Final 53-Man Packers Roster Projection

How many receivers? Could an offensive tackle be on the trading block? What’s the plan at safety? Here is our projected 53-man roster and 16-man practice squad.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The cruelest days of the year are here. For months, 90 players have given their all – their blood, their sweat, their tears and their last bits of energy and enthusiasm – for a chance to earn a spot on the Green Bay Packers’ roster.

By Tuesday, general manager Brian Gutekunst will deliver the worst possible news to 37 of those players. “Thank you, but your best wasn’t good enough.”

On Wednesday, up to 16 players will get a second chance on Green Bay’s practice squad. Some players will get another opportunity elsewhere. But for a number of players, their walk out of Lambeau Field on Tuesday will be their final moment with an NFL team.

With one month of training camp and three preseason games complete, here is our final guess at what Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur like to call their 69-man roster.

Quarterbacks

On the 53 (2): Jordan Love, Sean Clifford.

Practice squad (1): Alex McGough.

While some teams might keep a third quarterback on the roster to take advantage of the new gameday roster rules, that probably won’t be the Packers. Their third quarterback will work on the practice squad. The name of the game is making plays. Having led the game-winning comeback vs. Seattle on Saturday, McGough showed he deserves to stick around beyond. That he knows the offense can’t be overstated; heading into Week 1 of the season, what quarterbacks coach wants to be teaching plays and footwork to the new guy?

Sean Clifford and Jordan Love (Photo by USA Today Sports Images)

Running Backs

On the 53 (2): Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon.

Practice squad (2): Patrick Taylor, Emanuel Wilson.

The Packers carried just two running backs, Jones and Dillon, on the Week 1 roster last year. Heck, they had only Jones and Dillon on the gameday roster for the opener at Minnesota. The Packers can elevate their practice-squad backs for now. When someone, regardless of position, inevitably goes on injured reserve, they can promote one of those practice-squad backs to the 53.

It will be a tough call between Taylor, Wilson and Tyler Goodson. Taylor is a jack-of-all-trades type who worked with the No. 1s on three of the four special-teams units at practice this week. Whether he’s on the 53 or practice squad, Tayor presumably will be the No. 3 back. Wilson ran hard vs. Seattle to get what he could. By our count, he broke 11 tackles this preseason. Shoulder injuries to Goodson and seventh-round rookie Lew Nichols could streamline the decision-making.

Fullback

On the 53 (1): Josiah Deguara.

Practice squad: None.

At least the team’s unofficial depth chart acknowledges this is Deguara’s real and natural position. He’s a quality role player and an effective lead blocker in space. Undrafted rookie Henry Pearson is a good-looking prospect but his knee injury appears to be a bit more than minor.

Receivers

On the 53 (7): Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Samori Toure, Dontayvion Wicks, Malik Heath, Grant DuBose.

Practice squad (2): Jadakis Bonds, Duece Watts.

Samori Toure (Photo by USA Today Sports Images)

Don't be shocked if Toure is released. Toure is listed with the starters on the unofficial depth chart but that slot position has belonged to Reed all along. Toure had a fine training camp but nothing more, and didn’t distinguish himself as an option on returns during the games.

Assuming the first four players are locks and they go with six, here are the decisions for the final two spots: Who’s better between Heath, DuBose and Toure? Heath. So, in a group of six receivers, it comes down to 2022 seventh-rounder Toure and 2023 seventh-rounder DuBose. Toure didn’t really take that second-year jump so why not go with the rookie, who made more plays with the No. 2 offense than Toure did with the 1s?

All that said, Doubs and Wicks have hamstring injuries. The team might know if they will be ready for Week 1 but I have no idea. So, let's keep seven to be sure there are five for Chicago.

Tight Ends

On the 53 (3): Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, TBA.

Practice squad (1): Austin Allen.

We’ll stick with what we did last week in having Gutekunst shopping for a tight end to round out the group. This is for example purposes only: Gutekunst could keep safety Tarvarius Moore on the opening roster on Tuesday and put him on injured reserve (knee) on Wednesday while adding a tight end. After three weeks, that injured player (Moore in our example) would be ready to come off IR.

All that said, Gutekunst might look at the waiver wire and figure he’s better off going with Allen, who’s certainly not a bad player.

Offensive Line

On the 53 (9): LT David Bakhtiari, LG Elgton Jenkins, C Josh Myers, RG Jon Runyan, RT Zach Tom, T Rasheed Walker, T Yosh Nijman, G Sean Rhyan, T Caleb Jones.

Practice squad (3): T Kadeem Telfort, C James Empey/Cole Schneider, TBA.

The Packers are loaded at tackle but a bit light on the interior, though Tom’s infinite versatility mitigates that potential weakness. Tackle is a premium position. It’s not hard to imagine some tackle-needy team calling to inquire about the availability of Nijman, who started 21 games the past two seasons but appears to have fallen into the No. 4 position behind Bakhtiari, Tom and Walker.

The peril in trading Nijman is what happens if Bakhtiari is sidelined because of the knee? Perhaps no player on the roster took a bigger Year 2 jump than Walker, who made the 53 last year based solely on upside and nothing he did during an injury-abbreviated training camp. Is Walker really ready to be the No. 1 left tackle?

If the Packers keep 10 linemen, Newman likely will be that guy, though he could have some late-round trade value. He had four penalties this preseason, including two vs. Seattle. Also, the Packers probably can't trade one of their tackles and get rid of Newman.

Here come the Packers before facing the Seahawks (Photo by USA Today Sports Images)

Defensive Line

On the 53 (6): Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, TJ Slaton, Jonathan Ford, Colby Wooden, Karl Brooks.

Practice squad (1): Chris Slayton.

It’s entirely too early to say this with certainty but it appears Gutekunst knocked this draft out of the park. That statement is highlighted by the early play of Wooden and Brooks, a pair of Day 3 draft picks who are locks to make the roster and be on the field for Day 1. With a nice Year 2 jump after not playing as a rookie, Ford’s size should be an asset. Added together, the depth might defy expectations.

Outside Linebackers

On the 53 (5): Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare, Justin Hollins.

Practice squad (2): Brenton Cox, Keshawn Banks.

Roster exemption (1): Kenneth Odumegwu (International Player Pathway program).

After a superb week of practice, Gary looks like he’s going to be an impact player from the start. With his powerful presence, this looks like one of the most formidable groups in the NFL. Van Ness, the first-round pick, played a lot in the preseason but might not see much time at the start of the season. That’s not ideal but it’s OK given the play of Enagbare and Hollins as the backups.

Given his pedigree, a lot has been written and said about the undrafted Cox. He’s had a good camp and made a solid closing statement with three pressures and some strong play against the run. However, given his background and the fact he didn’t really dominate the preseason, the guess here is they could stash him on the practice squad alongside Banks, who’s no slouch. Cox was our 54th player.

Inside Linebackers

On the 53 (5): De’Vondre Campbell, Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Wilson, Tariq Carpenter.

Practice squad: None.

Position changes, such as the one that sent Carpenter from safety to linebacker, often don’t work out well. That’s OK in this case, though, because Carpenter should be such an asset on special teams.

Overall, the depth is really good. McDuffie had a strong preseason, Wilson, a former 100-tackle starter with the Vikings, is one of the team’s best players on special teams, and Carpenter was one of the best on special teams down the stretch last season. Undrafted rookie Jimmy Phillips is worthy of another opportunity.

Cornerbacks

On the 53 (5): Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas, Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, Corey Ballentine.

PUP (1): Eric Stokes.

Practice squad (2): William Hooper, Innis Gaines.

Stokes spent training camp on the physically unable to perform list because of last year’s Lisfranc foot injury. That signals Stokes will open the season on PUP, which means he’ll be out four weeks before he can even practice.

Coming off an injury, Gaines didn’t have a great week of practice and gave up a touchdown against Seattle. Maybe he just needs a few more weeks of practice to be ready to contribute. Kiondre Thomas seems to be more of a gamer than practice player, but he’s had his chance after spending last year on the practice squad. Hooper, who emerged from the tryout group at the rookie minicamp, showed some intriguing potential.

Safeties

On the 53 (5): Darnell Savage, Rudy Ford, Tarvarius Moore, Dallin Leavitt, Anthony Johnson.

Practice squad (1): Benny Sapp.

Safety is one of the weakest positions on the roster, and yet you can make an argument the Packers should keep six. Savage and Ford will start, Leavitt is one of special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia’s favorites, and Johnson had a strong preseason.

So, that’s four spots. Will Gutekunst keep Jonathan Owens, Moore or both? Owens ran with the starters for most of camp but was beaten out by Ford. He is a liability in coverage but is experienced and was a four-position starter on special teams this week. With his blazing speed, Moore has more upside but missed the last week of camp and the Seattle game with a minor knee injury. As the saying goes, you can’t make the club in the tub.

We’ll go with Moore for the last spot because of his speed and special-teams experience with the 49ers but, really, you can flip a coin.

Specialists

On the 53 (3): K Anders Carlson, P Pat O’Donnell, LS Matt Orzech.

Practice squad (1): P Daniel Whelan.

With punts of 67 and 55 yards, Whelan finally showed his powerful leg in a live situation. While he outkicked the veteran O’Donnell for most of training camp, having a steady, reliable holder for the rookie Carlson seems like the way to go.

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