GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Coach Mike McCarthy and the Green Bay Packers knew this was coming: With quarterback Brett Favre to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year, the Packers will play in the annual preseason opener in Canton, Ohio.

The Packers will play the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 7 in the Hall of Fame Game, the NFL announced on Tuesday.

It means McCarthy and his players will have the arduous task of five preseason games and an extra-long training camp. The Packers likely will open camp on July 24. Last year, they opened on July 30.

With Favre as the marquee member of this year’s inductees, the Packers were all but a lock to play in the game. The Colts also made sense given that they had two inductees, receiver Marvin Harrison and coach Tony Dungy. The enshrinement ceremony is Aug. 6.

This will be the first time under McCarthy and quarterback Aaron Rodgers that the Packers will play five preseason games. Given Rodgers’ general disdain for the exhibition games -- he called them “meaningless” after Jordy Nelson blew out his knee in the second preseason game last summer -- McCarthy will have to decide how to handle playing time for his starters. Rodgers played in only the first two preseason games last year.

The Packers last played in the Hall of Fame Game in 2003, when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 9-0 in a game that ended prematurely due to lightning and heavy rain. In fact, two of the four times the Packers have played in Canton, the games have been called off early because of weather. The other was the 1980 game against the Chargers that ended 0-0.