Packers’ 2026 preseason joint-practice lineup narrows to Cardinals set

The Green Bay Packers will have only one joint practice during the 2026 preseason, with the session coming against the Arizona Cardinals in the final week of the exhibition schedule, according to a report from Yahoo Sports on June 22. The same report also notes that the Steelers and Broncos will not have a joint practice with the Packers in 2026, a change from the broader approach the Packers have used in recent summers.

Joint practices are one of the most closely watched tools teams use in the preseason because they compress game-like preparation into the same environment for both staffs. Typically, they give coordinators a cleaner look at how their starters operate against live, structural defenses and coverage looks than separate walk-throughs or isolated pads sessions can provide.

According to the Yahoo report, the sequencing matters for the Packers because head coach Matt LaFleur has generally scheduled joint practices against multiple teams each summer. The idea, as described in the report, is to use those joint practices to work starters in a more controlled setting, while also creating opportunities for backups and reserve players to see preseason playing time outside the most “shared” sessions.

The reported absence of a Steelers joint practice and a Broncos joint practice would therefore reduce the number of external practice environments Green Bay can simulate before its final exhibition work. That can affect how much staff time is spent blending first-unit timing with different opponent personnel, and it can change the reps available to role players who teams hope to evaluate through inter-squad spacing and competitive work.

For the teams involved, the decision also reshapes the preseason rhythm. Arizona, Pittsburgh, and Denver each typically aim to use the preseason to refine how their starters manage snap-to-snap adjustments, while also ensuring their depth groups get enough live action for evaluation. When joint practices do not happen, teams may rely more heavily on internal scrimmaging, opponent-assisted walkthroughs, or game-plan reps rather than shared field drills.

In practical terms, fans will likely look for the Packers to lean more on their remaining preseason preparation windows to replicate the continuity that joint practices often provide. The Cardinals set becomes the focal point for any “game-speed” looks involving the Packers and their late-preseason first groups, while the Packers’ other preseason work may be less directly benchmarked against outside opponents in a joint setting.

It also remains important to distinguish between what has been announced and what could still evolve as teams finalize their preseason operations. The Yahoo report frames these joint-practice outcomes as already determined for 2026, but as with all preseason plans, teams can still adjust the finer details of how they structure their public and private practices before exhibition games.

Still, the bigger takeaway is straightforward: Green Bay’s 2026 preseason joint work will be narrower than the multi-opponent pattern described for recent years. That makes the Packers-Cardinals joint practice in the final week particularly consequential for evaluating how the Packers’ coaching staff wants to transition from camp to exhibition readiness under live, opponent-specific conditions.