The Green Bay Packers have to cut their roster to 53 players by 3 p.m. on Saturday, and as always they will have many tough decisions. I like to do one roster projection per year, so this will be it for me.
Quarterbacks (3)
Aaron Rodgers
Matt Flynn
Scott Tolzien
Flynn playing poorly this preseason and Tolzien excelling has made this a lot closer call than most thought entering camp. Flynn going 2-2-1 for the Packers last year filling in for Rodgers should still count for something, even tough Flynn has not played well this preseason. Tolzien has the much better physical tools, but there is still some level of trust with Flynn since he has gotten the job done almost whenever called upon in Green Bay. With the way Tolzien has played there is no chance he will be exposed to waivers.
Running Backs (4)
Eddie Lacy
James Starks
DuJuan Harris
John Kuhn
Not much intrigue here. Raijon Neal had a chance to break in before his injury. The interesting thing will be Harris’ role and whether he can challenge Starks for the first backup spot. Lacy doesn’t figure to come off the field much, but Harris is a much more effective receiver than Starks and has forced 10 missed tackles on 26 attempts this preseason.
Wide Receivers (5)
Jordy Nelson
Randall Cobb
Jarrett Boykin
Davante Adams
Jeff Janis
Kevin Dorsey, Myles White and Alex Gillett all could have a chance to make another team’s roster, but this team is just too deep at wide receiver for them. Adams has come on at the end of camp so it will be interesting to see if he can challenge Boykin for the third spot as the season progresses.
Tight Ends (4)
Richard Rodgers
Andrew Quarless
Brandon Bostick
Ryan Taylor
Taylor’s special teams prowess gives him the edge over Jake Stoneburner. Bostick’s injury hurts because he was the most complete tight end the Packers had in terms of blocking and receiving. They will need him to return as soon as possible because he is still a breakout candidate. Rodgers looks like he has earned the starting nod over Quarless, but his blocking must improve.
Offensive Line (8)
Bryan Bulaga
T.J Lang
J.C. Tretter
Josh Sitton
David Bakhtiari
Corey Linsley
Derek Sherrod
Lane Taylor
The injury to Tretter should not cause the Packers to keep an extra lineman because they usually only activate seven on game day anyways, and there is really nobody else worthy of a roster spot. This roster is too deep and talented elsewhere to keep an undeserving player. As long as there are no other injuries the Packers should be able to survive with Sherrod and Taylor for about the first month of the season until Tretter comes back. This is the best starting group the Packers have had in years, but the depth isn’t great.
Defensive Line (6)
Datone Jones
Mike Daniels
Mike Pennel
Josh Boyd
Kyri Thornton
Letroy Guion
Thornton and Guion have done nothing this summer, but Thornton makes it due to being a third-round pick and Guion makes it because of the injury to B.J. Raji. Guion looked good by most accounts in his first practice this training camp, and the Packers need a veteran presence at nose tackle. This group will be under huge pressure to stop the run this year after Ted Thompson switched from the wider bodies of past years to these smaller and quicker athletes.
Outside Linebackers (6)
Clay Matthews
Julius Peppers
Mike Neal
Nick Perry
Jayrone Elliot
Andy Mulumba
Not a lot of teams would keep this many outside linebackers, but all these players are definitely deserving. Peppers and Neal will play a number of snaps with their hands in the dirt in the nickel, so they are not all pure outside linebackers. Perry finally made a play this summer with a strip sack on his patented bull rush against Oakland. Elliot had another impressive game against Oakland after this three sack game in St. Louis. Mulumba is a key special teams player and did OK as a backup last season.
Inside Linebackers (4)
A.J. Hawk
Brad Jones
Jamari Lattimore
Sam Barrington
The intrigue does not come in who will make the roster. If Jones plays as poorly as he did last year will Lattimore or Barrington get a chance to start? Fourth-round pick Carl Bradford was finally moved here, but it seems like it’s too late for him to make the team.
Cornerbacks (5)
Sam Shields
Tramon Williams
Casey Heyward
Davon House
Jarrett Bush
The Packers would probably like to find a way to keep Jumal Rolle, but he falls one spot short. They can afford to go light on corners because their top four is such a strong group, and Micah Hyde can play the slot corner when necessary.
Safety (5)
Morgan Burnett
Micah Hyde
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
Sean Richardson
Chris Banjo
What a difference a year makes here. The Packers now potentialy have three starting caliber players at safety after the disaster of last season. The huge question is whether the first-round pick Clinton-Dix will overtake Hyde as the starter at some point this year. Richardson has been an impact player in training camp this year. Banjo makes it due to his role on special teams.
Specialists (3)
Mason Crosby
Tim Masthay
Brett Goode
These spots have been set since the start of training camp.
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Matt Bove is a writer at PackersTalk.com. PackersTalk.com. You can follow him on twitter at @RayRobert9.
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Get off my lawn!
I just do not see TT cutting a 4th round pick! So Bradford will make the roster either it be as a OLB or ILB but he will not get cut IMO.
I do not see them keeping 3 QB’s either so you can drop one which will most likely be Flynn and add Bradford to the list 🙂 I am thinking they should call up St. Loius and work out a trade for a mid round pick for Flynn since Bradford is out for the year.
I’d make the trade-off of Rolle for Flynn. Okay, here’s my deal:
After the seasons’ over, and neither Flynn or Tozien played a meaningful down, that’s the wrong time to say “guess we don’t need a 3rd QB.” Tolzien is on the path to mastering the offense. Maybe he needs another year, or maybe he’s learned enough to function. Flynn is not going to be with the team next year. I think that’s a pretty likely. So why invest the roster spot and money to keep a player who probably won’t play this year, and certainly not after this year.
Rolle has played well enough to make the roster for an already deep group of corners with the Packers, and certainly on a number of other teams perusing the waiver wire. With Tramon Williams likely leaving next year and Davon House becoming a decision, I’d think the Packers would be happy to have a Rolle in their back pocket. And I bet he’s a better tackler on special teams than Flynn.
Jeff, what would make you think considering his failures with Buffalo, Seattle and Oakland that ST. Louis would have any interest in trading for Flynn?