Packers preseason opponents skip joint practices

Jayden Reed of the Green Bay Packers

It’s already been announced that the Green Bay Packers will have a joint practice with the Arizona Cardinals going into the final week of the preseason, but upon the announcement, it was interesting to me that the Packers only had one set of joint practices this year – as head coach Matt LaFleur has generally scheduled them against multiple teams each summer. Usually, their thought process has been to use starters in these more controlled joint practices while giving preseason playing time to backups and reserve players who weren’t involved as much in joint practices.

One reason that the Packers might only have one joint practice opponent in 2026? The Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers just don’t want to have them.

According to Pro Football Talk, 28 teams will hold joint practices this summer. The only exceptions are the Steelers, Broncos, Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs. Unfortunately for the Packers, the Steelers and Broncos are their non-Cardinals opponents this preseason. Bad luck of the draw.

So maybe the Packers wanted to continue their stretch of multiple joint-practice opponents, but their opponents weren’t willing to play ball. Because of that, we might get a little more preseason action from the starters this year. Fingers crossed that if they go that route, the team stays healthy.