Packers Sharp in Preseason Finale

The Green Bay Packers capped the 2025 preseason with a crisp, clean victory over the Seattle Seahawks Saturday afternoon, 20–7. The Packers forced four turnovers which led to 10 points. After two games filled with penalties and inconsistent play, the Lambeau Field win comforted coach Matt LaFleur. 

“You’re always a little nervous when you’re playing some of your starters,” LaFleur said via packers.com. “I’m glad we did it . . . A lot of years we’ve come out of the preseason saying ‘Hey, I wish we would’ve given these guys a few more reps.’ We were able to do that for most of our guys today. I was proud of those guys suiting up and going to play ball.” 

Green Bay’s offensive starters played two series while the defense had one, with each side missing some starters including quarterback Jordan Love. Seattle rested many of its regular starters. 

Malik Willis made his second start of the preseason and committed the only real significant offensive blunder in the game on the opening drive. Facing a 3rd and 5 from his own 40, Willis overthrew a pass deep down the middle into double coverage. Safety Ty Okada made an incredible one-handed catch for the interception, but Seattle would have little else to celebrate. 

The Packer starting defense ended its one series with a sack by Quay Walker after an Edgerrin Cooper blitzed flushed dual-threat quarterback Jalen Milroe. Willis returned with the starting offense and orchestrated a 14-play, 96-yard touchdown drive. Green Bay scored when Willis found Romeo Doubs who beat the cornerback on a quick slant from the one-yard line for the 7-0 lead. Willis scrambled for two conversions on the drive, and picked up a third when he bought time outside the pocket to find Malik Heath. 

First round receiver Matthew Golden continued to excite Cheeseheads’ hopes and dreams with a spectacular 39-yard catch on the drive. Golden sprinted down the right sideline for a one-on-one go route. Willis left the pass slightly behind and inside, but Golden adjusted at full speed and fought back through some contact for a falling catch. 

The Packer second-string defense joined the party next. On first down, nickel Kalen King blew up a wide-receive screen for one yard. Then, edge Brenton Cox burst around the offensive’s right for a sack and forced fumble of Milroe. The ball fell right next to Kingsley Enagbare, who made the recovery. 

A three-and-out by the offense led to a Brandon McManus field which he drilled from 48 yards, 10-0. Sean Clifford quarterbacked the first series after Willis, and alternated series with Taylor Elgersma for the remainder of the game. 

The backup defense returned to force its second turnover in as many drives. Milroe had converted a 4th-and-1 on a sneak, but has he pushed forward linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper punched the ball out of the rookie quarterback’s arms. King jumped on the loose ball. 

“That was exciting, it finally happened,” LaFleur said with a chuckle in reference to the forced fumbles. “That is always at the forefront of our guys’ minds. It’s drilled into their head every day. For those guys to make it come to fruition is exciting to see.” 

Elgersma took his turn and leaned on a strong running game for a 47-yard touchdown drive. Elgersma connected with Will Shepard from the Seattle three after Shepard broke free crossing the back of the end zone, 17-0. Those were the only three yards acquired through the air on the drive. Running back Emmanuel Wilson had 27 for that drive alone, and finished with a team-high 38. 

The defense committed its only flaw in the first half as someone in the front seven missed a gap. Running back Jacardia Wright broke through the right side for 61 yards before Johnathan Baldwin knocked him out at the Green Bay four. The defensive unit stood tall on the goal line. Cox maintained containment on the ball carrier for a two-yard loss, then King made another play when he knifed through two blockers to trip up Milroe for no gain. An offensive holding and completion led to a 4th-and-goal from the four, and Deslin Alexandre tipped the pass at the line of scrimmage for the turnover on downs. 

Packer special teams added a forced turnover of their own. After a three-and-out, Daniel Whelan hit a towering 40-yard punt. Gunner Corey Balentine rammed his blocker into the returner forcing a muff, which Balentine recovered. Both Seahawk players were injured on the play after the scary-looking collision. The following drive ended with a 52-yard field goal from McManus, which he hit right down the middle. Green Bay led at halftime 20-0. 

The second half was mostly uneventful as the backup Packer quarterbacks struggled to get much going on offense. Milroe broke the shutout with a nice pass to Cody White for an 18-yard score, 20-7. He added Seattle’s final turnover late in the fourth quarter when a shotgun snap went right through his hands. 

Green Bay finished with just four penalties for 35 yards and the one turnover. 

Other Notes

  • Whelan consistently punted the ball well all game, and all preseason. Today included back to back 62-yard punts, with one being pinned inside the 10 coffin corner style. 
  • The Packers, with the rest of the league, will cut their roster from 90 players to 53 Tuesday
  • There were no Packer injuries reported from the game

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE.

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Jocelyn Hopkinson is a contributor for CheeseheadTV and can be found on Twitter at Packer_FIB

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Comments (35)

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Pistolero's picture

August 23, 2025 at 08:15 pm

Wow a written article on CHTV! And nicely done too.

No injuries was definitely the best part of this game.

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Oppy's picture

August 24, 2025 at 07:48 am

I'm no fan of the video-links only posts, either, but there's roughly three actual written posts here at CHTV almost every single day all year around.

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JerseyAl's picture

August 24, 2025 at 11:09 am

Thanks Oppy. We try to have something for everyone. In today's world, if you don't include video, you won't survive

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Pistolero's picture

August 24, 2025 at 07:28 pm

I don't watch podcasts and never will and I don't think I'm alone on that.

You take a great feature like Gut Reactions and make it a podcast only? Why not do both?

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Oppy's picture

August 24, 2025 at 09:40 pm

Al,

I get the "young'ns" need the vids, and I also get the traction, analytics and theoretical revenue that YT / Tic Tok views/shares garner..

But as you know, a lot of us are more interested in the consuming the written word and videos don't work for us for various reasons.

Surely, there has to be an audio-to-text translation tool that could be run on some of these videos to generate at least a rough written form of the video content, and the people who don't want to watch the vids would have an option to engage the content.

I'm sure there's concerns from some that if there was a text-based article attached to a video post, that would somehow detract from the clicks/views/engagement/traction of the social media based videos, but I think that's a misplaced concern.. By my estimation, the people who want video content are going to watch the videos, and the people who don't want to watch videos simply don't- so there would be very little 'lost engagement' by offering text.

Perhaps I'm wrong and there isn't a low-effort way to post transcripts of at least some of the video content, but I'm guessing the fear of lost traffic on the social media accounts is the main driving force behind resistance to such a move.

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Pistolero's picture

August 24, 2025 at 01:04 pm

Okay. Good to hear. What about Gut Reactions?

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Jocelyn Hopkinson's picture

August 25, 2025 at 11:02 am

Thank you! Two weeks to get all of the key guys healed and ready to roll.

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murf7777's picture

August 23, 2025 at 08:28 pm

Might we just have our Micah Parsons already in Cooper? Why waste the SC and draft picks?

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PhantomII's picture

August 24, 2025 at 04:56 pm

I love Coop....The more great players you have on the field at the same time...the better though....So I definitely think it's worth it to pursue Micah AND Mclauren also...I want a trophy and that's as sure a thing right there as I can see. I was watching the Favre trade and Holmgren years and we had a truly bad ass Offense AND Defense...thats what it takes, and we need more than what we have, especially if we want a window of 2-4 years starting NOW.

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murf7777's picture

August 25, 2025 at 03:16 pm

Yes, I'd love those players as well, BUT they both come at a huge price and will eat a lot of salary cap. So, we have a lot of players coming up for contracts that we won't be able to sign next year. That is a one year window. I'd stay the course.

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PhantomII's picture

August 25, 2025 at 08:01 pm

Clark/ Jenkins are timing out next year and our DE is overpaid/ results....plenty of money coming ...so far. Need better DE and #1 WR to push to NFCC game.... or do nothing....we have not sniffed a trophy year in 15 seasons.

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splitpea1's picture

August 23, 2025 at 08:38 pm

"Other notes: No Packer injuries..."--the best news yet.

Impressed with the 96-yard drive; not easy to do with your backup QB.

Willis did make a mistake throwing into double coverage like that, but the interception was an incredibly athletic play that you won't see often.

Elgersma gets my nod for the PS. We saw a couple of great improvisions when he was in trouble in the second half. But he'll need to learn to throw the ball away when nothing is there. I'm not seeing much from Clifford, and he missed an easy throw on the run.

Hopper was one of the more under-the-radar players coming into this season, and now you can't wait to see what he can do in the games that count.

It was definitely a feel-good ending to the preseason considering how we started. The biggest questions I still have for the 53-man is whether or not we keep six DLs, whether the Packers will keep Hardman because of his speed (you saw it on the end around) even with some of his KR misadventures, and whether Simmons' improved performance in this game will land him a spot--I would say no, but I don't make the decisions. And that final reserve CB verdict is going to be tough!

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GregC's picture

August 23, 2025 at 09:12 pm

I thought it was Karl Brooks, not Edgerrin Cooper, who got the pressure that resulted in the Quay Walker sack. Maybe it was both of them.

So how will this game affect roster decisions? I think the player who gained the most was Kalen King, who had his second good showing in a row and may have earned himself the #5 CB spot.

Taylor Elgersma looked better than Sean Clifford again. I like the way he throws the ball. He has kind of a lumbering presence, however. He doesn't look very athletic by NFL standards. I would still choose him over Clifford, based on what I've seen.

Mecole Hardman had a nice end-around and fielded his punts cleanly. Malik Heath had a nice catch and made at least one good play on special teams. I'm up in the air about which one they should keep. Probably Heath. None of the other receivers did much.

Isaiah Simmons had a decent game, but so did Kristian Welch. I would still go with Welch as the #5 linebacker.

It was nice seeing Emmanuel Wilson get back in the swing of things after a somewhat choppy performance last week. Neither Amar Johnson nor Israel Abanikanda was able to get much going. They both look like practice squad players to me.

No clarity with the defensive tackles. Either keep six or let Stackhouse go.

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WD's picture

August 24, 2025 at 11:48 am

Amar Johnson only got the ball three times with the third string QB and O-line. Ran twice up the middle for only a couple of yards but on his third run ran for 22 yards! Do the math. Unfortunately there was a holding call on the o-line. I am disappointed they have not tried Amar as a kick or punt returner. He belongs on the 53 roster for sure. He won't last on the practice squad as every other team studies the film..

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Packerpasty's picture

August 23, 2025 at 09:39 pm

Sean Clifford ain’t it…

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LayingTheLawe's picture

August 23, 2025 at 10:52 pm

There was no "Desmond Howard" moment for Hardman so he's likely gone. Does that open a spot for someone like Heath? At least while Watson is out.

If Welch and Simmons are fighting for a spot, I don't see how you don't give it to the standout special team guy. If Simmons was a young guy, you keep the athletic upside, but a 5 year vet, you know what he is by now.

Defensive tackles seem to be where some decisions lie. We keep hearing Stackhouse looks good in practice, but you don't notice him in the game. A PS guy?

Anyone on the O line stand out? Or are they still likely to pick up some old vet inside o lineman off the street? Someone who could be a backup guard seems needed.

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Coldworld's picture

August 23, 2025 at 11:38 pm

Hopper was the standout player for me. Surely he needs to be in the starting 3 now.

Donovan Jennings looked like a different player. He played well at both G positions. and may have salvaged his roster spot. Lecitus Smith also impressed at C. Both mostly played in the first half. On this showing the interior OL depth looked much better.

Wilson is simply the best hard yards runner other than Jacobs and it’s not particularly close, as he reminded us today.

It’s interesting that different pundits came out praising Hadden or King. For me, King looked to be the winner. Robinson had some pretty good coverage on the perimeter. I’d take King and Robinson for 6 overall.

Belton is not ready to be the back up RT. Morgan or Walker needs snaps there asap.

I thought Stackhouse had a pretty good game, even getting outside and making some tackles and creating pressure.

Brooks to me was again better than Wooden. Cox looked a lot like the legitimate rush threat that he was in those 4 games last year.

If only Fitzpatrick could block. Please consider Belton as a 6th OL if he’s our third TE.

Deslin Alexandre and Jamon Johnson need PS invites. Both could be said to be roster worthy on another team.

Elgersma was less impressive to me overall today, but I like that he showed an ability to improvise and, if the game slows down, he has a lot of upside. Clifford, for the second game, could barely complete a pass. Good guy but not an NFL QB. Perhaps he has a future in coaching?

Well, now it’s the Turk’s time, but the team played penalty free and, for the most part, focused football today. That was good to see. As was the apparent lack of injuries.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

August 24, 2025 at 03:31 am

Hopper > McDuffie. Agreed
Donovan Jennings is OL 9. Makes the 53. Agreed

Lecitus Smith makes the PS. GB doesn't keep 10 OL
[Never underestimate the scarcity of OL with a pulse in the NFL, though.]

King is #5 CB.

Hadden, Robinson. IDK. Throw a dart or go light & keep 5 CBs.

I hope Belton can improve in-season. Some need the offseason.

Stackhouse and Brinson have underwhelmed. Keep because the top 4 ain't so hot.

Brooks > Wooden. Reluctantly, keep Wooden.

I don't see Fitz's vaunted blocking prowess.

Elgersma > Clifford. Clear cut. But PS guy only.

PS: OL Smith, Lippe, Brant Banks; TE Sims; RB Amer Johnson; WR Johnson, Neyor (no to Shepherd and Hicks), QB Elgersma, DL Ester, Alexandre (Mosby makes the 53); LB Jamon Johnson, CB Robinson/Hadden (whichever did not make the 53), Herring, Baldwin, Ballentine (for week one), and McNamee.

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Coldworld's picture

August 24, 2025 at 09:52 am

I think your PS is pretty good. I differ with you on Hicks. He just gets open and has good hands. Neyor and Johnson are pretty similar, though Johnson is a long striding perimeter guy and Neyor could eventually be more versatile.

I’m not sure I’d keep Ester: I’m keeping Stackhouse on my roster, but definitely on my PS if I can failing that. The DT we picked up a couple of weeks ago, O’Malley had a sack yesterday, I’d keep him over Ester to see if he can grow. I would have kept Randolph pre-injury.

Lippe and Banks seem the best bets to invest in on the OL. Johnson and Johnson and Alexandre/Mosby glaringly obvious. Ballentine would just be for STs, but would make sense for that alone. I would not keep Sims and Fitzpatrick. I’d look for a blocking option if we don’t like Lumpkin or Swinson enough (or use Belton). I might keep Abanikanda as a protection option as well.

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GregC's picture

August 24, 2025 at 05:42 am

Agreed that Elgersma didn't look as good as last week. I remember reading last year that Sean Clifford was very helpful with Michael Pratt during training camp, even though they were competing for the same position. I think Clifford very well may have a future in coaching.

Lecitus Smith looked good, but if he's only a center, it's hard to justify putting him on the roster when they've already got Monk, so he's probably just a practice squad guy at best. The holding call against him looked like a bad call.

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Coldworld's picture

August 24, 2025 at 08:40 am

Smith was within consideration as a G last time he was with us and that’s been his prime position until now. He’s here as a C option this time, out of need, but he can play guard competently if needed. That he’s looked capable as a C may swing it.

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Bearmeat's picture

August 24, 2025 at 01:38 am

I was not going to allow the sky to fall in my mind after week 1 of the preseason, and I’m not going to be upbeat about yesterday. Preseason does not matter.

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Oppy's picture

August 24, 2025 at 08:30 am

Preseason matters plenty, It's about sideline coordination, new concepts, player evaluation. Sometimes it's about seeing how a player or position group reacts to being put in a bad situation.. it just isn't about the final score or even the overall result of a given play.

I agree, though, that preseason does not reflect what the team is going to look or feel like during the regular season.

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Coldworld's picture

August 24, 2025 at 09:56 am

Well put. The preseason is a window into the underlying mechanics that a season tends to cover up and then expose when attrition or pressure come into play.

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Jocelyn Hopkinson's picture

August 25, 2025 at 10:59 am

I agree in that it doesn’t matter for the season’s projection and outcome. Still want to see the starters execute and the backups look competent. The OL depth proved over three games it wasn’t where it needed to be so Gute addressed it with a trade. That part of the preseason matters

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the_gavia_pass's picture

August 24, 2025 at 04:01 am

I had a look at many articles on the game in the packers media, NO ONE wrote that seahawks HC sat ALL starters from the beginning.

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GregC's picture

August 24, 2025 at 05:37 am

You are correct. Packers played most of their starters, on offense and defense, for a couple of possessions.

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Coldworld's picture

August 24, 2025 at 08:53 am

I was reading the Seattle blogs and they talk about is playing our starters heavily. We really did not. Love and 18 other players sat, admittedly in many cases that was driven by injuries, but if you think about it:

2 starting WRs for 2 drives (Doubs and Golden)
1 attempt for Jacobs.
On the IOL we did have Walker and Tom briefly, but our starting C and LG were out and possible starting G playing C and Morgan at G.
We did play Kraft and Musgrave for 2 drives I think.

On D, brief sightings of Gary and Van Ness, but the damage was started Brooks and then by Cox and Enagbare. In the middle, both NTs did not dress.

At ILB, a brief cameo of Cooper and Walker then depth
At S, no McKinney, Williams started, with Bullard I think, which meant a back up slot. On the outside, Nixon played.

So it was a patchwork at best for the first quarter and then all backups, unless Hopper became a starter yesterday.

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Jocelyn Hopkinson's picture

August 25, 2025 at 11:01 am

Haha seemed relevant to mention. GB starters did well overall against Seattle backups

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dobber's picture

August 24, 2025 at 06:40 am

As they get to the bottom of the roster the Packers have been known to make cuts based on who they can get to the PS and who they want to protect as who we might see as the best 53. There might be a surprising cut or two, but it seems like there's more "either or" or "rationalization" at the bottom of the roster at some position groups than the last couple preseasons. Journeyman vets on practice squads are a much more common thing, especially with PS elevations. Game day roster management is different from what it once was.

I've never been on board with Simmons or Hardman. I think Hardman was signed as a speedy guy as protection against not securing playable speed in the draft. There are other guys who can return kicks/punts and fill his role at WR.

Remember that Welch and Simmons are both 27...there's no youth to be gained from either. With Hopper looking playable and McDuffie being who he is, that roster spot is all about immediate return on STs.

I'm probably trying to keep Elgersma as a higher ceiling player than Clifford on the PS. I don't think that will be a stretch. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to sign away another QB and cut bait on both, though.

Management of the OL and DL will be what I'm watching. In both cases we're going to see attrition this coming offseason, and I thought they'd go heavier on the OL (10) early on, but the bottom of the OL has not really done anything to stand out. I'd rather push that extra spot to the DL where there's been more "flashing" even if it hasn't been dominating.

The question is whether the Packers will try to swing a trade or two. Gute seems to be testing the market at cutdowns every year. I could see them targeting an IOL or a CB.

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Oppy's picture

August 24, 2025 at 08:26 am

"I could see them targeting an IOL or a CB."

Put me down for a cornerback, please.
Weakest position on the roster.

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Coldworld's picture

August 24, 2025 at 09:24 am

Who would you trade? Wooden? Enagbare? I don’t think Simmons is tradeable, but they could try. Although I would trade Wooden (who did little again yesterday) and McDuffie, unless Gute is more ruthless than his coaches, I don’t think they will, even if I think McDuffie surpassed and Wooden a luxury we should not afford. Brooks is simply better behind Wyatt and we need more than 305 pounds to spell Clark.

I would not trade Enagbare. He’s just been good at everything. Yesterday he and Cox formed a very good pair and both are playing the run pretty well.

Hopper was my player of the game, but my most surprising showing was from Jennings. Yesterday he played well at LG and then RG in the first half and apparently had a good week in Practice. He’s looking more like the player glimpsed before they tried to turn him into a C. He’s effectively a rookie who may well have played himself back into the team after a terrible look the prior week (something that’s becoming a bit of a pattern for neophyte OL).

On the subject of Cs, Lecitus Smith played most of the first half and played well and snapped well. He was on the fringe as a G last year. He looks like a guy we could put out there and survive with. I feel somewhat better about the OL depth inside after yesterday. We need to have Morgan or Walker taking RT reps though. Belton is not yet ready: he needs a lot of technical refinement on his footwork and balance (related). He would be a vast upgrade as a blocking TE (non catching). Fitzpatrick just isn’t good at that despite the narratives of some.

At corner, King convinced me he can back up in the slot. Hadden just looks like a good second teamer to me. He’d be very good on the reserve team but gets exposed athletically too often. I’m also concerned that both King and Hadden would be too much. Robinson just seems to hold up well on the outside, including a long pass break up yesterday. How good he is though is tough to tell as he’s not been targeted much.

I expect some roster churn from Gute, just based upon previous years. I just don’t know where. I lean corner being the most likely but I wouldn’t rule out OL and DE (if Oliver is going to be shut down), but could we do better than Alexandre or Mosby? Very different players, but perhaps a true speed prospect tempts?

Although not popular, I could see us bringing in a punt returner just to do that over Reed. Seattle’s PR yesterday had a very good day returning and is one likely to be cut. I know that will put rosterniks in a tizzy, because such a won’t play O or D any more or better than Hardman, but Reed wasn’t great and if they are serious about improving that and/ or protecting him, then it could happen.

If we trade, unfortunately it maybe because an injury is worse than we outsiders expect as well. As usual that’s something we outsiders have less than nothing to go on.

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JerseyAl's picture

August 24, 2025 at 11:16 am

Smith played pretty much the whole game. They were taking a long look at him. Is Monk injured? I must have missed that.

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GregC's picture

August 24, 2025 at 11:36 am

I missed that too. I just heard today that he injured his hamstring on August 18th. Ryan Wood did not even put him on his final 53-man roster due to the injury.

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jannes bjornson's picture

August 24, 2025 at 12:05 pm

I put Hopper in the top three. Cox needs to see plenty of snaps when the real Games begin. If the brain trust continues propping up favorites over Playmakers, it may be a long season.

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