Packers: Kurt Benkert’s first snaps of his career came at the request of Aaron Rodgers

December 13, 2021
|In Packers
|By Zach Heilprin

For the first time in his four-year career, Green Bay Packers quarterback Kurt Benkert was dressed for a regular season game. That alone may have been enough for a guy that had spent nearly his entire career on various practice squads. But starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers gave the Virginia product a memory he and his family will likely never forget.

Cornerback Chandon Sullivan had just picked off Chicago’s Justin Fields in the final minute of Sunday’s 45-30 win when Rodgers approached coach Matt LaFleur with a request.

“He was just like, ‘Hey, lets let Kurt take the victory snaps.’ I said, ‘absolutely,” LaFleur recounted during his Monday press conference. “It’s a well deserved honor. He works really hard and he’s been a really great contribution to that quarterback room.”

Benkert’s dad, Bruce, was at Lambeau Field to see his son get his first real snaps in the NFL.

Kurt’s reaction was more subtle, simply posting a tweet with the letter W, a Go Pack Go hashtag and a picture of his right knee with a smudge of dirt from where he kneeled.

Kurt Benkert was a COVID-19 replacement for normal backup Jordan Love after he tested positive last week. He should be back at some point this week and that likely means Benkert will move back to the practice squad.