Green Bay Packers: 3 Players to watch vs. Texans in Preseason Week 1
By Joe Kipp
The Green Bay Packers face the Houston Texans in Preseason Week 1 on Thursday, Aug. 8. Here are three players to watch in Thursday’s matchup.
The Green Bay Packers will take the field on Thursday, Aug. 8 against the Houston Texans in what will be each team’s first preseason game. The two teams spent Monday and Tuesday of this week together in joint practices, with several scuffles in between.
It remains to be seen if quarterback Aaron Rodgers will take part in Thursday’s game, though he stated earlier in the week if the team had good performances in practice he would likely not play. But all reports from camp indicate the Packers offense was lackadaisical in their efforts the last two practices, which could mean Rodgers will suit up.
Regardless of whether Rodgers plays or not, the Packers have several other players to watch closely, starting with kicker Mason Crosby. Backup kicker Sam Ficken has filled in while Crosby recovered from a calf injury, but has been up and down for most of camp, though he did hit a 63-yard field goal to end Green Bay’s Family Night practice last Friday.
Another veteran to keep an eye on will be outside linebacker Reggie Gilbert. Gilbert was a standout performer during last year’s preseason, notching 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in just three preseason games. Gilbert couldn’t carry that success over into the regular season, however, as he only recorded 38 total tackles and 2.5 sacks in 16 games.
Gilbert is surrounded by spectacular depth at the outside linebacker position, including Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Kyler Fackrell and Rashan Gary, meaning he’ll need to have another spectacular performance during the preseason just to make the final 53-man roster. That said, Gilbert’s flashes during the 2018 preseason is a stark reminder the level of competition in exhibition games is much lower than usual.
The Packers have a lot of work to accomplish between now and the regular season opener on Sept. 5 versus the Chicago Bears, but that doesn’t mean players can’t improve before then. Here are three players who should impress and who should be watched closely in Thursday’s preseason game against the Houston Texans.