The Green Bay Packers added new restrictions to what reporters can and cannot report during training camp practices this week, with an emphasis on limiting information about where players line up on the field and other specific depth chart projections.
GM Brian Gutekunst confirmed it was his decision to limit reporting in an effort to “equal the playing field” during a unique training camp without preseason games or fans due to the coronavirus.
“The changing landscape of the preseason, with no preseason games and no fans at our practices, as we got into it, it changed things,” Gutekunst said Thursday. “From a competitive advantage viewpoint, I thought this was the right thing to do, in the short term.”
The team’s restrictions, put in place before Wednesday’s practice, specifically mentioned limiting “projections on the depth chart and personnel packages.”
After digging into how the rest of the NFL was operating to start camp, the Packers thought they were dealing with a competitive disadvantage at the information level. Without fans at practices or preseason games, the only information of any value coming out of camp comes from what the local media provides.
“As we got into the first three days, and seen the landscape of what other teams were doing, and just the information we were gathering. Again, without 8,000 people at practice and four preseason games, I thought we were at a disadvantage, and I wanted to equal the playing field,” Gutekunst said.
The idea, according to Gutekunst, is with available information so limited on other teams, the Packers needed to follow suit and keep as much information away from other teams as possible.
The Green Bay chapter of the Pro Football Writers Association publicly denounced the decision, and many local beat writers mocked the new restrictions through sarcastic tweets on both Wednesday and Thursday.
Gutekunst said his pro scouts do use information from local beat writers to help sort through rosters and identify potentially available players during this time of year.
Gutekunst confirmed the restrictions were “temporary” and “nothing permanent.”
“We always try to make the best decisions for our football team, and that’s why this decision was made,” Gutekunst said.
