The official start of the 2019 season for the Green Bay Packers has arrived.
Matt LaFleur’s team begins the first phase of the offseason workout program on Monday.
Teams that hired a new head coach this offseason are allowed to start the program two weeks before others. The Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos opened last Monday; the Packers, Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets are joining them this week.
LaFleur decided to delay the start of the Packers’ program one week to ensure his team can work without interruption. Teams that opened last week will have to skip a week at some point, per NFL rules.
The Packers’ offseason workout schedule is as follows:
First day: April 8
Voluntary minicamp: April 23-25
OTAs: May 20-21, May 23, May 28-29, May 31, June 3-6
Mandatory minicamp: June 11-13
The first phase of the program is limited to strength training and conditioning work, with limits of four hours per day and 90 minutes of work on the field. It starts Monday and runs two weeks. The Packers will then hold a voluntary minicamp, another luxury provided to first-year head coaches.
The start of the program will mark an important new start for LaFleur and the Packers. It provides the new coach his first opportunity to be around the entire team, and players the first opportunity to see the new playbook coming to Green Bay. Both sides will be looking to make a good first impression.
Veterans will have major financial incentive to be in Green Bay for most of the workouts. The Packers purposely include large bonuses to ensure participation during the workouts.
The following players have workout bonuses tied into their contracts:
– OLB Za’Darius Smith: $750,000
– OLB Preston Smith: $650,000
– QB Aaron Rodgers: $500,000
– LT David Bakhtiari: $500,000
– WR Davante Adams: $500,000
– S Adrian Amos: $500,000
– DL Mike Daniels: $400,000
– C Corey Linsley: $350,000
– OL Billy Turner: $350,000
– TE Jimmy Graham: $250,000
– RT Bryan Bulaga: $250,000
– G Lane Taylor: $250,000
– K Mason Crosby: $150,000
– CB Tramon Williams: $100,000
– WR Geronimo Allison: $100,000
– TE Marcedes Lewis: $50,000
– DL Kenny Clark: $50,000
– LB Oren Burks: $25,000
– OLB Kyler Fackrell: $15,500
– DL Montravius Adams: $15,000
TOTAL: $5,755,500
Both LaFleur and quarterback Aaron Rodgers are expected to be made available to the media at some point during the week.
