Packers Claim Big-Bodied TE Off Waivers From Panthers

Becker Packers Claim

Getty Nate Becker #84 of the Buffalo Bills up prior to the start of the preseason game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on August 23, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan.

The Green Bay Packers are adding a fresh body to their tight end room ahead of their joint practices with the New Orleans Saints this week.

According to the NFL’s official transaction wire for August 15, the Packers claimed third-year tight end Nate Becker off the waivers from the Carolina Panthers on Monday and waived two players — rookie offensive lineman Cole Schneider and cornerback Donte Vaughn — from their 90-man roster with injury designations.

Becker is now the second-biggest tight end on the Packers’ roster behind only Marcedes Lewis, standing at 6-foot-5 and 264 pounds. He should have a chance to contend with Dominique Dafney and Tyler Davis for backup roles in the rotation, especially after the latter two underwhelmed in Green Bay’s preseason opener.

The Packers also had rookie kicker Gabe Brkic — who was waived on Monday with an injury designation — revert to their injured reserve list. He will now either spend the rest of the season on the team’s IR or eventually get released with an injury settlement.

The Packers are currently sitting at 89 players on their training-camp roster with Becker’s addition, but they will have to reduce their numbers to 85 before the league’s first cut deadline at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 16. With Becker’s arrival, it is possible one of the soon-to-be-cut players will be from the tight end room.

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Packers Have Wide-Open Race at TE

The top of Green Bay’s tight end room is looking solid for 2022. Robert Tonyan just passed his physical and returned to the practice field for the first time since tearing his ACL on October 28 last year, signaling he will be ready for the start of the 2022 season. The Packers also return former third-round pick Josiah Deguara and the veteran Lewis to give themselves a steady three-man rotation for the start of the season.

As for the depth spots behind them? Nothing is currently set in stone.

Dafney and Davis have been the leading contenders for depth roles with the Packers, having each held a spot on their active roster during the 2021 season. The problem is neither one of them has done much to move off the roster bubble through the first several weeks of camp. Dafney sat out the preseason opener with a knee injury, while Davis made things worse for himself with a stinker of a performance against the 49ers, highlighted by his dropped pass that turned into an interception for Jordan Love.

Now, the Packers had expressed confidence in Davis prior to the start of camp, but he will need to start validating them with better performances if he wants to stick around. At the very least, it creates room for someone like Becker to push his way into the mix.

Becker doesn’t have much on record to help his roster case at the moment. He has played in just one career game over his first two seasons in the league, for the Buffalo Bills in 2020, but he didn’t catch either of his two targets while playing on 30 snaps. He is also coming off his own sour performance in the 2022 preseason, dropping his lone target for the Panthers over the weekend and getting promptly waived on Monday.

The Packers also still have Alize Mack and former USFL standout Sal Cannella on the roster vying for the in-season spot with the team.

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