It’s hard to believe, but the Green Bay Packers will complete their preseason portion of the 2024 season on Saturday, They will host the Baltimore Ravens that will include a joint practice tomorrow. After this game, the roster must be cut to 53 players. It’s a huge game for a ton of players as well as the starters. I believe they will play, but it is unsure how much they will play. Here are three things to watch in this preseason finale.
How Much Will the Green Bay Packers Starters Play?
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After sitting just about all their starters against the Denver Broncos, I think the Green Bay Packers starters have to play in this game. Matt LaFleur mentioned how much, if any, was still to be determined. A majority of the starters are finalized, but I think they need to play at least a few series to get their feet under for the regular season,
I would also assume the Baltimore Ravens will play their starters as well. Lamar Jackson would be a great test for the Green Bay Packers defense as they open the season against two running quarterbacks in Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson. It’s hard to practice this without physically seeing it.
Final Roster Impression
Very few players made a positive impression Sunday night against the Broncos. The backup quarterback position and the kicking battle is still unknown. I would not even rule out potentially going into free agency after league wide roster cuts if it doesn’t get better. I doubt that happens, but that possibility is still on the table.
In particular, the Green Bay Packers need a kicker they can trust. Anders Carlson has been pretty consistent, but it still has not been good enough in my opinion. I also thought Greg Joseph was the leader in the clubhouse, but he has really struggled the last week or so. I am hoping Carlson wins this battle and goes out and wins it Saturday with a good performance.
I think Michael Pratt had a great opportunity Sunday to win the backup quarterback job, but did not take advantage of a poor performance from Sean Clifford. It feels like it will be Clifford who wins this job.
Can the Green Bay Packers Respond on Both Sides?
If you watched any part of the Denver game, you will know that the Green Bay Packers were beating pretty badly on both sides. We also knew this from the joint practice last Friday, but was hoping for something different Sunday night. That did not happen. Some could argue it was worse.
Denver was physical with the Green Bay Packers on both sides. In Matt LaFluer’s tenure, this team has struggled with more physical teams. It’s why a team like the San Francisco 49ers are a thorn in their side.
I have to believe the Ravens are aware of this and will try to be more physical in the joint practice tomorrow and the preseason game. I hope the Packers respond because Baltimore is one of the best defenses in the entire league.
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