Thursday Cheese Curds: Packers won’t play overseas in 2023; evaluating 2022 rookie class

The NFL revealed which teams will be at home for the five International Series games of 2023 and none match up with the Packers’ road games.

It’s official — the Green Bay Packers will not be playing overseas for a second straight season in 2023. The NFL announced the five teams who will forfeit a true home game in order to serve as the home team for the games in Europe next season, and none of those five are franchises that the Packers are scheduled to play on the road.

All five of those teams come from the AFC, as that conference has an extra home game next season. However, the Packers only have one of those five on their schedule — the Kansas City Chiefs — and that game is set to be played at Lambeau Field.

While we dig into that story a bit deeper in today’s curds, let’s also take a look at one evaluation of the team’s 2022 rookie class, which suggests that the team actually got just average production out of the group. It’s true that there were no bona fide rookie superstars in the class — at least not yet — but there were certainly flashes and stretches of both brilliance and solid, quality play from several different players.

Is the 2022 class really as “just okay” as this analysis suggests? Time will tell, but there are plenty of reasons to think that it’s going to be a really good group when all is said and done.

NFL announces 5 teams to play home games abroad in 2023 | ESPN
Because the AFC gets 9 home games in 2023, all five of the teams hosting international games come from that conference. The Jaguars, Bills, and Titans will be the home teams for the games in London, while the Chiefs and Patriots get trips to Germany. No games will be played in Mexico, however, due to renovations at Estadio Azteca.

‘Too much inconsistency’ will motivate Kenny Clark in 2023 | Packers.com
Clark was a Pro Bowl alternate and recorded four sacks, but he’ll be the first to tell you that he’s not happy with his play against the run and plans to be a more consistent playmaker in 2023, his eighth NFL season.

Packers’ Mason Crosby entering free agency with no plans to retire | Packersnews.com ($)
It feels like the right time for the Packers to move on from Crosby, with his contract expiring and his leg strength seemingly waning. But for now at least, Crosby seems intent on continuing to play. He’ll be a Packers Hall of Famer at some point, though, regardless of whether his final kick will have taken place while wearing green and gold.

Packers rookie class in 2022 ranked middle of the pack for production and value | Packers Wire
It felt at times like last year’s class could be a franchise-changing one. Quay Walker and Christian Watson drew headlines, but according to one analysis of the 2022 NFL Draft, the team’s rookies only ranked 14th in the NFL.

Packers’ 2023 NFL Draft priorities: Which positions should they target early? – The Athletic ($)
One mock has the Packers going DL, TE, WR in the first two rounds, with a trade back to pick up an extra round two pick. We’re currently running polls on the team’s biggest needs, and the community’s #1, safety, isn’t represented here.

The lights have been on at a Massachusetts school for over a year because no one can turn them off | NBC News
The lights run on software that failed a year and a half ago — has nobody tried turning the computer off and on to see if that fixes the problem?