Matt LaFleur acknowledges what hurt his image with players last season is now key to better Packers alignment in 2026
It was a challenging season for LaFleur in terms of roster management in 2025.
The NFLPA report card wasn’t friendly to Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur this year. He dropped a full letter grade this past season and ranked second to last in the league in respect for players. And LaFleur himself has an idea of why that happened.
Too many mouths to feed, just one ball to spread around. LaFleur didn’t go into specifics, but he mentioned during his press conference at the Annual League Meeting that some players were not happy last year.
“I’ll be honest about it, there were some guys upset about roles last year,” LaFleur revealed. “I think that took a toll on our football team. You need guys that bring great energy every day. From a coaching standpoint, role clarity is key. We’ve got to do a better job communicating with our players, here’s your role. And if you’re unhappy about your role, it’s on you to do something about that to carve out a bigger role on this football team. The buy-in is absolutely critical. Getting guys in there that are ready to go to work every single day is going to be critical for us.”
Better communication is key for next season
It’s impossible to make everyone happy at all times, and LaFleur knows it’s not realistic to expect 53 comfortable players with their situation. Because of that reality, LaFleur believes communication is the most important aspect to manage the group.
“I try to take that with a grain of salt. You don’t want to just dismiss that stuff,” LaFleur said about the NFLPA report cards. “You’ve got to look into it. I feel pretty confident in my conversations with the majority of our players, but certainly some guys feel a certain type of way. And the one thing I’ve learned in this business is you can’t please everybody. You can’t be all things to all people.”
Despite the issues that happened throughout the 2025 season, Matt LaFleur stressed that he’s open to listening to players and taking their opinions into consideration.
“Ultimately, you’ve got to make decisions that you feel are in the best interest of the football team,” LaFleur added. “But if anybody, whether a staff member or a player or anybody else within our organization, has something to bring to me, it would be crazy not to listen to what they have to say.”
The wide receiver situation this year isn’t as deep as it has been. Romeo Doubs left in free agency, and it’s not impossible that the Packers trade one of their expiring deals — there have been some rumors around Dontayvion Wicks, for example. The only receivers currently on the roster with contracts beyond 2026 are Matthew Golden and Savion Williams, both drafted in 2025.
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