Packers Release Former Draft Pick to Make Room for Additions

The Green Bay Packers had to make a roster move after signing Marvin Pierre and Elijah Hamilton. They did it by releasing a Week 1 starter from last season.

Bill Huber | Aug 22, 2023

Packers Release Former Draft Pick to Make Room for Additions /

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In officially signing linebacker Marvin Pierre and cornerback Elijah Hamilton on Tuesday, the Green Bay Packers have waived/injured center Jake Hanson.

Hanson sustained a shin injury during Saturday’s preseason game against the Patriots.

Hanson was a sixth-round draft pick in 2020, the second of three offensive linemen drafted in the round. While Jon Runyan emerged as a solid starter as the 192nd overall pick, Hanson (No. 208 overall) battled injuries for his three-plus seasons and Simon Stepaniak (No. 209) never played a snap.

Hanson’s only start in his career came at right guard in last year’s opener against Minnesota. That would account for 61 of his 69 offensive snaps last year. He got another opportunity against the Jets in Week 6, playing the final five snaps of the first half in hopes of fixing the team's shoddy blocking, but he sustained a torn biceps and missed the rest of the season.

"I thought he was doing a great job last season and it was an unfortunate injury and he’s missed a lot of time," coach Matt LaFleur said of Hanson last week. "But he’s attacked it the right way and doing everything he can to be available."

In the other roster move required to sign Pierre and Hamilton, the Packers placed tight end Tyler Davis on injured reserve.

More Green Bay Packers News

Ranking the Packers’ top 17 rookies

Packers stock report 2.0

Packers sign two for final week of camp

53-man (and practice squad) projection

Published Aug 22, 2023

BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.