Just like that, Green Bay Packers training camp has come to an end.
Green Bay held its final public practice of the season, hosting the Baltimore Ravens in a joint practice. On Saturday, the two teams will meet again for their final preseason contest at Lambeau Field.
After a lackluster weekend in Denver, the Packers looked to rebound with a strong showing against another AFC opponent.
Whose stock rose and whose fell in the final practice of the preseason?
Winners and losers from Packers joint practice vs. Ravens
Standout: Packers offense
Lost in the shuffle of the 27-2 loss to Denver last week was the Packers' starting offense getting dominated in the joint practice two days earlier.
The offense couldn't score in the reps they did take, and some were even encouraging Matt LaFleur to allow the first-team unit to start the preseason game after how badly practice went. However, all of that can be put to rest, as the Packers' starting offense responded quite well today.
According to Marques Eversoll of WDUZ, Jordan Love went 4/4 with four touchdowns in the team red zone period and led a "tying" field goal drive in the two-minute drill portion.
If Green Bay decides to rest its starters in the preseason finale on Saturday, it would be on a high note. The line kept Love upright, he excelled, and the starting skill players picked up right where they left off in Cleveland. Tucker Kraft, Christian Watson, and Romeo Doubs all caught touchdowns and look to headline this offense once the season kicks off against Philadelphia.
Dud: Greg Joseph
This may be more of a reach from Thursday's practice, and more or less a wrap on the entirety of training camp, but NFL veteran Greg Joseph was a dud overall. The Packers brought in the experienced kicker to compete with Anders Carlson, but he has struggled after a promising start.
According to Packer Report's Andy Herman, Joseph went 3/4 on Thursday, completing camp at 57/73 (78 percent). While he did make a "game-tying" field goal in the two-minute drill portion of practice, it may be too little, too late after a rough week last week, capped off by drastically missing a 47-yard field goal attempt in Denver.
Standout: Anders Carlson
On the flipside of that coin, Anders Carlson seems to have won the job from Joseph, and to a lesser extent over Alex Hale, who the team placed its International Pathway Program roster exemption on.
Carlson didn't have a monumentally great camp and was projected to lose the job early in the summer. However, he was able to outlast Joseph, has been perfect in the preseason (as scary as those kicks were), and capped it off with a 5/5 day against Baltimore in practice.
By no means is this an overwhelming endorsement of the second-year pro. He didn't exactly blow the competition away, going 58/71 (82 percent) at camp, per Andy Herman. Green Bay may still be looking to trade for a veteran, especially after seeing Washington trade for Cade York on Thursday. However, credit where credit is due, 5/5 is standout-worthy for today.
Dud: Keisean Nixon
Putting "dud" and Keisean Nixon in the same sentence isn't necessarily fair in the grand scheme of things. The return specialist and defensive back is not going anywhere and figures to be a key piece of this team going forward.
However, while the Packers had a pretty great day at camp overall, Nixon gets the dud designation for getting beat in the first 11-on-11 portion of the day on a big play by Zay Flowers. He also committed a pass-interference penalty in the end zone.
Standout: Michael Pratt
Michael Pratt makes the list after making the jump from QB3 to QB2. Pratt worked with the second-team offense on Thursday, taking the team down the field in the two-minute drill. Pratt connected with Grant DuBose on a play for 20+ yards that caught the attention of Packers fans and reporters alike. This play would set up a Greg Joseph field goal for the tie.
Pratt has slowly, but surely, taken the No. 2 job from Sean Clifford. Neither was overly impressive against Denver on Sunday evening, but Pratt gets the benefit of being a newer draft pick. Clearly, the team saw something in the seventh-rounder that it wasn't getting from Clifford, and Thursday's practice put that front and center.
Standout: Evan Williams
Evan Williams may have had the best camp of any Packers player. The fourth-round pick from this year's draft was an afterthought to many after Green Bay had already selected Javon Bullard, one of the top safeties in the class.
Bullard has been pretty good himself, but Williams has been good enough to warrant splitting reps alongside Xavier McKinney. In fact, Williams has been so good that he has actually moved Bullard to nickel and gotten safety reps, booting Keisean Nixon to the bench.
Williams capped off his fantastic training camp, intercepting another pass in the two-minute drill against Baltimore's backups. It was his fifth pick of the summer. He has been all over the field and will certainly warrant playing a significant role as a rookie.
