The Green Bay Packers are in the thick of their preparation for the 2023 NFL season, which will be especially interesting for the franchise. For one, it will be the first season for the Packers after the Aaron Rodgers era. As part of their plans to sharpen up ahead of the regular season, the Packers will have a series of practices together with Bill Belichick's New England Patriots.

For Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, the opportunity to polish their game while sharing the field with the Patriots is going to be a test for his team.

“It’s going to be a long week for the guys,” LaFleur said about the Packers' practices in the next few days with New England, per Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated.

The culmination of this partnership with the Patriots will be a preseason matchup at Lambeau Field on Saturday.

The Packers kicked off their preseason schedule on a high note, as they took down the Cincinnati Bengals on the road last Friday to the tune of a 36-19 score. Jordan Love shined for the Packers in limited action, passing for 46 yards and a touchdown on 7-of-10 completions. Sean Clifford, meanwhile, threw for 208 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions on 20-of-26 passing. The Patriots' defense will be a good test for the Packers even though New England is coming off a 20-9 home loss to the Houston Texans at home last Thursday.

Green Bay went 8-9 in 2022 and missed the playoffs for the first time in four years.