After other teams make their final cuts, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Packers kick the tires on a few different players for their 53-man roster and the practice squad.
I wanted to keep just the players I'd like to see them keep but I ended up making some practical decisions because I had extra roster spots to fill.
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 31, 2018QB (3): Rodgers, Kizer, Boyle. No surprises here after they traded Brett Hundley. My initial thought was to release Boyle and sign him to the practice squad, but I had room on the 53-man roster so here he is.
RB/FB (4): Williams, Jones, Montgomery, Ripkowski. Though they'll add someone to fill in while Jones is suspended. But I don't expect it'll be another running back for Week 1.
WR (6): Adams, Cobb, Allison, Kumerow, Moore, Valdes-Scantling. I'm not sure about Kumerow's shoulder but he's deserved a spot. Moore kept improving throughout the preseason so I'm thinking good thoughts about him entering the regular season. Trevor Davis has special return skills and he's pretty good on special teams coverage, but his inability to play receiver and hold onto the ball means it's time to go.
TE (4): Graham, Lewis, Byrd, Tonyan. Man, Kendricks has been such a disappointment since he signed, but I still hate releasing a former Badger. Byrd and Tonyan played well this preseason, though Tonyan's a little small for the position.
OL (8): Bakhtiari, Taylor, Linsley, McCray, Bulaga, Spriggs, Patrick, Pankey. I like the starting five and I'm not a fan of any of the backups other than Patrick. Spriggs will stay because he was a high draft pick and, like Pankey, they can both play tackle. Both #69 and Bulaga missed time this preseason due to injury so they need depth at tackle but I wish I didn't have to include either Spriggs or Pankey. I don't understand why they thought Byron Bell was a good idea.
DL (5): Lowry, Wilkerson, Adams, Clark, Daniels. They had a bunch of decent defensive lineman but none of the others stood out especially and they don't really need that many DLmen.
LB (10): Biegel, Burks, Donnerson, Gilbert, Martinez, Martini, Matthews, Morrison, Perry, Thomas. Surprisingly the converted safety Thomas gets my vote, there has to be roles for Martini and Thomas to play. Donnerson forced a fumble and showed just enough to keep him around. Biegel too. Gilbert better be on the field for every likely passing down this season. From what I've seen of Morrison when he was with the Colts (he's still only 23 years old!) is that he's got some skills, though he had problems with pass coverage and penalties, and he could be explosive on the inside blitz with a limited role. Please, no more Fackrell.
CB (6): Alexander, House, Jackson, King, Williams, Waters. Unlike the situation on the offensive line, I kept the undrafted player Waters over the former 2nd round pick Rollins, unfortunately I'm not a big fan of either of them. Though Waters was injured during the Chiefs game so maybe it'll leave the door open for Rollins.
S (4): Brice, Clinton-Dix, Jones, Evans. I'm not a big fan of any of these guys, except Clinton-Dix definitely is a starting caliber safety. I'd have loved to have seen what Eric Reid could have done for them.
Special Teams (3): Crosby, Scott and long-snapper. Scott finally started looking like the big hang-time punter I saw in college over his last couple preseason games. I don't care about who gets to be the long-snapper (bring back Rob Davis!).