The Green Bay Packers had a busy day of roster moves — with a few surprises — as they whittled down their roster to the 53-man limit for the 2023 season.
While the Packers did make one significant move prior to cutdown day with the release of veteran punter Pat O’Donnell on Monday, August 28, they still had 36 more roster decisions to make in order to get their initial active roster in compliance with the NFL’s league-wide 53-man roster limit, which had a deadline of 4 p.m. ET on August 29.
Here’s the final list of roster cuts the Packers made leading up to the 2023 deadline:
Alex McGough, QB
Ever since Matt LaFleur declared Sean Clifford to be the Packers’ No. 2 quarterback, McGough’s fate has been sealed. He could potentially earn consideration for their practice squad as the No. 3 quarterback, but it would not be unreasonable for the Packers to try stashing a more experienced passer on the 16-man reserve unit.
Nate McCrary, RB
The Packers might end up keeping three running backs on their roster behind the primary duo of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, but McCrary’s modest 3 yards per carry in the preseason (14 carries for 42 yards and a touchdown) did not earn him a spot.
Lew Nichols, RB (Waived/Injured)
A shoulder injury kept the seventh-round rookie sidelined for much of training camp and opened up an opportunity for Wilson to get extended reps, which he used to earn the No. 3 running back spot on the 53-man roster. Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated indicated before the cut deadline that the Packers’ plan is to waive Nichols with an injury settlement once he (presumably) clears waivers and reverts to injured reserve.
Patrick Taylor, RB
Taylor has been with the Packers in some capacity since he signed with them as an undrafted rookie in 2020, but he gradually lost his control over the No. 3 running back spot — a battle that began in his favor — over the preseason as Emanuel Wilson shined. With Wilson making the roster, there was no room to consider Taylor, whose familiarity figures to give him a good chance of returning to the practice squad.
Jadakis Bonds, WR
Bonds hauled in an impressive 52-yard reception from McGough that set up a go-ahead touchdown for the Packers in their 19-15 win over the Seattle Seahawks in their preseason finale on August 29, but the undrafted rookie’s two receptions for 60 yards were his only contributions of the preseason. With fellow UDFA signing Malik Heath outshining him, he didn’t have much of a chance to crack the initial 53-man roster.
Cody Chrest, WR
The Packers are planning to trot out one of the youngest receiving corps in the NFL for the 2023 season with all three of their starters — Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and second-round rookie Jayden Reed — having one year or less of pro playing experience. That said, there was at least one available in the rotation for an undrafted rookie like Chrest, who caught both of his targets for 14 yards in preseason action. Anyone who watched this preseason could tell that Heath was the superior choice, though.
Grant DuBose, WR
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has traditionally done all he can to keep his rookie draft picks on the 53-man roster, but a shining group of rookies pushed the seventh-round DuBose off the initial roster. Bad injury luck might have stalled his potential in training camp, but the Packers will likely look to bring him back on the practice squad given their draft investment in him.
Bo Melton, WR
The Packers had shown pre-draft interest in Melton leading up to the 2022 draft only to watch the Seahawks take him off the board in the seventh round. Then, they made their move in late December, signing him off of Seattle’s practice squad and stashing him to develop for 2023 when they planned on having a much younger group of pass-catchers. Unfortunately, Melton had an uneven three preseason performances, catching seven of his 13 targets for 89 yards but also dropping at least three passes along the way.
DuBose will probably be the first wide receiver the Packers work to bring back for the practice squad, but Melton could be a close second along with Bonds.
Dre Miller, WR
Like Chrest, Miller suffered from the Packers being logjammed at the receiver position after signing with the team on August 1; although, it certainly didn’t help his chances that he did not play a single snap in any of their three preseason games.
Duece Watts, WR
Watts faced the same struggles as the last two cut receivers, but at least he managed to see action on 22 offensive snaps, hauling in one catch for nine yards on two targets. It seems unlikely that the 2023 undrafted rookie out of Tulane will return to the practice squad, but maybe the Packers saw upside in him that makes bringing him back worth it.
Austin Allen, TE
The Packers have an ultra-young tight end room after allowing Robert Tonyan Jr. and Marcedes Lewis to both walk in free agency and losing Tyler Davis to a season-ending injury earlier in the preseason. Rookie draft picks Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft will be two of the featured pieces alongside Josiah Deguara — who is more of a fullback at this point — but there appeared to be at least one more spot open in the rotation, a spot that Allen was unable to win throughout the preseason.
Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette noted that Allen could return on the practice squad, but it is possible the Packers will look to add an experienced tight end off the waiver wire as cut decisions are made around the league.
James Empey, C
The Packers claimed Empey — a 2022 undrafted center — off the waivers from the Tennessee Titans during their first week of training camp and gave him an opportunity to fight for the backup center job behind (likely) starter Josh Myers. Empey delivered as a pass-blocker in his two preseason appearances, too, allowing zero pressures or sacks on 19 pass-blocking snaps, but his run-blocking skills appeared to need work. Now, he will have to hope he gets an invitation back to the Packers’ practice squad.
Cole Schneider, C
Schneider saw action in all three of the Packers’ preseason games and did not surrender a single pressure, but he never separated himself in the battle for the backup center job. The 2022 undrafted rookie could potentially return for the practice squad; though, it seems unlikely with other, more capable options available on the waiver wire.
Jean Delance, G/T
The 2022 undrafted rookie — originally a Chicago Bear — allowed a pressure and a quarterback hurry over his five pass-blocking snaps in the preseason and earned the team’s lowest overall offensive grade (40.6) from Pro Football Focus. No surprises here.
Kadeem Telfort, OT
Another undrafted rookie, Telfort rotated in at the left tackle position over his three preseason appearances and, after giving up a sack in his first game, was lights out for the rest of the way. The emergence of 2022 seventh-round pick Rasheem Walker, though, essentially eliminated his chances of making the roster as a backup tackle.
Jason Lewan, DL
An undrafted rookie out of Illinois State, Lewan played just nine snaps in the preseason opener — recording no stats — and then never touched the field again. Unless there is something unexpected the Packers have been seeing from him behind the scenes, he will likely have to look for his next NFL opportunity with another team.
Antonio Moultrie, DL
Moultrie did not show enough in the preseason for the Packers to feel confident about his playmaking ability, especially with so many young options set to surround star nose tackle Kenny Clark. He finished with just two tackles over 34 preseason snaps.
Chris Slayton, DL
The 27-year-old journeyman got more play in the preseason than either of the other two defensive linemen who found themselves on the cut pile, but rookies Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks being early bloomers mostly eliminated his chances of making the roster. At least TJ Slaton and Jonathan Ford had prior regular-season experience to lean on.
Jimmy Phillips Jr., ILB
Phillips — an undrafted rookie signing out of SMU — had a solid training camp for the Packers and saw action in all three of their preseason games, notching 14 tackles, two pressures and one quarterback while earning an impressive 85.0 tackling grade from Pro Football Focus. It is possible the Packers will look to bring him back for their 2023 practice squad, but that all depends on whether he gets claimed off the waivers.
Marvin Pierre, ILB
The Packers signed Pierre four days before their final preseason game and played him on exactly three snaps against the Seahawks, but he did at least record a tackle and a defensive snap in his extremely limited showing — not that it is likely to lead to much.
Keshawn Banks, OLB
Banks, an undrafted talent out of San Diego State, actually had a pretty solid preseason, recording five tackles, five defensive stops, two pressures, one quarterback hit and one batted pass over three games and 72 total defensive snaps. The Packers were far too loaded at outside linebacker to keep him, though, especially with fellow UDFA Brenton Cox Jr. showing out enough to solidify his own spot in the rotation.
Arron Mosby, OLB
The second-year pass rusher generated two pressures and quarterback hurries over his extended preseason looks (45), but he missed more tackles (one) than he recorded (zero) and didn’t give himself a chance to enter the conversation for a roster spot.
Kenneth Odumegwu, OLB
The Nigerian native, who was the Packers’ first player in the NFL International Player Pathway program, had a respectable camp for someone who had never played in an organized football game before the team’s preseason opener against the Bengals. He did not record any stats over his 15 preseason snaps, though, and would have struggled to make the roster even if he had been unexpectedly productive.
Corey Ballentine, CB
Ballentine seemed to be a step ahead of his competition for one of the last backup spots in the cornerback rotation, especially with the Packers having to put former first-round pick Eric Stokes on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list to begin the season. His release, though — along with several other corners — suggests they are comfortable with the other four cornerbacks holding down the fort until Stokes can be activated.
Tyrell Ford, CB
The Canadian undrafted rookie saw limited preseason action (32 snaps) but looked good in the preseason finale against Seattle, allowing zero receptions on three targets. Ultimately, though, the Packers have too many experienced cornerbacks in the field to consider keeping an undrafted rookie on their initial 53-man roster.
Elijah Hamilton, CB
Hamilton allowed two catches for 63 yards on 17 total coverage snaps in the Packers’ preseason finale against the Seahawks, the only action he received this past month. Even if the Packers had kept six cornerbacks, the second-year corner had no shot.
William Hooper, CB
Hooper notched two tackles in two preseason games and was particularly good in coverage in the opener against Cincinnati, allowing three catches for 19 yards on eight total targets (and earning an elite 90.3 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus). A competitive cornerback battle — and an ugly missed tackle against the Bengals as well — made him one of the more likely guys to be on the outside looking in during cuts.
Shemar Jean-Charles, CB
Jean-Charles is another somewhat surprising cut for the Packers. He has been one of their steadiest special teams contributors over his career and seemed to have a good shot at seizing a backup role in the slot for the 2023 season. A standout preseason from seventh-round rookie Carrington Valentine, though, seems to have pushed him out.
Keep an eye on Jean-Charles to be one of the first in line to return to the practice squad.
Eric Stokes (Remains on PUP List)
To be clear, the Packers did not cut their 2021 first-round pick. Rather, they opted to keep him on the PUP list, which means he will miss at least the first four games of the 2023 regular season. This is not completely unexpected given Stokes is recovering from a season-ending injury that wiped out his second year, but it is still notable with Green Bay electing to keep just four healthy cornerbacks for their initial 53-man roster.
Kiondre Thomas, CB
Thomas allowed just two receptions on seven targets in coverage during the preseason and played more special teams snaps than any other player on the Packers roster, but his efforts were not enough to earn him a rotational spot in a cornerback room that features Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes (injured), Rasul Douglas and Keisean Nixon. It is possible he could be a candidate to return to the Packers’ practice squad.
Innis Gaines, S
If Gaines was ever going to have a chance of solidifying a roster spot with the Packers, it would have been this offseason with major questions about who will play the marquee roles in the deep field. Like Jean-Charles, he possessed a good amount of special teams value for the Packers, but Rich Bisaccia has general manager Brian Gutekunst’s ear about who he wants in the third phase. If Gaines is out, then it was because there are other — likely younger — players ready to take his place for Bisaccia’s squad.
Tarvarius Moore, S (Placed on Injured Reserve)
While Gaines was pushing for a bottom roster spot, Moore was one of the safeties in contention for a starting job this summer and marked another surprising departure for the Packers. Moore has played in 61 games with 13 starts over his first four seasons, all spent with the San Francisco 49ers, and had a good showing in his two preseason appearances for the Packers over the past month.
Unfortunately, an injury doomed his chances of making the roster. After it was initially reported by Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that Moore would be released, the Packers ended up placing him on injured reserve instead.
Benny Sapp III, S
Sapp got to play hero in the preseason finale against Seattle on Saturday, snagging an interception with 19 seconds on the clock to seal the 19-15 victory for the Packers. He also gave up just one catch on two targets over his 44 coverage snaps in the preseason and added two defensive stops and a PBU to his exhibition resume. With his release, though, the Packers are indicating they have other plans for the safety position.
Sapp — an undrafted out of Northern Iowa — could be a practice-squad candidate.
Pat O’Donnell, P
The Packers unexpectedly decided to shake up their punter room the day before official cuts were due, parting ways with O’Donnell despite already having paid him $700,000 in combined bonuses for the 2023 season. With O’Donnell gone, the Packers have tabbed former All-XFL punter Daniel Whelan as their new starter — and field-goal holder — for the upcoming season after his big leg impressed during training camp.
Matt Orzech, LS
The Packers released their presumed starting long snapper, but Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated disclosed that it was a “procedural move” designed to allow them to carry an injured player on their 53-man roster and then place him on the necessary injury list, freeing back up a spot of Orzech. The intent is to re-sign him to the 53-man roster.
Broughton Hatcher, LS (Waived/Injured)
With intentions to bring back Orzech after the cutdown deadline, the Packers had no reason to keep Hatcher; although, an injury prevented any consideration anyways.
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Packers Roster Cut Tracker: Veteran DBs Surprisingly Dumped