4/22/25 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Tuesday
22 April 2025 Sports
Brian Gutekunst is armed with 8 picks for his 8th draft as General Manager of the Packers. He has learned a lot from the ups and downs of the annual 3 days of drafting in his tenure.
He’ll have another chance as the NFL Draft begins Thursday in Green Bay.
On Monday, Gutekunst offered up no update on the status former All-Pro corner Jaire Alexander. As far as the 5th-year options of Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt, Gutekunst says he’s not sure whether he will put the 5th-year options in place or work out contract extensions. But he wants them on the team in 2026.
Gutekunst downplayed any logistical challenges he and the rest of the Packers staff might be facing amid the carnival-like atmosphere in the area surrounding the iconic stadium, with the league expecting 250,000 fans to attend the three-day draft.
He also insisted that whomever the Packers pick in the first round won’t necessarily have to contribute immediately to a team that has made the playoffs the past two years with limited contributions from defensive end Lukas Van Ness and offensive lineman Jordan Morgan. The Packers took Van Ness with the 13th overall pick in 2023 and acquired Morgan with the 25th overall selection last year.
With needs at wide receiver, on the defensive line and at cornerback, there could be opportunities at those spots sooner rather than later. That said, Gutekunst also expressed confidence in the team he’s already assembled.
“I feel really good about our roster right now. That doesn’t happen every year (heading into the draft),” Gutekunst said. “But if we had to go play next week, I feel really good about our roster. I feel like we could win and go compete — really, across the board.”
Gutekunst does have a few roster situations to deal with, however.
For starters, there’s two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander’s unresolved situation Gutekunst acknowledged last month that he is actively seeking to trade Alexander.
Alexander, who has two years remaining on his existing contract, has played in just seven regular-season games each of the last two years. During that stretch, he has missed 19 total regular-season games because of injury and one for a 2023 suspension because of conduct detrimental to the team.
A knee injury forced him to miss 10 of the Packers’ final 11 games last season, including their 22-10 playoff loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Asked if he would simply keep Alexander this season if he can’t trade him before or during the draft, Gutekunst replied, “We’ll work through that. I don’t really have any updates on Jaire. He’s obviously on our roster right now. We’ll see how the draft goes and then see where we are at that point.”
Meanwhile, Gutekunst wouldn’t say whether he would extend the fifth-year options to the team’s two 2022 first-round draft picks — linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt — before the league’s May 1 deadline.
The Packers have the 23rd overall pick Thursday night.
The Brewers opened their 10-game road trip last night at San Francisco.
Wilmer Flores hit a tie-breaking solo homer in the 6th, Jung Hoo Lee added an RBI triple the next inning and the Giants picked up a 5-2 win.
Flores connected off Grant Anderson (1-1) with two outs.
Caleb Durbin hit his first career home run with a two-run drive in the first against San Francisco starter Robbie ay, who allowed two runs and five hits. He struck out four and walked three over five solid innings.
Hayden Birdson (1-0) struck out four in three innings of relief to win for the Giants, who had lost three of the last four on their recent 10-game trip. Cmilo Doval pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.
Quinn Priester walked a season-high four batters over four innings in his third 2025 start as Milwaukee began a season-long 10-game trip spanning 11 days.
Patrick Bailey hit an RBI single in the second and a sacrifice fly in the eighth for San Francisco, which will be without infielder Casey Schmitt for at least a month after an MRI exam Monday showed a Grade 2 left oblique strain.
Tyler Fitzgerald scored the tying run in the fifth when Willy Adames grounded into a forceout.
Game two is tonight with the first pitch at 8:45 CDT.
Elsewhere in the NL Central on Monday the Marlins beat the Reds 6-3 and the Braves nipped the Cardinals 7-3. The Cubs lead the Brewers by 1 ½ games, the Reds by 2 ½, the Cardinals by 4 ½ and the Pirates by 5 ½ games.
In other Brewer team news, Craig Yoho has been called up by the Brewers.
The Brewers are hoping the 25-year old can boost a bullpen that has struggled so far this season. Milwaukee’s 5.14 bullpen ERA ranks 26th in the majors this season. Last year, the Brewers had a 3.11 bullpen ERA that ranked second in the majors.
An eighth-round pick by Milwaukee in the 2023 amateur draft, he transferred from the University of Houston after the pandemic-interrupted 2020 season and almost immediately was injured — missing two seasons when he needed Tommy John elbow reconstruction and also dealt with a knee injury.
Milwaukee cleared roster space for Yoho by optioning right-hander Logan Henderson to Nashville and transferring lefty Nestor Cortes to the 60-day injured list.
Henderson was sent down one day after striking out nine batters and allowing only one run over six innings in his MLB debut.
The Bucks return to the court tonight at Indianapolis for game two of their playoff series. Milwaukee lost Saturday 117-98. Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 36 points and 12 rebounds but the defense could not stop the Packers.
Tipoff is at 6:00.
There were no games Monday in the Midwest League. The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at Cedar Rapids tonight against the Kernels. First pitch is at 6:35.
High School Baseball (Mon.)
Winneconne 11 Wautoma 1
Kewaskum 8 Random Lake 6
Waupun 12 Mayville 5
Shiocton 8 Weyauwega-Fremont 6
Hortonville 2 Bay Port 0
Oshkosh West 13 St. Mary Catholic 6
Pacelli 3 Adams-Friendship 0
Girls Softball (Mon.)
Beaver Dam 12 West Bend West 10
Seymour 5 Shawano 1
Almond-Bancroft 5 Weyauwega-Fremont 0
Lodi 7 Adams-Friendship 1
Portage 14 Pardeeville 0
Share |