Packers Make Roster Moves With 2 Defenders Ahead of Training Camp

With training camp on the horizon, the Green Bay Packers made a pair of transactions that impact their defensive depth.

Linebacker Tariq Carpenter and safety Tarvarius Moore were both placed on the non-football injury list, according to the July 25 league transaction report. Both players participated in the voluntary offseason program, so it’s likely that the injuries occurred away from the facility.

Carpenter and Moore join the list alongside seventh-round wideout Grant DuBose and undrafted free agent tight end Camren McDonald, who landed on the list on July 21. Players on the non-football injury list can be activated anytime during training camp. The same goes for pass rusher Rashan Gary, cornerback Eric Stokes and wide receiver Jeff Cotton, who were placed on the physically unable to perform list on Friday, July 21. Cotton was later waived on July 26.

Moore Problems at Safety?

It’s safe to say that Moore can’t afford to miss too many reps during training camp. A former third-round pick hailing from Southern Mississippi, Moore has spent his five seasons in the league with the San Francisco 49ers. Venturing to Green Bay, he enters a defensive backfield that’s very much in a state of flux after the departure of Adrian Amos, who entered unrestricted free agency and ultimately inked a deal with the New York Jets.

While Moore will be in the mix for a starting job, the Packers may benefit the most from his contributions on special teams. He logged just 41 defensive snaps for last year’s 49ers, but 270 on special teams. For the most part, Moore has been a model of stability. He didn’t miss a single game through the first three years of his career; however, he ruptured his Achilles during the offseason program ahead of the 2021 campaign.

The Packers aren’t necessarily searching for answers at safety, but they haven’t sat on their hands, either. They spent a seventh-round pick on Iowa State’s Anthony Johnson Jr., re-signed Dallin Leavitt and Rudy Ford and brought aboard Jonathan Owens. Darnell Savage, a former first-round pick, is still a favorite to enter the season with a starting role solidified, in spite of his recent shortcomings.

Making the Switch

Carpenter, another seventh-round pick, is entering his second season in the league. At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, he’s a former safety who’s currently in the process of making a full-time switch to linebacker. Considering De’Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker spearhead the depth chart, it’ll be a difficult task trying to make a dent. His impact on special teams, though, could bode well for his chances of securing a roster spot — he finished sixth on the team in special teams tackles as a rookie, according to the team website.

“He’s a little bit of a tweener because he’s got the size of a linebacker, but he plays safety and he has that kind of speed,” Gutekunst said at the time of Carpenter’s drafting, according to Sports Illustrated. “He’s really, really physical. I think we’ll kind of figure out exactly where he fits, whether he goes to that safety room or the linebacker room at different times and what packages he plays in on defense and, certainly, on special teams. That was one of the big reasons we took him.”

It wasn’t likely that Carpenter was going to crack the roster if he stuck it out at safety. The room is comprised of Savage, Ford, Owens, Moore, Leavitt, Johnson, Benny Sapp III and Innis Gaines. It’s a crowded dance floor that will wind up being trimmed significantly by the end of the summer.