It’s Chicago Bears week. The Green Bay Packers are ready to rock after their bye week and so too are the fans based on this week’s mailbag questions.
Let’s dive in.
Which Packers players need to step up the most to earn a contract extension? — @TenhunenSilja
Next up for contract extensions is the 2021 draft class as those rookie contracts expire this offseason and the 2022 draft class as those guys approach the final year of their rookie deals in 2025. In the 2021 group, the Packers will almost certainly let cornerback Eric Stokes walk. Center Josh Myers has a better chance of getting a new deal this offseason. Defensive tackle T.J. Slaton and linebacker Isaiah McDuffie are the only other two from the nine-man class still on the team and both are decent depth players but nothing warranting anything special in free agency. I’d keep McDuffie over Slaton, for what it’s worth.
In the 2022 group, the only player worth extending ahead of the final year on his rookie deal is right tackle Zach Tom. Will the Packers want to exercise the fifth years for Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt? Do Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Rasheed Walker play out the final year of their deals? I’d say those last five guys have the most to prove when it comes to earning their next deals. All are solid players, but they’ve yet to prove they’re must-keeps for the long term. Right guard Sean Rhyan and defensive end Kingsley Enagbare seem like guarantees to play out their final year in 2025.
Do you see Brenton Cox getting playing time with the Preston Smith trade? — @sjbjork
I’d imagine he’ll at least be active for the first time this season Sunday. General manager Brian Gutekunst sounded eager to see Cox and Arron Mosby when he discussed the trade last week, but Mosby has played seven defensive snaps this season and Cox hasn’t played any. Cox has been on the 53-man roster since making it as an undrafted rookie in 2023, but he’s done nothing on the field. Green Bay uses a four-man rotation at the position with typically five active, so Cox might not play even if he’s active since the four-man rotation could be Rashan Gary, Enagbare, Lukas Van Ness and Mosby.
What is the RB depth chart after MarShawn Lloyd returns? — @federade19
Good question. I’ve been wondering this, too. Chris Brooks out-snapped Emanuel Wilson 17-12 against the Jacksonville Jaguars and 17-13 against the Detroit Lions. The Packers seem to like him better in pass protection, which is probably the most important skill for a No. 3 running back. Wilson looks to be a better runner and pass catcher, but if they want Lloyd to eventually take over No. 2 duties, how much does Wilson’s ability in those facets matter? How long will it take Lloyd to earn that No. 2 role after missing about two months with his third injury since the summer? Maybe they’ll keep four running backs, but I doubt that. My guess is when they activate Lloyd, whether it’s this week or in the next two, they’ll release Wilson and bring him back on the practice squad while keeping Brooks on the active roster.
Josh Jacobs said he makes MarShawn Lloyd ride with him to practice each day. Makes sure the rookie keeps his head in it despite being out for so long.
Jacobs: “I’m excited to see him go this week.”
Lloyd returning to practice this week and will be designated to return off IR.
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) November 11, 2024
Why do Keisean Nixon and Eric Stokes still get playing time? — @SeanMack5
The only time Stokes gets substantial playing time is when Jaire Alexander is injured. Otherwise, the Packers’ ideal five in the secondary are Alexander and Nixon at outside cornerback, Javon Bullard at nickel and Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams at safety. Regarding Nixon, he has the biggest gap between fan perception and perception inside 1265 Lombardi Ave. Here’s what Gutekunst said about Nixon during the bye week: “Keisean hasn’t played a ton of outside corner for us and he was kind of put in that position and I think he’s done a really good job for us. He’s got excellent instincts. He can take the ball away, so yeah, I’m really happy with him out there, as well.”
If you were the GM: corner or edge in the first round if you made the decision and why? — @JFERGG33
Draft questions for a 6-3 team? Y’all need help. I kid, but I’d go corner. An edge you draft in the first round won’t start right away, likely sitting at No. 4 on the depth chart behind Gary, Enagbare and Van Ness in 2025. The Packers like to slow-cook that position. A first-round outside cornerback would have a better chance to start immediately and, at the very worst, would provide sturdy insurance behind Nixon if he starts opposite Alexander again in 2025. There’s also a chance Nixon is just the best option right now and not the ideal option there for the future, so maybe a late first-round pick actually would start next season.
Why is no one getting benched for penalties? — @mikemukka
Matt LaFleur gave an insightful answer about this topic on our latest “Matt LaFleur Podcast,” available now wherever you listen to your podcasts! He basically said last week in his news conference that whoever commits selfish penalties — unsportsmanlikes, clumsy unnecessary roughness penalties, etc. — would be benched. He clarified his comments on our podcast and said every situation is different, regarding the kinds of penalties that warrant benchings and the length of those benchings — one play, two plays, a half? If you’re just talking about penalties in general, nobody is getting benched for false starts or offsides. Sorry.
How did #Packers HC Matt LaFleur end up with #Bears HC Matt Eberflus at a Marquette game last winter?@mattschneidman asks that question in the latest Matt LaFleur Podcast👇
Full interview drops tonight at 6pm on the Matt Schneidman Show and wherever you get your podcasts! pic.twitter.com/A7X0VRBg1F
— 97.3 The Game (@TheGameMKE) November 12, 2024
If the Bears win, do we finally panic? This team has been looking really bad with the Jordan Love game plan in comparison to what they run with Malik Willis. Do they need to hybrid the two game plans? — @toller_208
The Packers would be 6-4. That’s hardly a reason to panic. Worry? Yeah, you can worry about losing to a team in disarray, but the season is far from over if the Bears upset the Packers (I don’t think they will). I wouldn’t say the Packers have been looking really bad with Love. Can he play better? Of course. But he undoubtedly gives them a better chance to win and the Packers shouldn’t change what they do with Love in the game just because Willis helped beat three poor AFC South teams. That’s not to discredit Willis — he’s been phenomenal given the circumstances — but let’s not pretend like they’re on the same level. The offensive game plans seem more ambitious with Love since he can do more than Willis, which increases the risk but also the reward. It just so happens the Packers have had more risk than they’d like, and cleaning that up might’ve been priority No. 1 during the bye week. Maybe we’ll see the Packers go for more easy completions while relying on the running game against a Bears team that struggles to stop the run and excels against the pass. An ode to Willis with Love playing, if you will.
Give your score for Sunday plus a few predictions. — @Markmusich1
I’m going Packers 27, Bears 17. Love will go 19-of-29 for 212, two touchdowns and an interception. Touchdowns to Doubs and Tucker Kraft. Josh Jacobs will run 24 times for 131 and a score. The defense will have three sacks — one each from Van Ness, Gary and Edgerrin Cooper — and Alexander will return to the lineup with an interception. I don’t think the Packers will ever pull away, but the Bears will never pose a true threat to make it a nail-biter, if that makes sense. A Green Bay blowout would make too much sense here, so of course it won’t happen. But the Packers will move to 7-3 ahead of a marquee matchup against the 49ers at Lambeau Field next Sunday.
Will Rich Bisaccia and Matt LaFleur train Malik Willis to be a kick holder? It would be pretty nice to have a trick-play potential with a backup QB holder. — @ENiedfeldt
The idea is sound, but the Packers have only run one fake under Bisaccia if I remember correctly. Dallin Leavitt took a direct snap on Christmas against the Miami Dolphins and it didn’t work. With Daniel Whelan doing well as a holder, there’s no reason to change it up just for the potential threat of a trick play you’re probably not going to run anyway.
What is your favorite memory at Lambeau Field? — @roggey187
I’m going to go with an underrated cool moment. Bill Huber and I had just finished recording our “Head of the Pack” podcast and were finishing up in the press box around 2 a.m. after the Packers beat the Lions in 2021. It came out after the game that Aaron Jones had lost the piece of his chain with his late father’s ashes in it. I remember Packers head trainer Bryan Engel pacing around an empty Lambeau Field looking for it, and Jones later said Engel found the piece he had lost on one of his four touchdowns that night. Stories like that, ones that go beyond football, make this job neat.
It’s almost 2 a.m. and someone (I think it’s head trainer Bryan Engel, but my eyes aren’t great right now) just came back out to look for the necklace holding Aaron Jones’ father’s ashes that he lost on his second TD catch in that part of the end zone. pic.twitter.com/zJ7V1m2GsX
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) September 21, 2021
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.
Sign Up
(Photo: Todd Rosenberg / Getty Images)
