Getty Jonathan Garvin, a 2020 seventh-round pick, has been released from the Packers' 90-man roster.
The Green Bay Packers have moved on from one of their rotational pass rushers after initially trying him out at a new position for the start of training camp.
According to the team’s transaction wire for July 28, the Packers cut 2020 seventh-round outside linebacker Jonathan Garvin from their 90-man roster on Friday, deducting a 24-year-old pass rusher with 38 games of experience from their rotation.
Garvin had been a rotational pass rusher for the Packers for the past three seasons, earning an eight-game rotational role as a rookie in 2021 before ascending to a more frequent rotational role in his second season. After recording a career-high 19 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 2021, though, he struggled to make an impact in his third season when the Packers were ailing off the edges without starter Rashan Gary.
Things were looking even worse for Garvin heading into his fourth camp in 2023 with Gary, Preston Smith, Kingsley Enagbare, Justin Hollins and first-round rookie Lukas Van Ness all projected to have higher standing than him on their depth chart. They also have undrafted rookie Brenton Cox Jr. contending for a depth role.
The Packers had elected to work him with the defensive linemen when they held their first camp practice on July 26 to give him a better shot at making their 53-man roster, but the experiment was short-lived as Garvin was released just two days later.
The Packers did not make a corresponding roster addition along with Garvin’s release and still have an opening on their 90-man roster heading into Week 2 of training camp.
Packers ‘Hopeful’ Rashan Gary Can Return From PUP
The Packers have a few interesting storylines worth monitoring throughout training camp in regard to their outside linebacker room, but the biggest question on everyone’s mind is: When will Rashan Gary be cleared to return to the practice field?
Gary has been sidelined since tearing his ACL in Week 9’s loss to the Detroit Lions on November 6, 2022, and was placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list when players started reporting for training camp last week. While Gary has previously said “I’ll be ready when I’ll be ready,” both Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst have expressed optimism about his chances of being ready in time for the Week 1 opener against the Chicago Bears on September 10.
“We’re going to be very cautious as far as making sure he’s good to go, he’s got a long career ahead of him and we want to make sure we do everything we can to make sure he can let it loose,” Gutekunst said Tuesday, July 25. “He’s done an amazing job and it’s going to be hard to hold him back. He’s ready to go. He wants to keep pushing, and he will. We’ll start him off these next two-to-three weeks and see where he’s at. I wouldn’t put anything past him because he’s a different kind of guy.”
Can Brenton Cox Jr. Make Roster as Undrafted Rookie?
Most of the remaining pass rushers on the Packers’ roster have varying levels of roster security. Gary and Smith are the accomplished leaders of the group with no danger of losing their spots on the 53-man roster. Guys on rookie contracts, such as Van Ness and Enagbare, are also essentially locked to make the team given the investment in them.
If there is one uncertain piece that could make a surprising run at making the 53-man roster over the next month, though, it could be former Florida standout Brenton Cox Jr.
Cox has been an intriguing NFL rookie talent to evaluate. The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder built an on-field reputation for being a brute-force pass rusher who can also hold up well against the run, notching 74 pressures and 10 sacks between the 2020 and 2021 seasons for the Gators. Characters concerns tanked his draft stock, though, after he was booted from Florida’s program last October for what head coach Billy Napier said was an “accumulation of issues,” including clashing with the Gators coaching staff.
The Packers will undoubtedly have to make sure Cox can keep his emotions and attitude in check during his first NFL training camp. But if he can, he possesses the physical tools to potentially be a quality rotational piece for the Packers in 2023.
i WILL make a packers 53-man roster prediction and brenton cox jr. WILL be on it
“The thing about Cox in the few short days we’ve had him, he has shown that,” Packers pass-rushing specialist Jason Rebrovich said Wednesday, via Dairyland Express. “It just has to be consistent and has to grow with that consistency, and hopefully, there’s no lulls in there. Sometimes that happens, but if we can dig him out of that and keep climbing that mountain he might have an opportunity to be a pretty good player.”