By Marques Eversoll
It’s football season. On the first college football Saturday of the year, NFL teams faced the tough task of cutting down their rosters to 53 players. The Packers made their final cuts without any major surprises.
However, as always seems to be the case, there were a few head scratchers. Safety Chris Banjo gets cut, despite doing pretty much everything he possibly could have done to force the team to keep three safties, and the team opted to keep all three quarterbacks.
Let’s take a look at how the Packers got down to their 53-man roster.
QB: Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn, Scott Tolzien (3)
The Packers hadn’t kept three quarterbacks on the roster since 2008, but last season was a train wreck at the position and neither Flynn nor Tolzien did (or didn’t do) enough to lose a spot on this team.
Tolzien had a great preseason, completing 67.9 percent of his passes – Rodgers completed 60.6, while Flynn checked in at 47.4 – and the former University of Wisconsin standout tied Rodgers for the team’s preseason lead with three touchdown passes and no interceptions.
Whether or not to keep three quarterbacks was a big debate this offseason, but it’s not a surprise to see them keep the band around.
RB: Eddie Lacy, James Starks, DuJuan Harris, John Kuhn (4)
Lacy is as workhorse-ish as workhorse backs get in today’s NFL. He won’t come off the field unless he has to, but Starks and Harris have shown flashes of starting potential, which leaves the Packers with one of the league’s best backfields. Undrafted rookie Rajion Neal (Tennessee) may have had a chance to crack the roster, but a knee injury landed him on I.R. and ended his hopes of a roster spot—for this season, at least.
Kuhn sticks around for another year. The days of a traditional fullback are waning, but Kuhn knows the offense like the back of his hand, he can run the ball if needed, catch the ball when asked, pick up the blitz whenever and is simply too versatile to let go.
WR: Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Jarrett Boykin, Davante Adams, Jeff Janis (5)
As the preseason went on, it became pretty clear that this would happen. After rookie Jared Abbrederis tore his ACL in training camp, the top four receivers were written in permanent marker. And once Janis made his practice debut after sitting out the start of camp with shingles, it was pretty clear who the No. 5 receiver would be.
Myles White and Kevin Dorsey were the last two cuts at the position, and Alex Gillett may very well land on the Packers’ practice once again, but Janis proved to be valuable as a return man, so it didn’t make much sense to keep a sixth receiver. Janis brings everything a team could possibly want from a No. 5 receiver.
TE: Richard Rodgers, Brandon Bostick, Andrew Quarless, Ryan Taylor (4)
For the first time since 2008—a phrase that has been mentioned repeatedly this offseason in regards to the Packers keeping three quarterbacks—the tight end position will not feature the field-stretching, proven talent in Jermichael Finley. However, Richard Rodgers, a third-round pick in May’s draft, has silenced any assertions that he was a reach with the 98th overall pick.
Rodgers will be the starter, and Bostick will play a lot when he’s ready return from his leg injury. Andrew Quarless sticks around for another year, giving the team a veteran with starting experience, and special teams ace Ryan Taylor had a solid camp catching the football. Jake Stoneburner gets cut, but look for undrafted rookie Justin Perillo to land on the practice squad once he clears waivers.
OL: Tackles David Bakhtiari, Bryan Bulaga and Derek Sherrod. Guards Josh Sitton, T.J. Lang and Lane Taylor. Centers J.C. Tretter and Corey Linsley. (8)
The Packers suffered a big loss when Don Barclay, their swing tackle, capable of bumping inside to guard, suffered a torn ACL in practice. Fortunately, Sherrod, their 2011 first-round pick, has been on the field all summer and has shown flashes of what made him the 32nd overall pick several years ago.
Other than Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang—who are probably one of the better guard duos in football—the Packers are thinner than thin on the interior of the line. Lane Taylor is the only reserve at either guard spot or center, as Tretter will miss about six weeks. Overall, the offensive line worked itself out in terms of roster spots, so there really weren’t any surprises. However, look for tackle Jeremy Vujnovich and perhaps another lineman or two to land on the practice squad.
S: Morgan Burnett, Micah Hyde, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Sean Richardson (4)
What a difference one year makes, huh? Remember when the Packers opened up the 2013 season with M.D. Jennings and Jerron McMillian as their starting safeties? Yeah, that really happened.
Now, the Packers have four guys that they’d surely be more comfortable starting in Seattle than they were last September with Jennings and McMillian in San Francisco. Richardson has been a turnover-creating machine throughout the summer, Clinton-Dix looks like a first-round pick and Burnett and Hyde have been good enough to hold off the rookie for now.
Suddenly, this is one of the deepest positions on the roster, although it was a surprise to see Chris Banjo get cut. He is, however, practice squad eligible, should he clear waivers.
CB: Sam Shields, Tramon Williams, Casey Hayward, Davon House, Jarrett Bush, Demetri Goodson (6)
The top five corners were written in ink before camp even started. People have been pushing Bush towards the door for what seems like a decade, but he was never going anywhere. Bush is an ace on special teams, and it’s been scientifically proven that he’s the best practice player in the history of humanity.
But Goodson was a head scratcher. That one, I don’t understand. Clearly, the coaching staff sees a lot of potential in Goodson because he didn’t show much of anything in training camp, and he certainly wasn’t as good as undrafted rookie Jumal Rolle, who was cut. If Rolle clears waivers, he’ll almost certainly land on the practice squad. Ryan White, who was also cut, may be a candidate to land on the practice squad as well.
ILB: A.J. Hawk, Brad Jones, Sam Barrington, Jamari Lattimore (4)
While perhaps the worst position on the Packers’ defense, there was never any real question as to who would make the team at inside linebacker. Hawk and Jones are the clear-cut starters, while Barrington looks the part of a run-stuffing, physical inside backer. With Lattimore, the Packers have a special teams dynamo who answered the ball when forced into the lineup with the No. 1 defense a year ago.
Undrafted rookie Joe Thomas had been making noise before injuring his knee in the preseason opener, which landed him on the I.R., but that could be a blessing in disguise. Look for Thomas to fight for a roster spot a year from now.
OLB: Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers, Nick Perry, Mike Neal, Jayrone Elliot, Andy Mulumba, Carl Bradford (7)
Another position of depth, the Packers will carry seven outside linebackers into the season. Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Bradford made the team despite an uneventful training camp. He doesn’t look like an outside linebacker, and doesn’t play like an inside linebacker, which means his primary impact will likely come on specials teams.
Second-year player Nate Palmer was injured in the preseason finale against the Chiefs, which is another blessing in disguise, and it allows the Packers to stash him on I.R., hang around the facility and make another run at a roster spot next summer. Had Palmer stayed healthy, the Packers would have had to think long and hard about who to keep and who to cut.
DL: Ends Mike Daniels, Datone Jones, Letroy Guion. Tackles Josh Boyd, Mike Pennel (5)
By trading Jerel Worthy to the Patriots and injuries to B.J. Raji and Khyri Thornton – both of whom ended up on the season-ending injured reserve—the situation on the defensive line worked itself out.
Undrafted rookie Mike Pennel may have been in line for a roster spot before Raji’s injury, but the latter’s torn bicep cemented Pennel’s spot on the team. Guion stumbled upon a roster spot, as he didn’t get on the field until the last week of camp, but injuries opened the door for him to make it. Look for Luther Robinson to land on the practice squad.
Specialists: P Tim Masthay, K Mason Crosby, LS Brett Goode (3)
Giorgio Tavecchio was cut twice in the past week.
You can hear Marques on SportsLine, Monday through Friday 4:00-6:00pm on WDUZ 107.5 FM and 1400 AM “The Fan” and on the Saturday Morning Showcase at 8 am on Saturdays. You can follow him on Twitter @MJEversoll and/or email him at [email protected].
