Packers Release Kumerow, Tim Williams on Path to 53-Man Roster

Receivers Jake Kumerow and Darrius Shepherd, outside linebacker Tim Williams and offensive lineman Alex Light were among the key releases.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers  released receiver Jake Kumerow and outside linebacker Tim Williams, the first big moves on the way to forming a 53-man roster on Saturday.

For the first time since entering the NFL in 2015, Kumerow had a season-long role. Kumerow caught 12-of-21 passes (57.1 percent) for 219 yards and one touchdown in the regular season and added a 23-yard catch vs. San Francisco in the championship game.

Speaking on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Friday, quarterback Aaron Rodgers listed Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Kumerow as the four receivers who could play a role this season.

"Jake Kumerow has been such a solid performer for us for the last couple years," Rodgers said. "I love his reliability. I think he’s a fantastic, steady player who’s very heady on the field. He makes plays, he plays with a lot of confidence and he’s a guy you love having on the squad." 

Williams had been running with the second unit alongside Rashan Gary throughout traning camp. A third-round pick by Baltimore, it appeared he had found his niche.

"Coming from Baltimore, it’s a lot of heavy running in that division," he said last week. "They throw the ball around a lot over here and, basically, the teams that we play, they like to throw the ball a lot and do a lot of gimmicks and finesse stuff. It plays into one of my attributes, which is being fast. I’m kind of a hybrid guy that can run sideline to sideline and be able to develop some pressure on the quarterback. Man, I just love to play football."

Also out at receiver is Darrius Shepherd, a source told Packer Central. Shepherd made the roster last year and had an excellent training camp but his limited special-teams appeal might have cost him.

"I’m the player that everybody sees and hears about," Shepherd said recently. "I’m not the guy that made the mistakes. I’ll learn from them, and trying to grow and come back to show them I’m a player that can make plays and play in this league." 

Two other receiver casualties, according to sources, were Canadian import Reggie Begelton and Malik Turner. The Packers want Begelton back on the practice squad.

“It’s truly a blessing for me,” he said last week. “It’s a great opportunity and I’m just having fun with it. No matter what happens at the end of the day, I can always say I had the opportunity and that’s all I could ever ask for.”

All of those moves put Malik Taylor in position to make the roster. He spent last year on the practice squad.

Packer Central learned Green Bay released offensive tackle Alex Light, who played 13 games last season. He played well in relief of Bryan Bulaga against Philadelphia but struggled in place of Bulaga againts San Francisco. The move cleared the way for Yosh Nijman to make the roster. Light is the more refined player but Nijman has the upside.

Nijman is right out of Central Casting when it comes to offensive tackles. “He’s the best-looking tackle on the team,” another team’s scout said after April's draft. At the 2019 Scouting Combine, he measured 6-foot-6 7/8 and 324 pounds with 34-inch arms. He ran his 40 in 4.88 seconds with a sizzling 20-yard shuttle time of 4.50 seconds. That shuttle time is elite, which is why it was a surprise that he wasn’t drafted. However, his game is in need of refinement; offseson elbow surgery didn't help. But he did enough in limited time.

Light's struggles last year necessitated the addition of veteran Jared Veldheer. Veldheer remains a free agent but there has been no contact between the two sides.

Also out is running back Dexter Williams, a sixth-round pick last year who got caught up in the numbers with Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams and AJ Dillon. With Jones and Jamaal Williams headed to free agency, the Packers would like to bring Dexter Williams back on the practice squad, according to a source.

Green Bay also has released some undrafted prospects: cornerback DaShaun Amos, cornerback Stanford Samuels and linebacker Krys Barnes, according to sources and PackersNews.com. All are practice-squad candidates, sources said. Intriguing tight end/fullback John Lovett, who was claimed off waivers from Kansas City after starring at quarterback for Princeton, was released, as well.

Here's what we learned on the fly through our reporting and the reporting of ESPN.com, PackersNews.com and the Athletic, as well as the team release at about 4:30 p.m.

QB: None.

WR: Jake Kumerow, Darrius Shepherd, Reggie Begelton, Malik Turner.

TE: Evan Baylis, John Lovett.

RB: Dexter Williams, Damarea Crockett. 

OL: Alex Light, Jake Hanson, John Leglue, Cody Conway, Zack Johnson.

DL: Delontae Scott, Willington Previlon. Waived/injured: Treyvon Hester.

OLB: Tim Williams, Tipa Galeai, OLB Greg Roberts.

ILB: Krys Barnes.

CB: DaShaun Amos, Stanford Samuels. Waived/injured: Will Sutherland.

S: Henry Black.

Injury lists: RB Patrick Taylor (foot; NFI), G Simon Stepaniak (knee; NFI), LB Curtis Bolton (knee; PUP).

General manager Brian Gutekunst had to remove 27 players from the roster. Injured lists, as expected, handled a few, with Bolton, Stepaniak and Taylor to be sidelined for at least the first six weeks of the season. 

The team carried rookie linebacker Kamal Martin (knee) and first-year cornerback Kabion Ento (foot) onto the roster. They figure to go on injured reserve on Sunday. Doing so will allow the Packers to bring them back when healthy at midseason. Martin was in position to start before the injury. Ento is a high-upside prospect who played receiver at Colorado. When they go on injured reserve, the Packers can add two players to their 53.

“It’s never a good thing but, particularly this year, you weren’t able to give the guys the opportunities in those games to go out and prove some things, so that’s tough,” Gutekunst said last week. “At the same time, it’s our job to try to make the best decisions that we can to put the best football team out there. I do think this particular 2020 draft class, all the guys in it throughout the league, I think there’s going to be some opportunities moving forward where guys didn’t get opportunities that may be out there as the season goes on that might wind up being really good players down the line. It’s unfortunate. It’s the situation we’re in and I feel for those guys, but there will be opportunities down the road.”

The team can start forming its 16-man practice squad at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Here was our 53-man projection from Friday following the completion of the practice week.

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