Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur said his team won’t have permanent captains during the 2024 season and was non-committal about doing week-by-week captains.
“We do not have permanent captains,” LaFleur said Tuesday.
Many teams around the NFL vote on captains and announce season-long captains before the start of the regular season. Designated captains get the captain “C” patch on their uniforms.
Asked if the Packers would do something on a week-to-week basis, LaFleur said, “We will see.”
It’s possible controversies involving Za’Darius Smith — who felt slighted he wasn’t voted as a season-long captain in 2021 — and Jaire Alexander — who went to midfield for the coin toss vs. the Carolina Panthers despite not being a captain, resulting in a suspension last year — impacted LaFleur’s decision to not have captains in 2024.
Likely captains would have been quarterback Jordan Love, defensive end Preston Smith, cornerback Jaire Alexander and possibly even newcomers Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney.
The Packers are flying to Brazil on Wednesday before opening the 2024 season on Friday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The last time the Packers elected season-long captains was 2022, when quarterback Aaron Rodgers, running back Aaron Jones, tight end Marcedes Lewis, defensive lineman Kenny Clark, linebacker De’Vondre Campbell and safety Adrian Amos were voted captains. Only Clark remains on the Packers’ roster.
Last year, the Packers picked captains on a week-to-week basis.