Packers donate to JJ Watt’s Houston flood relief fund

The Green Bay Packers have announced that they will be donating to J.J. Watt’s Houston flood relief fund.

The team will be donating $100,000 to the organization to aid the city of Houston after the effects of Hurricane Harvey.

Other professional sports teams and athletes have donated to Watt’s relief fund. Some notable organizations that have donated are the Houston Rockets, Houston Astros, Atlanta Falcons, the NBA and its players association, and MLB and its players association.

A few of the notable athletes and celebrities that have donated are Chris Paul, Matt Carpenter, and Ellen DeGeneres.

Watt started with the goal of one million dollars, but in less than a week, his foundation has raised over 10 million and counting for the Houston flood relief.

    Report: Packers sign Ahmad Brooks

    The Green Bay Packers have signed outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks.

    According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the veteran, who was cut by the San Francisco 49ers earlier this month, agreed to a 1-year deal worth up to $5 million.

    The 33-year-old Brooks should bring more veteran experience to a thin linebacking corps. Starters Clay Matthews and Nick Perry, along with backup Jayrone Elliott, are dealing with minor injuries, while fourth-round pick Vince Biegel appears likely to start the season on the physically unable to perform list.

    When asked about Brooks on Tuesday, linebackers coach Winston Moss clearly wanted him in the mix.

    “Tough [and] physically imposing. A (pass) rusher. Can play really well against the run. Can play stout versus a tight end. He can do everything that we’d ask him to do in our scheme,” Moss said.

    Brooks will be entering his 11th season in the NFL. He played two years with the Cincinnati Bengals and the last eight with the 49ers.

    The University of Virginia product hasn’t missed more than three games or had less than five sacks in the last eight seasons. He was also voted All-Pro at OLB in 2012 and 2013 while in San Francisco.

      Report: House and Lowry back at practice

      According to a report by Green Bay Packers beat writer Rob Demovsky, both Davon House and Dean Lowry were back at practice Tuesday participating in drills.

      House has been held out of practice for weeks due to a lingering hamstring injury. The Packers didn’t want to push House back into action too early with the regular season looming.

      House is expect to help sure up the Packers secondary this season after signing him to a one-year contract. House spent the last two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

      Lowry went down with a knee injury about a week ago at practice. At first, the Packers thought it could be a serious knee injury, but he ended up avoiding anything too serious.

      The second year player out of Northwestern  was expected to have more of a role this season on the Packers defensive line.

      The Packers will play it safe with both House and Lowry for the rest of practice and preseason games in hopes to get them back 100% healthy for the start of the regular season.

        Packers get key players back, others still remain out

        The Green Bay Packers didn’t start their practice yesterday till the afternoon, but saw lots of names return to the practice field.

        Damarious Randall and Malachi Dupre both returned to the field yesterday, after both suffered concussions on questionable hits in the first preseason game against the Eagles.

        Ty Montgomery also was back at practice after suffering a lower body soft tissue injury. He was listed as a limited participant. Montgomery hopes to get some playing time this Saturday against the Denver Broncos.

        The Packers also got Wide receiver Colby Pearson and Tight end Cody Peck back at practice.

        Jayrone Elliott was the lone Packer to come down with an injury in yesterday’s practice. The Packers were depending on the fourth year player out of Toledo to have more of an impact at outside linebacker this season.

        Players still being held out of practice were Davon House (hamstring), Jermaine Whitehead (hip), Demetri Goodson (knee), William Stanback (hamstring), Derrick Mathews (concussion), Jordan Tripp (Concussion), and Don Barclay (Ankle).

        Dean Lowry, Vince Biegel, and Montravius Adams were also out of practice and are all likely to miss the rest of training camp and potentially the season opener.

          Biegel to miss more time

          According to a report by Packers beat writer Rob Demovsky, Packers linebacker Vince Biegel will not be practicing this week or playing this weekend against the Denver Broncos.

          Biegel hasn’t been able to play in any preseason games or participate in a practice since having surgery on his foot during rookie minicamp.

          Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said if he’s able to practice at all before the regular season, it wouldn’t be until the last week of preseason work.

          If he is unable to practice before the start of the regular season he would be PUP list eligible. If he starts the season on the PUP list he won’t be able to play until after week six.

          Badgers and Packers fans will have to continue to wait to get their first look at Biegel this season.

            Report: Lowry’s knee injury not as bad as first thought

            Green Bay Packers defensive end Dean Lowry went down with a knee injury in Saturday’s preseason game against the Washington Redskins. The Packers initially believed that this could be a major knee injury.

            A report from Packers beat writer Rob Demovsky cited that Lowry avoided a serious knee injury. His test results showed that there was no major damage to his knee and that the injury should be considered short-term.

            Lowry, a second year player out of Northwestern, was a fourth round pick by the Packers last season. The Packers were expecting big things from Lowry this season after showing flashes last season as a rookie.

            The team enters this season with a bit of a lack of depth on the defensive line, and will be relying on young unproven players.

            Lowry appeared in 15 games for the Packers and finished with two sacks in limited snaps last season.

              Josh Jones carted off the practice field, Packers not concerned

              According to a report by Green Bay Packers beat writer Rob Demovsky, Josh Jones limped off the practice field Tuesday. It appeared that Jones turned his right ankle on the play and was in pain.

              Packers coach Mike McCarthy said that Jones didn’t turn his ankle, but rather had his foot stepped on during yesterday’s practice.

              He made it to the cart where he sat and had a large ice pack on his ankle. He stayed at practice long enough to ice his ankle, but ended up leaving practice on a cart shortly there after.

              The Packers coaches don’t seem too worried about Josh Jones or his injured ankle. Most likely Jones has a minor ankle sprain. Hopefully the team can stay healthy until their next preseason game on Saturday against the Washington Redskins.

               

                Top pick Kevin King sits out of practice, joins a number of injured top draft picks

                The Green Bay Packers top pick Kevin King sat out this morning’s practice due to a shoulder injury. King still showed up to the practice, which hopefully means it’s not serious. King had been practicing earlier this training camp as a starting corner for the Packers. Quinten Rollins filled in at corner in place of King this morning.

                With King out due to injury, it means that three of the Packers top four picks are now sidelined with injuries to start training camp. Packers third-round pick DT Montravius Adams will miss multiple weeks after having surgery on his foot Tuesday.

                Vince Biegel, the Packers fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin is also sitting out of camp. He was placed on the physically unable to perform list (PUP). Biegel had surgery on his foot shortly after rookie camp in May. The Packers expect to get Biegel back in a couple of weeks.

                  Guion’s plea before his June arrest: ‘Please sir, it’s my birthday.’

                  The details of Letroy Guion’s arrest on suspicion of drunk driving were revealed Thursday a little more than a week since the story broke about the Green Bay Packers defensive lineman.

                  According to the police report obtained by the Associated Press, Guion smelled of alcohol and marijuana when he was pulled over in Hawaii in the early morning hours of June 21. He reportedly stumbled when trying to walk and his speech was slurred. Guion’s blood alcohol level of .086 percent was just slightly higher than the legal limit of .08.

                  The incident occurred on Guion’s 30th birthday, something he tried to use to get out of the arrest, saying to police, “Please sir, it’s my birthday. I can have someone else drive.”

                  Police pulled Guion over because he was drifting between lanes. According to the records, Guion told the officer that arrested him that he had been drinking Hennessy all night and that he doesn’t drink any of “that weak stuff.”

                  The Packers only comment on the arrest has been that they are aware of it but would offer nothing further as it is an ongoing legal matter.

                  Guion was arrested back in 2015 on drug and gun charges in Florida and was suspended for three games that season as a result. The nose guard is already slated to miss the first four games of the 2017 season after violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

                    Packers release DT Mike Pennel

                    The Green Bay Packers have released defensive tackle Mike Pennel.

                    Pennel, who was suspended twice this year for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, played in 37 games over the past three seasons with five starts. The 25-year-old had 29 tackles and one sack during his time with Green Bay.

                    At one point thought to be a starter in the team’s 3-4 base defense, Pennel was suspended for the first four games of this season. He played in eight games, registering five tackles and one pass break-up, before once again being suspended for a second violation and missing the final four games of the regular season. Green Bay had a roster exemption for Pennel that expired on Monday.

                    In addition to his off the field concerns, Pennel became expendable, in part, due to the play of rookie Dean Lowry over the last half of the season.

                    Green Bay will travel to Dallas this Sunday to take on the Cowboys in an NFC Divisional Round playoff game with the winner advancing to the conference title game.