Multiple Members of Packers Defense Swapped Jerseys for Friday’s Practice

This might mark the first Friday all season that we haven't conveyed a lengthy Green Bay Packers injury report heading into a Sunday matchup. That doesn't mean that Matt LaFleur's side fell short of making headlines.

A handful of Packers defenders -- including standouts Za'Darius and Preston Smith -- strangely opted to swap jerseys during their final practice of the week on Friday.

All 53 #Packers practicing. Some players wearing different jerseys for some reason??‍♂️

• P. Smith in Clark’s jersey
• Z. Smith in Adams
• Lowry in Keke
• Adams in Z. Smith
• Clark in P. Smith
• Gary in Lowry
• Fackrell in Lancaster
• Keke in Gary
• Lancaster in Fackrell
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) December 13, 2019

"We were just chilling," said defensive tackle Kenny Clark. "I heard Z (Za'Darius Smith) and Mon (Montravius Adams) talking about something and I was like, ‘Let’s switch jerseys today.’ So, we all switched. Just having fun. … I had on P's (Preston Smith) jersey. I was trying to do his little celebrations and all that today. We had fun with it.”

Luckily, the abrupt decision to swap threads didn't intervene with LaFleur's instructions.

Matt LaFleur said he didn’t know players were swapping jerseys at practice today. He laughs and says it didn’t throw him off because he knows all their body types.
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) December 13, 2019

"Honestly, we were just trying to have a little vibe, little fun at practice," Adams added. "At the end of the day, this is everybody’s job here but you don’t want your job to feel like work. I feel like that’s part of the reason why we’ve been so successful. It’s not like we’re working. We did go to work and do our job but we had fun at the same time."

The 9 defensive players who swapped jerseys for practice today didn’t tell the coaches, but Dean Lowry – who wore rookie Kingsley Keke’s No. 96 and gave his No. 94 to Rashan Gary who gave his No. 52 to Keke – said: “The coaches weren’t too mad about it... https://t.co/uc1S82bRkC
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) December 13, 2019

We wouldn't blame Packers fans that view this as an unconventional, or even arrogant manner in which to prepare for a Chicago Bears team that has won three straight, but we wouldn't look much into it.

That point of view could, however, turn on its head if Green Bay were to come out flat and ultimately lose on Sunday. For now, let's just enjoy that this team is meshing so well and able to enjoy themselves at practice.