GREEN BAY, Wis. — After closing out the three-game preseason slate with back-to-back wins, including Saturday's 20-7 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, the Green Bay Packers will have to have their roster trimmed down to 53 players by Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET deadline.
At the moment, the Packers' roster stands at 91 players—not 90, as they're granted an exception for Irish kicker Mark McNamee, the team's International Player Pathway designee. That means 37 players who have spent the entirety of the offseason and training camp in Green Bay will be out of a job within the next three days, barring whether or not they're brought back on the practice squad.
"You gotta stay goodbye to a lot of the guys who busted their butts for months and months and years," said head coach Matt LaFleur on Saturday. "I appreciate that locker room. I think we have a great group of guys. We'll be excited for the guys who make it, and it's always disappointing for those who don't."
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Of course, this is called an "initial" 53-man roster for a reason. 31 other teams are going to be releasing players of their own while all 32 monitor the waiver wire for potential pick-ups before the start of the regular season. There's also going to be some roster jumbling with who lands on injured reserve, which would sideline a player for the first four weeks of the regular season. The team that you see put together on paper this week likely won't be the team the Packers carry into 2025, but it's about as close to final as you can get.
The ongoing sagas between Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys and Trey Hendrickson and the Cincinnati Bengals could certainly skew things. But for the sake of being realistic, we're just going to pretend like the Packers aren't going to swing a big-time trade for a disgruntled pass rusher. That isn't to say it won't happen.
This is my one and only roster prediction—I know some folks like to publish version one, version two, etc., but I won't be doing that. The preseason is over with, so we all have a much clearer picture of what the Packers will wind up doing.
Quarterbacks (2):
Jordan Love
Malik Willis
While Canadian arm Taylor Elgersma outperformed Sean Clifford this preseason, there was no real victor in the Packers' No. 3 quarterback battle. If anything, we're all the losers for being subjected to it. Both of these guys will presumably head to the practice squad.
Running backs (3):
Josh Jacobs
Chris Brooks
Emanuel Wilson
It's a shame that MarShawn Lloyd can't stay upright because he showcased some incredible burst in his lone appearance this summer against the Indianapolis Colts. He can be a legitimate weapon, but unfortunately, the best ability anyone can have is availability. His most recent hamstring injury is what saves Emanuel Wilson's roster spot. Chris Brooks always felt like a lock because he's the best pass-protecting tailback on the roster and Lloyd, as a former day-two draft pick, wasn't going to be subject to potentially being released. The former USC product will more than likely begin the regular season on injured reserve, giving him a four-week stint to get healthy, but that's much easier said than done. Wilson is the most lethal running back on the roster not named Josh Jacobs, so keeping him in the mix isn't exactly a detriment.
Wide receivers (7):
Romeo Doubs
Jayden Reed
Dontayvion Wicks
Matthew Golden
Malik Heath
Savion Williams
Mecole Hardman
Christian Watson remains on the physically unable to perform list to begin the season. No head-scratcher there. While Savion Williams has struggled to remain healthy this summer and missed all three of the Packers' exhibition contests, he's still a third-round pick—he has priority. The only real question is whether or not the Packers would hang onto both Malik Heath and Mecole Hardman. In this case, both have made their case on special teams—Heath has carved out a role while Hardman projects to be their primary return man. Heath can contribute more offensively than Hardman can, but I also think the Packers want to keep Keisean Nixon out of the line of fire and essentially retire him from returning kicks and punts, especially if he's going to be their No. 1 cornerback. Once Watson is eligible to be activated to the 53-man roster, then this can be revisited.
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Tight ends (3):
Tucker Kraft
Luke Musgrave
John Fitzpatrick
The Packers should have no problem sneaking Ben Sims to the practice squad. He clearly has worth on special teams, but so does John Fitzpatrick, who has had an excellent summer.
Offensive line (9):
Rasheed Walker
Jordan Morgan
Aaron Banks
Elgton Jenkins
Sean Rhyan
Zach Tom
Anthony Belton
Donovan Jennings
Jacob Monk
Depending on how the numbers shake out elsewhere, the Packers could add either Kadeem Telfort or Lecitus Smith to this group, but right now, this should be the unit responsible for protecting Jordan Love this year—at least for now. Donovan Jennings is an intriguing player and even got the start at right guard in Saturday's preseason finale, which Jacob Monk missed due to an unspecified injury. The depth is somewhat concerning, but keep in mind: The Packers could always monitor the waiver wire for a potential addition over the next week. Keep in mind again: There are multiple players listed here who are cross-trained, so depth at tackle could also mean depth at guard and vice versa.
Defensive end (6):
Rashan Gary
Lukas Van Ness
Kingsley Enagbare
Brenton Cox Jr.
Barryn Sorrell
Arron Mosby
I was back and forth on Arron Mosby's inclusion here. On one hand, I don't think he's someone worth rostering here but on the other, he's been with the team since 2023 and signed his exclusive rights free agent tender this past March, so the Packers obviously value him and what he brings to the field. He's an average pass rusher and gives the Packers what they need on special teams—that's good enough for me. Mosby making the roster is especially important because Barryn Sorrell will likely miss a couple of weeks with his MCL sprain. Perhaps not long enough for him to open the season on injured reserve, but just enough to miss a game or two. We'll see.
Defensive tackle (5):
Kenny Clark
Devonte Wyatt
Karl Brooks
Colby Wooden
Warren Brinson
I know, you're upset just like I am that Nazir Stackhouse's name isn't listed here. The bottom line is that Warren Brinson is a draft pick, and while he's had a relatively quiet summer, his roster spot always felt like it was safe. A redshirt rookie season on the practice squad could do wonders for someone like Stackhouse. At the moment, he just feels too one-dimensional to justify having him on the roster. He's a monster in run support, but offers very little as a pass rusher. Developing him for a future role on the defense is the best path forward here.
Linebacker (5):
Quay Walker
Edgerrin Cooper
Isaiah McDuffie
Ty'Ron Hopper
Isaiah Simmons
This was probably the most intriguing roster battle on the team this summer. Isaiah Simmons in no way, shape or form has done enough to justify having a spot on the roster, but the Packers are enamored with the former No. 8 overall pick's athletic traits. Despite an impressive outing against the Seahawks, Simmons leaves much to be desired on defense, however, he wasn't brought in as a free agent to fortify the defense. Simmons' path to making the roster was always going to be on special teams and that's precisely why he makes it here. Unfortunately for Kristian Welch, it'll be a case of deja vu. He did more than enough to make the Packers' 53-man roster last summer and the same can be said this time around, but he'll just miss the cut once again. Ty'Ron Hopper, meanwhile, silenced any skepticism on Saturday with a fantastic performance. At the end of the day, the Packers have kept five linebackers on the initial roster three times in the last four years. This year, there were four locks between Walker, Cooper, McDuffie and Hopper—that last spot was always going to come down to Welch and Simmons.
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Cornerback (5):
Keisean Nixon
Nate Hobbs
Carrington Valentine
Bo Melton
Corey Ballentine
The Packers transitioned Bo Melton from receiver to cornerback in June because he was going to have a much easier path forward to cracking the roster at the latter rather than the former. Kalen King redshirted his entire rookie season on the practice squad, but the Packers have had an extensive look at him this summer and he capped off the preseason with multiple impact tackles against the Seahawks. It's just important to consider that Javon Bullard is also technically considered to be a member of this room, as he's the Packers' starting nickelback. I could see a scenario where the numbers look a little lighter here. With Corey Ballentine having more special teams value than arguably any other cornerback on that depth chart, Micah Robinson, Tyron Herring and Kamal Hadden are all on the outside looking in. That's significant for Robinson as a former draft pick—it's extremely rare that one of Brian Gutekunst's draft picks doesn't make the initial roster as a rookie.
Safety (5):
Xavier McKinney
Evan Williams
Javon Bullard
Zayne Anderson
Kitan Oladapo
There are some murmurs that Zayne Anderson will have to open the year on injured reserve, but I don't know if the knee injury that he sustained in the preseason opener is bad enough to rob him of the entire first month. If that's the case, some of the numbers shake out differently—perhaps King makes the roster at cornerback—but we're going to operate under the assumption that he's one of many players returning from injury over the next two weeks. Omar Brown, who snagged a trio of interceptions at Family Night earlier this month, sustained a chest contusion against the Colts. It took him some time to be discharged from the hospital in Indianapolis, which is admittedly concerning. He's a prime practice squad candidate, likely even being sent to injured reserve.
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Specialists (3):
Brandon McManus
Daniel Whelan
Matt Orzech
Mark McNamee, as mentioned earlier in this story, is the Packers' international roster exemption. There's nothing else worth noting here. The Packers finally have a kicker after last year's ghastly battle between Brayden Narveson, Greg Joseph and Anders Carlson.
Zachary Jacobson is the Editor-in-Chief of Packer Report. He is entering his 11th season covering theGreen Bay Packers. He is a member of thePro Football Writers of America. Follow him on Twitter@zacobson or contact him via email atitszachariahj@gmail.com