hadn't ends up making the fifty three. And
I point this out, and I don't know how big
of a role Kamal Hadden is gonna play. If you
(03:10):
were on this fifty three and you're at a position
like that where there can be as many as four
guys on the field at one time, there's a good
chance you're gonna be playing at some point. You're not
just gonna be riding the bench or be a game
day inactive for seventeen weeks. But Kamal hadn't. He dealt
with an injury in training camp. I believe it was
a hip injury. He came back, he was trying to
(03:31):
get back into the flow of things. Didn't have the
greatest game in Indianapolis. And you know me, during those games, Wes,
I'm on the live chat, the live blog with the
fans and everything, and all the fans are saying, oh,
you know, Kamal hadn't. You know? Nice knowing you, it
looks like, you know, he's gonna get cut, et cetera.
And I just you just have to let the entire
(03:51):
preseason play out, right, because hadden't came back. He kind
of got his legs under him again in the Indie game.
He came back in the joint practice against the Seahawks,
and in the preseason finale against Seattle, and he had
a fire about him, like he was talking and chirping
and you know, trash talking and all that kind of stuff,
(04:12):
but he was also backing it up with what he
was doing out there on the field and just that
you know, fiery all or nothing approach that he took
in the final week. It got him on this roster.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yeah, you'd love to see it. And you know, I
always think it's funny. Two things of this one. That's
why the actual decision makers within the Packers are not
running a live blog during the game. They're not listening
to what the fans are saying in the direct regard.
Obviously in the overall macro level they are. But the
fact of the matter is is you have to look
(04:44):
at the totality of everything. It was a question that
you had even said to Brian Goodecuns that sort of
elicited his response on Kamal Hadden in that it's not
just about one specific instance, it's about the whole camp,
but also how you make progress throughout that camp. And
if you draw up a defensive back, if you drop
a corner specifically, you're going to come up with somebody,
you know, prototypical wise, blueprint wise, it's going to look
(05:05):
an awful like Kamal Hadden. I mean, he is a
lengthy corner and the Packers pursued this guy man. I
mean they you go back to last year. Yes, he
got drafted by Kansas City, but it's not like he
was on the the you know, tryout circuit and just
randomly ended up in Green Bay. It was after final
cuts last year. The Packers quickly brought him in and
he had an opportunity to get elevated for two games,
and certainly as they're looking for options on the perimeter,
(05:28):
he gives them some depth there. What was the number
one thing you and I were talking about throughout the
offseason program and throughout training campus in the fact that
the Green Bay has a lot of guys who can
play the slot, including Nate Hobbs and Keishawn Nixon. They're
two number one, number two cornerbacks on the perimeter, but
what they were sort of lacking behind Carrington Valentine was
perimeter options. Now you have that with Hadden and what
(05:49):
it looks like you have it with bow Melton too.
I mean that has predominantly been where Bow worked as well.
So a lot of versatility in that secondary. But to
be able to have a couple developed metal guys in
Bo's case learning the position and Hadden's case a guy
that had chops as a.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Six round pick.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Those are the guys now that you want to see
grow behind that top three, so to speak, at the
corner position.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, it's always a special moment for those guys who
make a fifty three coming out of training camp for
the first time when it didn't happen for them as
a rookie, didn't happen as a draft pick, biding their
time on the practice squad, putting in the work, taking
another shot in whether it's year two or year three,
whatever it might be, and Hadden't comes through there and
(06:33):
gets on the fifty three. Another topic to hit on.
The undrafted rookie streak appears like it will stay alive
here because Nazir Stackhouse, the undrafted rookie defensive tackle knows
tackle whatever you want to call him from Georgia. He
makes the fifty three along with one of his teammates
and defensive linemates at Georgia, Warren Brinson, who was a
(06:56):
six round draft pick and part of the Packers draft class.
But I think you neither you nor I is surprised
that Nazir Stackhouse made this team. And it's not just
because of the streak or anything that anybody wants to
keep going. You look at that, You look at that
young man, and he screams nose tackle, he screams run, stuffer.
(07:16):
And he did a lot of things in this preseason,
in this training camp, and in this preseason to show
that he can be as a young player, can be
a guy that you can stick in there in the
middle of the defensive line, tell him to go stop
the run.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Yeah, Mike.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
And this is gonna go down as probably one of
the more confusing undrafted stories for Green Bay. I am
not as much surprised that he made the fifty three
man roster as I am the fact that he wasn't drafted.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
To begin with.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
I would agree, this is a guy that was pretty
well credentialed to be at Georgia. Did start a lot
of games for Georgia. I think, correct me if I'm wrong.
He might have even had more starts than Warren Brinson
did during the course of his career. And not that
that's the whole litmus test. There's a lot that goes
into development who ultimately ends up being really good pros.
But this is not some guy from nobody you This
is a guy that came from one of the most
(08:03):
distinguished programs in the country and won some national championships,
and you know, came to Green Bay. I wouldn't say
with the chip on his shoulder, because he's a really gregarious,
pleasant guy, but the way he played on the practice field,
it looked like he really wanted this thing.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
And if you look at it.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
From the standpoint of what the Packers put into it,
I mean, he is one of the biggest investments the
Packers have ever made, at least during my time on
the beat, into an undrafted rookie. There was guaranteed money,
a good signing bonus. I mean, I just felt like
he lived up to everything and he earned that spot
and to be twenty one consecutive years now, and when
you look at the lineage, specifically on the defensive line,
the Packers have had some really good pros come out
(08:39):
of that system. And now with TJ. Slayton being gone
and some room there with the run defense, it's going
to take time. It's not going to be overnight. There
is no express route, especially when you're playing against some
of the biggest, baddest guys on the planet in the trenches.
But there is a platform there and a foundation for
stackhos to make a contribution very quickly for this defense.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Yeah, I think so too. I think he might be
thrown into the mix. There a couple of newcomers brought
in who are part of the Packers fifty three man
roster that we should talk about. The Packers, just before
all the roster decisions were made on Tuesday, traded a
sixth round draft pick in twenty twenty seven to the
(09:22):
Philadelphia Eagles for a backup offensive lineman. His name is
Darien Kinnard and he was drafted in the fourth round. Yeah,
I think fifth round, fifth round, Yes, because he happened
to be drafted just five selections after Zach Tom was
(09:45):
taken at the end of the fourth round in twenty
twenty two. He was taken at the near the top
of the fifth round, just five selections after Tom. The
Packers making a move here to shore up some of
the depth on the offensive line with with Kinnard, partly
as a result of Travis Glover going on injured reserve
(10:08):
with the shoulder issue and he is out for the season.
And then Jacob Monk is beginning the season on injured
reserve with the designation to return from his injury in
training camp. So some questions about the depth there because
of injuries and guys that went down, and uh and
Brian Gudokunz makes a trade.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
He does and as he mentioned, I mean, when you know,
they felt really good about how they were sitting with
all their various options on the offensive line, but ultimately
at the end of the day, you know, they just
kind of ran out of bodies. I mean, when you
look at John Williams, I think they had high aspirations
for him. He has a back injury, they have the
surgery in the off season. He's still on physically able
(10:47):
to perform. Travis Glover had put together some good things.
I mean when you look at the structurally from an
offensive linement perspective, I mean, the guy has everything you
could ever want.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
And they felt good about the way he had come
back from you know, a subparer Ormans when he got
thrown in there in the playoff game in Philadelphia last year.
They really liked where Glover was headed. But then unfortunately
his season ends with a serious injury.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Yeah, So, I mean, just remarkable.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
The fact that, you know, it just seemed like Green
Bay was offensive line was a weird one for green
Bay this camp because it wasn't like they were ever
really in trouble, but like they just were always kind
of teetering on who that next guy up is going
to be. And then once Jacob Monk injured the hamstring
and had to go on as we found out, in
reserve designated to return, eliminating him for the first four games.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
That's where Gudacuns felt like.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
They, Okay, we got to go use our pro personnel
folks and find somebody. Knard is a fascinating situation and
that yes, he's been he's won three Super Bowls, he's
played in two NFL games, and you know, he was
drafted and then he ends up on a practice squad,
ends up, you know, signing eventually with Philadelphia. Doesn't play
much last year, but Green Bay talked about it, and
(11:54):
Gudacuns talked about it. The way that Philadelphia develops offensive lineman,
there's a lot of respect there. You think back to
even you know, Andre Dillard last year they brought him
in after his time with the Eagles. So the Packers
feel like this is a guy that can add some
depth there both at guard, at tackle, and ultimately for
as much versatility as they have amongst those front six.
There's a lot of question marks after that, a lot
(12:15):
of youth after that, and he's somebody that kind of
helps absolve that.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yeah. Really interesting that he's just the second player in
the Super Bowl era to win us to earn a
Super Bowl ring three consecutive years. He had two with
Kansas City before he went to the Eagles and then
and then the Eagles end up winning it. Of course.
So the other new addition linebacker Nick Is it Nieman
or Nyman?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Oh? That put me on the spot. Yeah, I know,
I forgot that. I did plenty of research on him.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Yeah, I forgot to look up the pronunciation. I'm gonna
say Nyman and hope that, hope that it's right. But
maybe it's Nieman. Maybe you can find it while I'm
talking about him. Anyway, he becomes a signing to the
fifty three. He was released by the Houston Texans, who
had signed him as a free agent. After four years
(13:04):
with the Los Angeles Chargers. He was originally a draft
pick of the Chargers back in twenty twenty one. He
was actually taken in the same round, in the sixth
round in twenty twenty one, which is the same round
the Packers took Isaiah McDuffie, also a linebacker that year.
He hasn't played a whole lot on defense over his
four years with the Chargers, a little over three hundred
(13:27):
snaps on defense, but almost thirteen hundred special team snaps
in his career to this point. So this is a
move not just for the linebacker depth, but to boost
the special teams and bring another veteran into that bunch there.
And I guess, for whatever reason, he signed a multi
year contract with Houston with some salary guarantees as a
(13:48):
free agent. It doesn't work out. They end up cutting
him kind of a surprise cut on Tuesday earlier this week,
and the Packers swoop in and pick him up, and
he's on Green base fifty three.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
First off, Nick Neeman Nieman, thank you to Hall of
Fame tight end Antonio Gates for that pronunciation, because I
went back and watched him getting drafted in twenty twenty one.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Nicely done. Yeah, thanks, Nothing nothing like a truly unscripted show.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Nothing like a truly unscripted show. So I'm banking on
Antonio Gates actually getting that pronunciation right. That being said,
hey listen, this guy when you go back and look
at his RADS score was nuts. I mean I think
it was like, was a nine to five to one,
ran a really good forty at his pro day coming
out of COVID, and has been a really productive player
for a number of years. The part that I laughed at,
(14:34):
it's not so much about him signing with Houston and
not working out them giving him guaranteed money that it's
how many guys in the rich Basacia area that Green
Bay has built their special teams around that got here late.
They've Zane Anderson was claimed two years ago, right, he's
a core guy for them. Eric Wilson signed in the middle.
He actually signed the week before he went to London
(14:55):
in twenty twenty two, went back played in London back
to back weeks because of the previously being with the
New Orleans Saints. There's been a number of these guys
that have Christian Welch is one of them too, who
also returned back on the practice squad after he didn't
make the fifty three. So these are the type of
guys you look for. And honestly, Mike, I think you
and I when we looked at it and we saw
(15:16):
that the Packers cut down to fifty three plus the
roster of fifty three, but only included four inside linebackers,
it was only a matter of time before either somebody
was back or elevated. You're not going to go into
a season with just four, not with the way, not
how important they are to special teams.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Yeah, you figured something was in the works there and
this was the this was the direction the Packers went.
So I want to shift gears to the Packers starting
their preparation now for Week one against Detroit. But we
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Welcome back to Packers. Unscripted Wes. We got a glimpse
at Wednesday's practice for green Bay. A couple of practices
(16:38):
this week and then the players will get a little
bit of a break. Then they'll be back on Labor
Day on Monday to get things rolling again. Some good
news on the health front for Green Bay here because
we saw Xavier McKinney, Aaron Banks, Elton Jenkins, Jaden Red
and Dontavian Wicks, all of whom missed time, some more
(17:00):
than others, but all of whom missed time during training
camp with various injuries. They were all back on the
practice field on Wednesday. Now, there are some guys we
did not see, Nate Hobbs, Saveon Williams, Baron Surrell, Zane Anderson.
They were not back just yet, so we'll see what happens.
Perhaps next week, maybe somebody from that group will be back.
(17:23):
But I think It's pretty clear based on what we've
seen that the Packers were being extremely cautious with players
who were injured during training camp, the guys that they
know that they were going to need to count on
when the regular season got here. They if somebody got hurt,
(17:43):
whether it was Xavier McKinney, whether it was a flared
up back with Elton Jenkins, whether it was you know,
Jaden Reid's foot, they weren't going to push anybody in
training camp and take any chances with anything getting worse.
And hopefully that strategy he pays off here with the
Packers getting back a little closer to full health for
(18:04):
Week one.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Hannah up in the control room if she wants to,
she probably doesn't have the graphic available, but she can
roll the graphic. It can come down on the screen.
The Mike Spofford, let's be real moment of the week
begins with the fact that Green Bay could have made
some moves on Wednesday. Nick Neeman comes in. They could
have pushed any of these guys that were injured onto
injured reserve now and had the option to bring them
(18:27):
back at some point. You have the two that you
can automatically put on which they used on marsha On
Lloyd and Jacob Monk. But then the day after you
can carry them through the fifty three put them on IR.
You have up to those eight designations for the season.
Green Bay did not do any of that. Unfortunately, Micah
Robinson was released the rookie seventh round pick. Wishing Michael well.
Awesome dude, Hopefully I'd love to see him back in
green Bay here. All that being said, if there was
(18:49):
any question long term about any of these injuries for
Green Bay, whether the guy's practice day or they did not,
those guys would be moving over to IR and Mike
would still be on the fifty three. So I think
that's really bodes well. The other thing I want to
mention with that, it's great to see Jayden Reid out there,
Awesome to see Dontavian Wicks, all the guys that you mentioned,
certainly Banks and Jenkins backstuff trying to work through all that.
(19:11):
But the fact that Zavier McKinney practice individuals limited in
that joint session with the Seahawks spread and was able
to be back out there today, I think that's a
really positive sign for his calf. Those soft tissue injuries
you never can be too sure, but obviously you wouldn't
be out there if the body's not responding to that.
Brian Goodcouins was asked about Reid wis feeling good, hopeful
(19:33):
for them and their availability against the Lions. Because here's
the thing, Mike, this is the reality of it. You
don't look past any opponent, but the Packers need these veterans,
need their players to play two games in four days
against the Detroit Lions and then the Washington Commanders. You
got to give them a puncher's chance at being as
healthy as possible going into the season. And I would
(19:53):
imagine I would wager with how they handled all these guys,
Jordan Love among them, that erring on the high side
of car during an otherwise, I don't want to say meaningless,
but you've already put your installs in. It's not life
or death with these practices. Take your time, regather yourself,
(20:14):
be ready for week one.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
I think a couple of things that they were looking
at there with regard to some of these the decisions
and really playing the high side of caution with these guys.
One is what you said that when the regular season starts,
you have a late Sunday afternoon and the Thursday night
game right out of the gate. So health health is
going to be paramount. And obviously those games are against
(20:36):
two NFC contenders, just like the Packers are. But the
other part too, is because unlike last year, the Packers
don't have like this Friday game to start the season
where the calendar gets all shifted around the Packers headed
into this week. You make the roster decisions on Tuesday.
It sounds like from what Matt Lafleur said, they conducted
(20:59):
a closed pree late in the day on Tuesday, then
practices Wednesday and Thursday. Next week, a practice on Monday,
and then the usual Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
So just over the.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Two weeks essentially between roster decisions and week one, that's
seven practices. So resting up these guys and getting them back,
I mean, yeah, you don't want anybody to miss time,
but when you're looking at the calendar and saying, hey,
if we can get them back at roster decision time,
there are still seven practices for them to get out there,
(21:32):
to get the reps that they need, et cetera, et cetera.
And the focus has also been obviously on quarterback Jordan
Love and working him back from the surgery on his
left thumb. From what we saw in the brief portion
of practice we were able to watch, it looks like
he is using that left hand more, certainly more than
he was. He's no longer taking the snap off of
(21:54):
the stool in front of him. He's actually catching shotgun snaps,
taking snaps from under center. So that's another step forward
for Jordan Love. And and we'll see where this goes.
But for all of the all of the angst and
consternation and whatnot with regard to the team's health, and
I'm not trying to downplay it any because nobody wants
to have that many frontline players missing that much time
(22:17):
in training camp. But hopefully some signs are pointing in
the right direction here for Green.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
And as much as you don't want to have guys
not on the practice field in training camp, you also
don't want guys not on the practice field and they'll
lead up to your first game of the season.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Yeah, and I.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
Think Green Bay was finding a way to do that.
I love what you mentioned there, and it's a really
good point by counting up how many of these practices
are available to them both next week and also during
this interim period, this mini buy period with what would
have historically been like the last preseason game week, right,
So being able to have a little bit more of
a buffer there, I think is really important for this
(22:51):
football team. And again, just take it all in and
look at what it is. I mean, Jordan Love has
a rapport with these guys. We saw one thing out
it's not the official NFL tabulation for roster age, but
there's been a couple reports out signifying that Green Bay
will be the youngest team in the NFL for the
(23:12):
third consecutive season. Well, they didn't get to be the
youngest team in the NFL by suddenly bringing in a
bunch of new bodies. There's a few, but offensively, it's
a lot of those same guys that Love has been
working with. Yes, you have to get the chemistry down,
you got to get your timing down, but it's not
like these are new faces to him. And then the
one that is potentially gonna be a new weapon in
this offense, the biggest piece, well that's the one that
(23:33):
fortunately was healthy throughout training camp, in Matthew Golden got
work with both Love and then also Malik willis down the.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Stretch absolutely well. One last thing before we go and
before we officially turn the page foward to week one
for our shows next week coming up and previewing the
Lions game and all that is Thursday night inside the
lambeau Field Atrium, the long time and now retired president
(23:59):
and CEO of the Green Bay Packers, Mark Murphy, will
be inducted by his lonesome, which is an honor in
and of itself, into the Packers Hall of Fame. And
I know there are so many things that we could
talk about with with regard to his legacy, but if
in terms of, you know, listing all of the accomplishments,
(24:19):
and there are many of them when it comes to
this football team and everything about this organization. To me personally,
the one that is at the top of the list
was that twenty twenty five NFL Draft being in Green Bay.
That was Mark Murphy's. That was Mark Murphy's doing. He's
the one who sold Roger Goodell essentially on the idea
(24:43):
that green Bay can make this special and make it work.
And it wasn't just special, it was spectacular. And I
give Mark Murphy all the credit in the world for that.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Yeah, it was, and as you and I have talked
to nauseum at this point, you know, it was the
perfect cap stone to his run here in Green Bay.
And when you think about just those seventeen seventeen plus
years of him at the Helm. Obviously we've talked about
as a person, but and I've done that in myself,
given some my own, you know, kind of anecdotes of
working with Mark. But the one thing I will add
(25:15):
on to this is the Packers were pretty darn successful
during his stewardship of this organization as well. Yeah, I
know everybody wants to win as many Super Bowls as possible,
but they got one. He leaves here with the Super
Bowl ring. He had to make a really pivotal decision
in twenty seventeen. In twenty eighteen, a difficult decision moving
on from Ted Thompson, hiring Brian Goodikuntz, and then obviously
(25:38):
a year later, within twelve months of that, letting Mike
McCarthy go, and three weeks after that, hiring Matt Lafleur
as his new head coach, the Packers new head coach.
I've always talked about this, and I think I've said
it on some of our shows. But I'll say it
once more. When you can have that type of run
and you hire one GM in one head coach, that
(25:59):
says something about your leadership, had said something about the
direction the franchise is going. Because what made the Packers
successful when he started, when he inherited that job from
Bob Harlan, that's flip. That whole script is flipped by the.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
End of it.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Yeah, and you have to create your own way. And
I felt like Mark he followed the footsteps for a
couple of years there, but by the end of it,
I mean he was walking in un you know, unfamiliar
sand and still led this place with vision character and
never told anybody. So you know, I never never was
sitting there saying, Hey, I like Matt Lafleuria. You guys
(26:34):
gave me a little bit of flack about hiring him
or being involved in the process.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
No, he never did any of that.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
He he kept it real and uh yeah, in addition
to the draft, everything else he did, the Super Bowl,
the monumental growth of this organization, myself representing some of that. Yeah,
I just it is fitting that he is a loan
inductee this year it's an honor reserve for few, and
certainly Mark Mark Murphy has earned that.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Yeah, and I'm gonna miss uh. It's things had changed
over the last few years. But I actually I got
to spend a lot of years at the road games
sitting next to him in the press box. I was
sort of like at the end of our website and
communications row, and then Mark was was at the other
end of you know, kind of the executive and you know,
(27:20):
personnel executives and whatnot that were also sitting in the
press box. And I sat next to him at a
at a number of games, and and you know, too many,
too many little stories to tell, I guess, but but
I always I'll always remember that because because as much
as yeah, he's the boss and he's the president and
(27:41):
the CEO, sitting next to him in the press box
watching a football game, you're reminded the guy was a player, yeah,
you know, and and that that never necessarily left him
either the way he watched the game, the way he
understood the game. And uh, and that's easy to forget
because even if you took out his NFL playing career,
he's had an absolutely incredible professional Oh, it's insane, you know,
(28:02):
list of achievements and accomplishments and everything you did even
before he got to the Packers. So but anyway, hats
off to Mark Murphy, a tremendous honor, and I hope
he's not a stranger around here.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
No doubt he will be.
Speaker 3 (28:15):
I mean, he's gonna obviously let it be the chairman
now and lead the Packers into the next era. But
certainly I would expect him to still be around here.
I know obviously he's going to be involved, I believe
with UWGB here in town as well. The last thing
I'll close on with that when you mentioned how Mark
was sitting next to you in the press box, that
ain't common practice.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
There aren't a lot.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
Of people in those positions that he's in ownership or
just in the CEO or presidential role that's doing that
type of thing. Mark did that because he wanted to
be out there. He wanted to be by his personnel guys.
He wanted to be a little bit amongst the people.
And yeah, special, very special.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
To absolutely well with that, we'll call it a rap
on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow
all of our coverage of the team and we will
be back next week, back on our regular schedule, hopefully
with two shows per week leading up to Week one
and the season opener against the Detroit Lions. For WES,
I am Mike. Thank you for tuning in everybody. We
will see you next time.
Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always
by my partner in everything Packers, Wes Hodkowitz. Wes, we
have a ton of ground to cover on this show,
and uh, we're just gonna start with the fifty three
man roster. There's still been some changes and adjustments continue
(00:30):
to go on with it. But uh, I know we've
talked about this in the past, but I just I
need to start here because I think the story of
training camp in twenty twenty five for the Green Bay
Packers was bell Bo Melton. Excuse me, making a position
switch and making the team. I mean, this is my
(00:50):
twentieth training camp with Packers dot Com. You can add
a few more for my newspaper days back when I
was even younger. I don't I have never seen a
play who was asked to make a position switch and
then make the team that that guy has always ended
up getting cut. There isn't room for him, It doesn't
work out. Bowl Melton switches from receiver to cornerback. He's
(01:11):
obviously still a big part of things on special teams,
but he makes the squad and I can do nothing
but tip my cap to him.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
It's all you can do.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
I mean, when you make a switch like that, historically
that's usually a death now, right when when you're trying
to make at twenty six years old, he's been a
receiver all his life. And we get to mini camp
in the middle of June. Wasn't even at the beginning
of the offseason program. It was in the final stretch,
and he starts lining up with the cornerbacks and everybody's
kind of like, oh, well, this is interesting. Yeah, And
then he comes back at the start of training camp
(01:40):
and I think it was right from the first presser
that Brian Guducun said, Hey, he's going to be out
there with the defensive backs today. And as Gudacun's also
talked about after he was reviewing the fifty three man
roster with the media on Wednesday morning, this wasn't a
situation where it was like, okay, well, they just they
gave him a spot, like they were honestly surprised how
comfortable he looked there. He did not look like a
(02:01):
fish out of water in the cornerback position, which is
remarkable when you think about the fact that he's been
playing football's entire life. He's been mostly concentrated on receiver
in his college and professional career, and here he is
flipping sides and I even I'm between you, me and
our viewers. I messaged him yesterday. I was texting him
a little bit and said, the fact that he did
that in eight weeks is legendary.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yeah, it is like that is wild that he was
able to pull that off.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yeah, it's not just the story of this training camp
in twenty twenty five, it's it's one of the best
training camp stories that either one of us has has
ever come across. And just kudos to Melton. I'm really
excited to see exactly what happens and what his role
becomes on this team as far as the depth at
cornerback and then and then what he perhaps brings on
(02:49):
special teams. Another guy to mention at cornerback before we
move on to some other spots. We knew going in
there's gonna be a lot of competition for the depth
and how that was going to shake out at that position,
and Kamal hadn't ends up making the fifty three. And
I point this out, and I don't know how big
of a role Kamal Hadden is gonna play. If you
(03:10):
were on this fifty three and you're at a position
like that where there can be as many as four
guys on the field at one time, there's a good
chance you're gonna be playing at some point. You're not
just gonna be riding the bench or be a game
day inactive for seventeen weeks. But Kamal hadn't. He dealt
with an injury in training camp. I believe it was
a hip injury. He came back, he was trying to
(03:31):
get back into the flow of things. Didn't have the
greatest game in Indianapolis. And you know me, during those games, Wes,
I'm on the live chat, the live blog with the
fans and everything, and all the fans are saying, oh,
you know, Kamal hadn't. You know? Nice knowing you, it
looks like, you know, he's gonna get cut, et cetera.
And I just you just have to let the entire
(03:51):
preseason play out, right, because hadden't came back. He kind
of got his legs under him again in the Indie game.
He came back in the joint practice against the Seahawks,
and in the preseason finale against Seattle, and he had
a fire about him, like he was talking and chirping
and you know, trash talking and all that kind of stuff,
(04:12):
but he was also backing it up with what he
was doing out there on the field and just that
you know, fiery all or nothing approach that he took
in the final week. It got him on this roster.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yeah, you'd love to see it. And you know, I
always think it's funny. Two things of this one. That's
why the actual decision makers within the Packers are not
running a live blog during the game. They're not listening
to what the fans are saying in the direct regard.
Obviously in the overall macro level they are. But the
fact of the matter is is you have to look
(04:44):
at the totality of everything. It was a question that
you had even said to Brian Goodecuns that sort of
elicited his response on Kamal Hadden in that it's not
just about one specific instance, it's about the whole camp,
but also how you make progress throughout that camp. And
if you draw up a defensive back, if you drop
a corner specifically, you're going to come up with somebody,
you know, prototypical wise, blueprint wise, it's going to look
(05:05):
an awful like Kamal Hadden. I mean, he is a
lengthy corner and the Packers pursued this guy man. I
mean they you go back to last year. Yes, he
got drafted by Kansas City, but it's not like he
was on the the you know, tryout circuit and just
randomly ended up in Green Bay. It was after final
cuts last year. The Packers quickly brought him in and
he had an opportunity to get elevated for two games,
and certainly as they're looking for options on the perimeter,
(05:28):
he gives them some depth there. What was the number
one thing you and I were talking about throughout the
offseason program and throughout training campus in the fact that
the Green Bay has a lot of guys who can
play the slot, including Nate Hobbs and Keishawn Nixon. They're
two number one, number two cornerbacks on the perimeter, but
what they were sort of lacking behind Carrington Valentine was
perimeter options. Now you have that with Hadden and what
(05:49):
it looks like you have it with bow Melton too.
I mean that has predominantly been where Bow worked as well.
So a lot of versatility in that secondary. But to
be able to have a couple developed metal guys in
Bo's case learning the position and Hadden's case a guy
that had chops as a.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Six round pick.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Those are the guys now that you want to see
grow behind that top three, so to speak, at the
corner position.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, it's always a special moment for those guys who
make a fifty three coming out of training camp for
the first time when it didn't happen for them as
a rookie, didn't happen as a draft pick, biding their
time on the practice squad, putting in the work, taking
another shot in whether it's year two or year three,
whatever it might be, and Hadden't comes through there and
(06:33):
gets on the fifty three. Another topic to hit on.
The undrafted rookie streak appears like it will stay alive
here because Nazir Stackhouse, the undrafted rookie defensive tackle knows
tackle whatever you want to call him from Georgia. He
makes the fifty three along with one of his teammates
and defensive linemates at Georgia, Warren Brinson, who was a
(06:56):
six round draft pick and part of the Packers draft class.
But I think you neither you nor I is surprised
that Nazir Stackhouse made this team. And it's not just
because of the streak or anything that anybody wants to
keep going. You look at that, You look at that
young man, and he screams nose tackle, he screams run, stuffer.
(07:16):
And he did a lot of things in this preseason,
in this training camp, and in this preseason to show
that he can be as a young player, can be
a guy that you can stick in there in the
middle of the defensive line, tell him to go stop
the run.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Yeah, Mike.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
And this is gonna go down as probably one of
the more confusing undrafted stories for Green Bay. I am
not as much surprised that he made the fifty three
man roster as I am the fact that he wasn't drafted.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
To begin with.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
I would agree, this is a guy that was pretty
well credentialed to be at Georgia. Did start a lot
of games for Georgia. I think, correct me if I'm wrong.
He might have even had more starts than Warren Brinson
did during the course of his career. And not that
that's the whole litmus test. There's a lot that goes
into development who ultimately ends up being really good pros.
But this is not some guy from nobody you This
is a guy that came from one of the most
(08:03):
distinguished programs in the country and won some national championships,
and you know, came to Green Bay. I wouldn't say
with the chip on his shoulder, because he's a really gregarious,
pleasant guy, but the way he played on the practice field,
it looked like he really wanted this thing.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
And if you look at it.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
From the standpoint of what the Packers put into it,
I mean, he is one of the biggest investments the
Packers have ever made, at least during my time on
the beat, into an undrafted rookie. There was guaranteed money,
a good signing bonus. I mean, I just felt like
he lived up to everything and he earned that spot
and to be twenty one consecutive years now, and when
you look at the lineage, specifically on the defensive line,
the Packers have had some really good pros come out
(08:39):
of that system. And now with TJ. Slayton being gone
and some room there with the run defense, it's going
to take time. It's not going to be overnight. There
is no express route, especially when you're playing against some
of the biggest, baddest guys on the planet in the trenches.
But there is a platform there and a foundation for
stackhos to make a contribution very quickly for this defense.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Yeah, I think so too. I think he might be
thrown into the mix. There a couple of newcomers brought
in who are part of the Packers fifty three man
roster that we should talk about. The Packers, just before
all the roster decisions were made on Tuesday, traded a
sixth round draft pick in twenty twenty seven to the
(09:22):
Philadelphia Eagles for a backup offensive lineman. His name is
Darien Kinnard and he was drafted in the fourth round. Yeah,
I think fifth round, fifth round, Yes, because he happened
to be drafted just five selections after Zach Tom was
(09:45):
taken at the end of the fourth round in twenty
twenty two. He was taken at the near the top
of the fifth round, just five selections after Tom. The
Packers making a move here to shore up some of
the depth on the offensive line with with Kinnard, partly
as a result of Travis Glover going on injured reserve
(10:08):
with the shoulder issue and he is out for the season.
And then Jacob Monk is beginning the season on injured
reserve with the designation to return from his injury in
training camp. So some questions about the depth there because
of injuries and guys that went down, and uh and
Brian Gudokunz makes a trade.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
He does and as he mentioned, I mean, when you know,
they felt really good about how they were sitting with
all their various options on the offensive line, but ultimately
at the end of the day, you know, they just
kind of ran out of bodies. I mean, when you
look at John Williams, I think they had high aspirations
for him. He has a back injury, they have the
surgery in the off season. He's still on physically able
(10:47):
to perform. Travis Glover had put together some good things.
I mean when you look at the structurally from an
offensive linement perspective, I mean, the guy has everything you
could ever want.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
And they felt good about the way he had come
back from you know, a subparer Ormans when he got
thrown in there in the playoff game in Philadelphia last year.
They really liked where Glover was headed. But then unfortunately
his season ends with a serious injury.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Yeah, So, I mean, just remarkable.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
The fact that, you know, it just seemed like Green
Bay was offensive line was a weird one for green
Bay this camp because it wasn't like they were ever
really in trouble, but like they just were always kind
of teetering on who that next guy up is going
to be. And then once Jacob Monk injured the hamstring
and had to go on as we found out, in
reserve designated to return, eliminating him for the first four games.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
That's where Gudacuns felt like.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
They, Okay, we got to go use our pro personnel
folks and find somebody. Knard is a fascinating situation and
that yes, he's been he's won three Super Bowls, he's
played in two NFL games, and you know, he was
drafted and then he ends up on a practice squad,
ends up, you know, signing eventually with Philadelphia. Doesn't play
much last year, but Green Bay talked about it, and
(11:54):
Gudacuns talked about it. The way that Philadelphia develops offensive lineman,
there's a lot of respect there. You think back to
even you know, Andre Dillard last year they brought him
in after his time with the Eagles. So the Packers
feel like this is a guy that can add some
depth there both at guard, at tackle, and ultimately for
as much versatility as they have amongst those front six.
There's a lot of question marks after that, a lot
(12:15):
of youth after that, and he's somebody that kind of
helps absolve that.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yeah. Really interesting that he's just the second player in
the Super Bowl era to win us to earn a
Super Bowl ring three consecutive years. He had two with
Kansas City before he went to the Eagles and then
and then the Eagles end up winning it. Of course.
So the other new addition linebacker Nick Is it Nieman
or Nyman?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Oh? That put me on the spot. Yeah, I know,
I forgot that. I did plenty of research on him.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
Yeah, I forgot to look up the pronunciation. I'm gonna
say Nyman and hope that, hope that it's right. But
maybe it's Nieman. Maybe you can find it while I'm
talking about him. Anyway, he becomes a signing to the
fifty three. He was released by the Houston Texans, who
had signed him as a free agent. After four years
(13:04):
with the Los Angeles Chargers. He was originally a draft
pick of the Chargers back in twenty twenty one. He
was actually taken in the same round, in the sixth
round in twenty twenty one, which is the same round
the Packers took Isaiah McDuffie, also a linebacker that year.
He hasn't played a whole lot on defense over his
four years with the Chargers, a little over three hundred
(13:27):
snaps on defense, but almost thirteen hundred special team snaps
in his career to this point. So this is a
move not just for the linebacker depth, but to boost
the special teams and bring another veteran into that bunch there.
And I guess, for whatever reason, he signed a multi
year contract with Houston with some salary guarantees as a
(13:48):
free agent. It doesn't work out. They end up cutting
him kind of a surprise cut on Tuesday earlier this week,
and the Packers swoop in and pick him up, and
he's on Green base fifty three.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
First off, Nick Neeman Nieman, thank you to Hall of
Fame tight end Antonio Gates for that pronunciation, because I
went back and watched him getting drafted in twenty twenty one.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Nicely done. Yeah, thanks, Nothing nothing like a truly unscripted show.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Nothing like a truly unscripted show. So I'm banking on
Antonio Gates actually getting that pronunciation right. That being said,
hey listen, this guy when you go back and look
at his RADS score was nuts. I mean I think
it was like, was a nine to five to one,
ran a really good forty at his pro day coming
out of COVID, and has been a really productive player
for a number of years. The part that I laughed at,
(14:34):
it's not so much about him signing with Houston and
not working out them giving him guaranteed money that it's
how many guys in the rich Basacia area that Green
Bay has built their special teams around that got here late.
They've Zane Anderson was claimed two years ago, right, he's
a core guy for them. Eric Wilson signed in the middle.
He actually signed the week before he went to London
(14:55):
in twenty twenty two, went back played in London back
to back weeks because of the previously being with the
New Orleans Saints. There's been a number of these guys
that have Christian Welch is one of them too, who
also returned back on the practice squad after he didn't
make the fifty three. So these are the type of
guys you look for. And honestly, Mike, I think you
and I when we looked at it and we saw
(15:16):
that the Packers cut down to fifty three plus the
roster of fifty three, but only included four inside linebackers,
it was only a matter of time before either somebody
was back or elevated. You're not going to go into
a season with just four, not with the way, not
how important they are to special teams.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Yeah, you figured something was in the works there and
this was the this was the direction the Packers went.
So I want to shift gears to the Packers starting
their preparation now for Week one against Detroit. But we
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(15:56):
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Welcome back to Packers. Unscripted Wes. We got a glimpse
at Wednesday's practice for green Bay. A couple of practices
(16:38):
this week and then the players will get a little
bit of a break. Then they'll be back on Labor
Day on Monday to get things rolling again. Some good
news on the health front for Green Bay here because
we saw Xavier McKinney, Aaron Banks, Elton Jenkins, Jaden Red
and Dontavian Wicks, all of whom missed time, some more
(17:00):
than others, but all of whom missed time during training
camp with various injuries. They were all back on the
practice field on Wednesday. Now, there are some guys we
did not see, Nate Hobbs, Saveon Williams, Baron Surrell, Zane Anderson.
They were not back just yet, so we'll see what happens.
Perhaps next week, maybe somebody from that group will be back.
(17:23):
But I think It's pretty clear based on what we've
seen that the Packers were being extremely cautious with players
who were injured during training camp, the guys that they
know that they were going to need to count on
when the regular season got here. They if somebody got hurt,
(17:43):
whether it was Xavier McKinney, whether it was a flared
up back with Elton Jenkins, whether it was you know,
Jaden Reid's foot, they weren't going to push anybody in
training camp and take any chances with anything getting worse.
And hopefully that strategy he pays off here with the
Packers getting back a little closer to full health for
(18:04):
Week one.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Hannah up in the control room if she wants to,
she probably doesn't have the graphic available, but she can
roll the graphic. It can come down on the screen.
The Mike Spofford, let's be real moment of the week
begins with the fact that Green Bay could have made
some moves on Wednesday. Nick Neeman comes in. They could
have pushed any of these guys that were injured onto
injured reserve now and had the option to bring them
(18:27):
back at some point. You have the two that you
can automatically put on which they used on marsha On
Lloyd and Jacob Monk. But then the day after you
can carry them through the fifty three put them on IR.
You have up to those eight designations for the season.
Green Bay did not do any of that. Unfortunately, Micah
Robinson was released the rookie seventh round pick. Wishing Michael well.
Awesome dude, Hopefully I'd love to see him back in
green Bay here. All that being said, if there was
(18:49):
any question long term about any of these injuries for
Green Bay, whether the guy's practice day or they did not,
those guys would be moving over to IR and Mike
would still be on the fifty three. So I think
that's really bodes well. The other thing I want to
mention with that, it's great to see Jayden Reid out there,
Awesome to see Dontavian Wicks, all the guys that you mentioned,
certainly Banks and Jenkins backstuff trying to work through all that.
(19:11):
But the fact that Zavier McKinney practice individuals limited in
that joint session with the Seahawks spread and was able
to be back out there today, I think that's a
really positive sign for his calf. Those soft tissue injuries
you never can be too sure, but obviously you wouldn't
be out there if the body's not responding to that.
Brian Goodcouins was asked about Reid wis feeling good, hopeful
(19:33):
for them and their availability against the Lions. Because here's
the thing, Mike, this is the reality of it. You
don't look past any opponent, but the Packers need these veterans,
need their players to play two games in four days
against the Detroit Lions and then the Washington Commanders. You
got to give them a puncher's chance at being as
healthy as possible going into the season. And I would
(19:53):
imagine I would wager with how they handled all these guys,
Jordan Love among them, that erring on the high side
of car during an otherwise, I don't want to say meaningless,
but you've already put your installs in. It's not life
or death with these practices. Take your time, regather yourself,
(20:14):
be ready for week one.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
I think a couple of things that they were looking
at there with regard to some of these the decisions
and really playing the high side of caution with these guys.
One is what you said that when the regular season starts,
you have a late Sunday afternoon and the Thursday night
game right out of the gate. So health health is
going to be paramount. And obviously those games are against
(20:36):
two NFC contenders, just like the Packers are. But the
other part too, is because unlike last year, the Packers
don't have like this Friday game to start the season
where the calendar gets all shifted around the Packers headed
into this week. You make the roster decisions on Tuesday.
It sounds like from what Matt Lafleur said, they conducted
(20:59):
a closed pree late in the day on Tuesday, then
practices Wednesday and Thursday. Next week, a practice on Monday,
and then the usual Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
So just over the.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Two weeks essentially between roster decisions and week one, that's
seven practices. So resting up these guys and getting them back,
I mean, yeah, you don't want anybody to miss time,
but when you're looking at the calendar and saying, hey,
if we can get them back at roster decision time,
there are still seven practices for them to get out there,
(21:32):
to get the reps that they need, et cetera, et cetera.
And the focus has also been obviously on quarterback Jordan
Love and working him back from the surgery on his
left thumb. From what we saw in the brief portion
of practice we were able to watch, it looks like
he is using that left hand more, certainly more than
he was. He's no longer taking the snap off of
(21:54):
the stool in front of him. He's actually catching shotgun snaps,
taking snaps from under center. So that's another step forward
for Jordan Love. And and we'll see where this goes.
But for all of the all of the angst and
consternation and whatnot with regard to the team's health, and
I'm not trying to downplay it any because nobody wants
to have that many frontline players missing that much time
(22:17):
in training camp. But hopefully some signs are pointing in
the right direction here for Green.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
And as much as you don't want to have guys
not on the practice field in training camp, you also
don't want guys not on the practice field and they'll
lead up to your first game of the season.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Yeah, and I.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
Think Green Bay was finding a way to do that.
I love what you mentioned there, and it's a really
good point by counting up how many of these practices
are available to them both next week and also during
this interim period, this mini buy period with what would
have historically been like the last preseason game week, right,
So being able to have a little bit more of
a buffer there, I think is really important for this
(22:51):
football team. And again, just take it all in and
look at what it is. I mean, Jordan Love has
a rapport with these guys. We saw one thing out
it's not the official NFL tabulation for roster age, but
there's been a couple reports out signifying that Green Bay
will be the youngest team in the NFL for the
(23:12):
third consecutive season. Well, they didn't get to be the
youngest team in the NFL by suddenly bringing in a
bunch of new bodies. There's a few, but offensively, it's
a lot of those same guys that Love has been
working with. Yes, you have to get the chemistry down,
you got to get your timing down, but it's not
like these are new faces to him. And then the
one that is potentially gonna be a new weapon in
this offense, the biggest piece, well that's the one that
(23:33):
fortunately was healthy throughout training camp, in Matthew Golden got
work with both Love and then also Malik willis down the.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Stretch absolutely well. One last thing before we go and
before we officially turn the page foward to week one
for our shows next week coming up and previewing the
Lions game and all that is Thursday night inside the
lambeau Field Atrium, the long time and now retired president
(23:59):
and CEO of the Green Bay Packers, Mark Murphy, will
be inducted by his lonesome, which is an honor in
and of itself, into the Packers Hall of Fame. And
I know there are so many things that we could
talk about with with regard to his legacy, but if
in terms of, you know, listing all of the accomplishments,
(24:19):
and there are many of them when it comes to
this football team and everything about this organization. To me personally,
the one that is at the top of the list
was that twenty twenty five NFL Draft being in Green Bay.
That was Mark Murphy's. That was Mark Murphy's doing. He's
the one who sold Roger Goodell essentially on the idea
(24:43):
that green Bay can make this special and make it work.
And it wasn't just special, it was spectacular. And I
give Mark Murphy all the credit in the world for that.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Yeah, it was, and as you and I have talked
to nauseum at this point, you know, it was the
perfect cap stone to his run here in Green Bay.
And when you think about just those seventeen seventeen plus
years of him at the Helm. Obviously we've talked about
as a person, but and I've done that in myself,
given some my own, you know, kind of anecdotes of
working with Mark. But the one thing I will add
(25:15):
on to this is the Packers were pretty darn successful
during his stewardship of this organization as well. Yeah, I
know everybody wants to win as many Super Bowls as possible,
but they got one. He leaves here with the Super
Bowl ring. He had to make a really pivotal decision
in twenty seventeen. In twenty eighteen, a difficult decision moving
on from Ted Thompson, hiring Brian Goodikuntz, and then obviously
(25:38):
a year later, within twelve months of that, letting Mike
McCarthy go, and three weeks after that, hiring Matt Lafleur
as his new head coach, the Packers new head coach.
I've always talked about this, and I think I've said
it on some of our shows. But I'll say it
once more. When you can have that type of run
and you hire one GM in one head coach, that
(25:59):
says something about your leadership, had said something about the
direction the franchise is going. Because what made the Packers
successful when he started, when he inherited that job from
Bob Harlan, that's flip. That whole script is flipped by the.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
End of it.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Yeah, and you have to create your own way. And
I felt like Mark he followed the footsteps for a
couple of years there, but by the end of it,
I mean he was walking in un you know, unfamiliar
sand and still led this place with vision character and
never told anybody. So you know, I never never was
sitting there saying, Hey, I like Matt Lafleuria. You guys
(26:34):
gave me a little bit of flack about hiring him
or being involved in the process.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
No, he never did any of that.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
He he kept it real and uh yeah, in addition
to the draft, everything else he did, the Super Bowl,
the monumental growth of this organization, myself representing some of that. Yeah,
I just it is fitting that he is a loan
inductee this year it's an honor reserve for few, and
certainly Mark Mark Murphy has earned that.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Yeah, and I'm gonna miss uh. It's things had changed
over the last few years. But I actually I got
to spend a lot of years at the road games
sitting next to him in the press box. I was
sort of like at the end of our website and
communications row, and then Mark was was at the other
end of you know, kind of the executive and you know,
(27:20):
personnel executives and whatnot that were also sitting in the
press box. And I sat next to him at a
at a number of games, and and you know, too many,
too many little stories to tell, I guess, but but
I always I'll always remember that because because as much
as yeah, he's the boss and he's the president and
(27:41):
the CEO, sitting next to him in the press box
watching a football game, you're reminded the guy was a player, yeah,
you know, and and that that never necessarily left him
either the way he watched the game, the way he
understood the game. And uh, and that's easy to forget
because even if you took out his NFL playing career,
he's had an absolutely incredible professional Oh, it's insane, you know,
(28:02):
list of achievements and accomplishments and everything you did even
before he got to the Packers. So but anyway, hats
off to Mark Murphy, a tremendous honor, and I hope
he's not a stranger around here.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
No doubt he will be.
Speaker 3 (28:15):
I mean, he's gonna obviously let it be the chairman
now and lead the Packers into the next era. But
certainly I would expect him to still be around here.
I know obviously he's going to be involved, I believe
with UWGB here in town as well. The last thing
I'll close on with that when you mentioned how Mark
was sitting next to you in the press box, that
ain't common practice.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
There aren't a lot.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
Of people in those positions that he's in ownership or
just in the CEO or presidential role that's doing that
type of thing. Mark did that because he wanted to
be out there. He wanted to be by his personnel guys.
He wanted to be a little bit amongst the people.
And yeah, special, very special.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
To absolutely well with that, we'll call it a rap
on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow
all of our coverage of the team and we will
be back next week, back on our regular schedule, hopefully
with two shows per week leading up to Week one
and the season opener against the Detroit Lions. For WES,
I am Mike. Thank you for tuning in everybody. We
will see you next time.
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