The Green Bay Packers don’t appear to be entirely satisfied with the deep-roster competition in their cornerback and defensive line rooms.
The Packers officially added a pair of former Chicago Bears players to their 80-man roster on Wednesday, August 25, signing free-agent contracts with defensive end Abdullah Anderson and 2019 seventh-round cornerback Stephen Denmark. Both players had spent Monday in Green Bay for roster tryouts.
To clear the necessary spaces on their roster for Anderson and Denmark, the Packers also waived wide receiver Chris Blair on Wednesday afternoon in addition to placing veteran wideout Devin Funchess on season-ending injured reserve.
All NFL teams will be required to reduce their roster numbers to 53 players before 4 p.m. ET next Tuesday, August 31, after the final weekend of preseason games.
The latest Packers news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Packers newsletter here!
Anderson & Denmark Offer Last-Minute Depth
The Bears selected Denmark in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL draft with their final of five picks, but he failed to make their initial 53-man roster in back-to-back years coming out of training camp and never ascended beyond a practice-squad role. After Chicago moved on from him in October 2020, Denmark had a brief stint with the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad and later signed a reserve/future contract for the 2021 season with Pittsburgh, but he was waived on August 17 after limited participation in the Steelers’ first preseason game.
Anderson, on the other hand, comes to the Packers with some actual regular-season experience on his resume. After a rookie season on the practice squad, Anderson earned a place on the Bears’ active roster in 2019 and played in six games as a backup defensive tackle, tallying four total tackles and a sack across 108 defensive snaps. He also played one game for the Minnesota Vikings in 2020; though, he played just 10 snaps and did not record any stats.
Given the experience, Anderson would seem to have the better shot at making an impression with the Packers over the next week before roster cuts. The Packers have Dean Lowry, Kenny Clark and Kingsley Keke back as their defensive line starters with Tyler Lancaster and rookie T.J. Slaton backing them up, but a convincing No. 6 option has not yet emerged from their relatively young group — even they even keep six.
The Packers also have a pair of 2021 undrafted rookies in Carlo Kemp and Jack Heflin and Willington Previlon (a 2020 UDFA signing) competing against Anderson.
Undrafted rookie DT Jack Heflin has been impressing during camp. Don’t be surprised if he makes the 53.
He steps to the podium for the first time and says, “This is cool.”
Is Denmark Fighting Losing Battle?
Denmark will now have about six days to prove himself worthy of either an active-roster or practice-squad spot with the Packers for 2021, but the former Bears draft pick has his work cut out for him. Not only has he struggled to stand out with each of his previous three teams, but he is also going up against fellow cornerbacks Kabion Ento and Isaac Yiadom, who have both already done things in camp to help their roster cases.
Five Packers cornerbacks have essentially locked up roles with the team. Jaire Alexander, Kevin King and Chandon Sullivan are all returning veterans who, for either contract or performance reasons, would make little sense to cut loose at the deadline. They also have a pair of drafted rookies in first-rounder Eric Stokes and fifth-rounder Shemar Jean-Charles who are also almost certainly on the safe side of the bubble.
The situation itself begs the question: Does Denmark even have a chance?
Right now, Ento still seems to have the strongest claim over the sixth cornerback spot, but a decision to keep seven wouldn’t even necessarily benefit Denmark with Yiadom coming off a 2020 season in which he started 10 games for the New York Giants. It is possible the Packers view him as a better fit for their practice squad and simply want to see how he plays while they have an exhibition opportunity. Ultimately, though, it will depend on Denmark’s performance in the final week of the preseason.
Comments
Packers Sign Free-Agent Deals With Pair of Ex-Bears Defenders