The Green Bay Packers signed tight end Jonnu Smith, and there are major ripple effects down the roster, mostly on Drake Dabney. Dabney went from a likely roster lock to one of the fringe roster candidates or even a likely cut candidate. Bill Huber noted that his roster status is completely up in the air.
“If the Packers’ three tight ends on the 53-man roster were going to be players who competed during training camp, then Drake Dabney pretty obviously was going to win the No. 3 job,” wrote Bill Huber of Packers OnSI. “After the addition of Smith? Who knows.”
Dabney has one last chance to prove his roster value in the Packers preseason finale on Friday August 28th against the Arizona Cardinals.
Green Bay Packers Tight End Drake Dabney on Roster Bubble
Tucker Kraft is back and healthy from his ACL injury. However, Luke Musgrave is on the Physically Unable to Perfom list due to a neck injury. All indications are that Musgrave is going to miss the first six games of the regular season, and the Smith signing helped confirm that.
So, the team signed Jonnu Smith, who can serve a similar role as a complement to Kraft. Josh Whyle was being bumped from the third tight end to the second. Now, he is back in the depth role.
This is likely best for Whyle, who can replace both Kraft and Musgrave. However, if pushes Dabney from the clear third behind Whyle to the clear number four. More than that, Whyle is versatile enough that the Packers would have to justify adding an extra tight end.
Lastly, Dabney is a blocking tight end and more of a Kraft replacement than anything. The team has to find depth behind Smith more than Kraft. It is much easier to justify cutting Dabney after the Smith signing.
Packers Are Seeing Dabney Progress
Dabney was a rookie UDFA from TCU who signed with the Tennessee Titans out of college. He was cut by the Titans but stuck with their practice squad for the majority of the season. However, when Kraft suffered an ACL injury last season, Green Bay signed Dabney to their active roster.
Dabney was active for two games but caught just one pass for three yards. Still, he showed enough for the team to bring him back for his second NFL season.
Dabney was one of the bigger winners of the preseason to date. The injuries to Kraft and Musgrave opened snaps for him higher on the depth chart. More than that, the depth behind him was making it clear he was the best option for the third tight end spot. There is hardly an option behind him on the depth chart.
Massiah Swinson is behind him, but the converted wide receiver is going to take some time before he steps into an actual NFL role. Then, they have McCallan Castles and Thomas Yassmin. However, those two just signed during training camp. Dabney is the fourth man, and the floor is practice squad. Still, the odds of making the roster are dwindling.
Packers New Addition Puts Rising TE on Chopping Block