GREEN BAY, Wis. -- When Matt LaFleur cut the veterans loose from the offseason program a week early, they had 47 days to themselves until they had to report back for training camp.
As much as the Green Bay Packers coach wants his players to recharge and get refreshed for the grind of the season, he doesn't want it to be a complete vacation.
"We've got a really solid foundation right now, but it doesn't matter unless you maximize these next 47 days prior to training camp," LaFleur said on the final day of the mandatory minicamp last week. "So the work that they put in will show itself in training camp. And so the message is just they got to push it in every aspect -- mentally, physically, psychologically. Every aspect is going to impact their game.
"But I think we got a really good group -- guys that come in with the right mentality, the right attitude -- and we'll be checking in on them quite a bit this summer to make sure everybody's still moving the same direction."
Still, there were some lingering issues at the end of the offseason program. Some of those could be answered in training camp, which starts July 27 for rookies and July 28 for veterans. Others might not be solved until the season plays out.
Here is a look at some of questions still facing the Packers:
Who's healthy?
On the final day of mandatory minicamp, 17 players were with the rehab group. That's almost 20% of the Packers' offseason roster.
Of those players, 11 were either projected starters or expected contributors: Micah Parsons, Benjamin St-Juste, Isaiah McDuffie, Warren Brinson, Devonte Wyatt and Javon Hargrave on defense; Aaron Banks, Zach Tom, Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave on offense, plus return man Skyy Moore on special teams.
Parsons will begin training camp on the physically unable to perform list, and chances are he will start the season there, too. If that's the case, the edge rusher will be out the first four games at minimum.
LaFleur wouldn't get into specifics on other players, but when asked if any of them other than Parsons might not be ready for training camp, he said: "Potentially."
On offense, the biggest concern is on the line, where guard Banks dropped out of minicamp for an undisclosed reason and right tackle Tom has been recovering from patella tendon surgery.
"Mine wasn't a full tear," Tom said. "It was like a partial, which they just had to go in there and take some of the tissue out, and then you've just got to rebuild the tissue, that's really the main thing.
"I want to be full go by the start of camp, but I had to be cleared by the doctor, but I guess it really all depends on how I feel. I feel like we're making good progress, but we'll see how I feel in late next month, see where it goes from there."
Where's the pass rush?
Parsons will miss the start of the season, Rashan Gary was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, and Kingsley Enagbare signed with the New York Jets in free agency. That trio accounted for 22 of the Packers' 36 sacks and 56 of their 106 quarterback hits last season.
Underachieving former first-round pick Lukas Van Ness (1.5 sacks, seven QB hits last year) and second-year pro Barryn Sorrell (1.5 sacks, three QB hits) got most of the first-team reps on the edge at minicamp. Rookie fourth-round pick Dani Dennis-Sutton flashed some pass rush ability in the non-padded offseason practices, while returnees Brenton Cox Jr. and Arron Mosby also got significant opportunities.
For what it's worth, Parsons thinks Van Ness is about to take off.
"Luke is someone that people sleep on the most, and I don't know why," Parsons said.
"I believe in him. I think sometimes he looks into y'all and that gets to him, but I think he can be as great as he wants to be."
The Packers also expect interior pass rush from Wyatt, Hargrave and Karl Brooks.
Is Lloyd finally full go?
For someone who has played only 10 snaps -- all in one game -- in two seasons, there's been an inordinate amount of talk about running back MarShawn Lloyd this offseason.
It's because not only do the Packers still think highly of the 2024 third-round pick -- who had six carries for 15 yards in his lone NFL appearance, Week 2 of the 2024 season, -- but also because they might need him. Perhaps not as RB1 as long as Josh Jacobs doesn't face any disciplinary action stemming from his arrest last month (which is still under investigation) but as a change-of-pace No. 2 back.
It might be easier to list the injuries and ailments Lloyd hasn't had in the past two years than the ones he has had, but most of it stems from soft-tissue, lower-body issues that he believes might have been solved thanks in part to time spent in the University of Wisconsin's hamstring study and at the Meyer Institute of Sport in California.
"The proof will be in the pudding," LaFleur said this offseason. "He's got to show that consistently over the course of all of OTAs, into training camp, into the preseason, and then we'll see where we go from there."
Lloyd had several impressive runs, albeit in non-padded practices, that showed the explosiveness and elusiveness the Packers liked in him two years ago.
"Not only does he give you something alongside with Josh, I mean he can do things that the other guys can't, in terms of his speed and quickness," running backs coach Ben Sirmans said this offseason.
Can they finish?
The answer to this won't come until the season is over, but after blowing so many late leads and collapsing down the stretch last season with a five-game losing streak after a 9-3-1 start, LaFleur's single biggest emphasis this offseason was on finishing.
While there's not a specific drill to learn how to finish out games the right way, LaFleur tried to instill a mindset by making sure every workout and every practice was completed with the same intensity that it started with and tried to drill that into the players' minds.
"You've just have to practice the finish," tight end Tucker Kraft said. "I've said this before, you have to get out of bed in the morning and choose to succeed. You have to talk it into existence."