Getty Head coach Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers is seen on the sideline during the first half against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on September 26, 2021 in Santa Clara, California.
The Green Bay Packers appear to be making some personnel changes on special teams heading into Week 15’s road game against the Baltimore Ravens.
On Saturday, December 18, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst signed rookie safety Shawn Davis from the practice squad to their 53-man roster and elevated both defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson and rookie offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen to the game-day roster for Sunday’s game against the Ravens.
Davis, who has been on the Packers’ practice squad since September 21, was originally a fifth-round pick (No. 165 overall) for the Indianapolis Colts in the 2021 NFL draft. He competed for a depth spot behind starters Julian Blackmon and George Odum during training camp, but a handful of bad preseason performances saw him finish with nearly as many missed tackles (5) as made tackles (6) and kept him off the Colts’ active roster when the final cuts of the summer were made.
Now, more than three months later, Davis could be getting his first real opportunity at playing in the NFL. The Packers might not need him to play meaningful reps at safety behind their three-man rotation of Adrian Amos, Darnell Savage and Henry Black, but his promotion suggests they have seen something in the 23-year-old rookie that could help out their struggling special teams.
“We’re looking at everything,” LaFleur said earlier in the week about fixing their special teams woes. “Whether they’re on our roster, on our practice squad, if there’s guys out on the street or on other team’s p-squads. I know Gutey and his guys are looking at every angle, trying to always improve our football team.”
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Will Van Lanen Play First NFL Snaps?
The Packers telegraphed their intentions to elevate Van Lanen to their active roster earlier in the week when they used one of their four practice-squad protections on him, and now that the move has been officially made, it is worth exploring what type of a role he could have in his first game on an NFL active roster.
Van Lanen’s temporary promotion might just be as a safeguard against injuries. Last time out, the Packers lost veteran right tackle Billy Turner to a knee injury, and they remain without starters David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins and Josh Myers as well. They have guard/tackle Ben Braden and guard/center Jake Hanson in place as backups, but Van Lanen gives them an additional body who can sub in if it becomes necessary.
More likely than not, though, Van Lanen’s role will be limited to special teams. The Packers have been letting linemen such as Braden, Kelly and Lucas Patrick handle things in the third phase, but the smarter route could be letting Van Lanen pick up those reps and letting the starters focus all their energies on offense.
Is Vernon Scott’s Roster Spot in Danger?
The downside to Davis’ promotion is what it says about backup safety Vernon Scott’s standing with the coaching staff. Scott was a 2020 seventh-round pick for the Packers who played 15 games and recorded one sack and 13 total tackles as a rookie, but he has flown almost entirely under the radar in his second season.
After missing the majority of training camp and the first three games of the season with a hamstring injury, Scott played just three special teams snaps in Week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was officially removed from the injury report the following week, but the Packers have made him a healthy scratch on game day ever since. Meanwhile, Black — an undrafted rookie from the same 2020 class — has taken on a much larger role on both defense and special teams, leaving Scott in a shaky position.
It says a lot about the Packers’ confidence in Scott that they are unwilling to give him another look on special teams at a time where they desperately need help. Even worse, they have now signed a younger talent at the same position as him to hopefully pick up the slack and give them something he has not. If Davis manages to make an impression, Scott could find himself on the chopping block when some of the Packers’ star players begin to return from injured reserve.