The Green Bay Packers have had a change of heart about keeping one of their rookie draft picks on their active roster heading into the 2025 season.
According to the team’s transaction wire, the Packers released seventh-round rookie cornerback Micah Robinson and signed veteran linebacker Nick Niemann to take his place on the 53-man roster on Wednesday in a pair of corresponding roster moves.
Robinson made the initial 53-man roster as one of the Packers‘ six cornerbacks, beating out 2024 seventh-round pick Kalen King and veteran Corey Ballentine during training camp. Following his release, though, he will now be subject to waivers and could land with a different team to begin the 2025 season, if they win a claim for him Thursday.
The Packers are down to just five cornerbacks on their 53-man roster between Keisean Nixon, Nate Hobbs, Carrington Valentine, Kamal Hadden and Bo Melton; though, they also have former second-round safety Javon Bullard in place as their top slot corner.
Whether the Packers will make more changes before Week 1 remains to be seen.
Micah Robinson Likely to Return on Practice Squad
The Packers decided a fifth linebacker was more vital to their roster than Robinson’s role as their sixth cornerback, but that doesn’t mean he is leaving Green Bay just yet.
If Robinson clears waivers on Thursday, there is a good chance the Packers will re-sign him to their practice squad. They liked his potential enough to keep him over King and Ballentine during the roster cutdown. Bringing him back would allow them to continue his development in the background of the 2025 season, and perhaps even promote him to the game-day roster for reps if he makes enough progress or injuries interfere more.
The Packers still have four spots available on their practice squad, three that are vacant and a fourth because kicker Mark McNamee does not count against their 16-man roster total as the team’s designated International Player Pathway program.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Bill Huber, the Packers are planning to fill one of those spots with former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Clayton Tune, but they will still have three left to decide whether they want to add Robinson — or even another cornerback. Right now, undrafted rookie Jonathan Baldwin is their only practice-squad cornerback.
How Will Packers’ Remade CB Room Hold Up in 2025?
The Packers‘ cornerback room has finally begun to take its initial shape for the 2025 season, but the question remains: Do they have the right personnel for the job?
On one hand, the Packers are not much different at the cornerback position than they were last season. They released Pro Bowl starter Jaire Alexander in June, but he played just seven games in each of the past two seasons because of injuries, leaving most of the perimeter work in 2024 to Nixon and Valentine — who will reprise their roles in 2025.
The Packers did shake up their depth roles, replacing Ballentine and former first-round pick Eric Stokes with Hadden and Melton for this year’s roster. But they also signed a veteran in Hobbs to give themselves more experience and strength at the position.
At the same time, the Packers are placing a huge bet on their returning cornerbacks to take a step forward as a unit and bring a higher level of play to their secondary. It could work out for them, but Nixon has primarily played in the slot for them during his time in Green Bay while Valentine, promising as he is, is entering only just third NFL season.
The Packers are also still awaiting Hobbs’ return to the practice field after he underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee on August 2. While expectations are that he will be ready for the opener on September 7, the Packers will find themselves even thinner at the cornerback position if he takes longer than expected to reach 100%.
Packers Release Rookie Draft Pick After Keeping Him on Initial Roster