The Packers have a longer than usual training camp and preseason upcoming due to playing in the annual Hall of Fame Game.
So, Packers coach Mike McCarthy won a lot of popularity points by starting summer vacation early for many of the team’s veterans. McCarthy excused 15 veterans from the team’s mandatory minicamp that began Tuesday.
“The quality of work and the workload has been very high, so I’ve been pleased with that,” McCarthy said of the team’s nine-week offseason program, per the team’s official website. “The message today was about let’s have a really good finish. We want to make sure these [young] guys are ready for when they get back.”
The 15 players excused all entered the league prior to 2012.
With quarterback Aaron Rodgers among the veterans excused, second-year man Brett Hundley will get the No. 1 reps. The Packers had three draft picks -- Kenny Clark, Dean Lowry and Kyle Murphy -- miss all or most of the offseason program due to the NFL’s antiquated rules involving schools still in session, so keeping many of the team’s starters out will allow more opportunities for backups and rookies to catch up.
McCarthy said the minicamp will be “obviously tailored to our younger players.”