The Packers Bring Back Ryan Grant

Another injury, this time to the knee of RB James Starks, has forced another roster move, and this time, the Green Bay Packers have brought back a familiar face.

Packers announced they signed RB Ryan Grant and placed RB Johnny White (concussion) on injured reserve.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 5, 2012

RB Johnny White has been out of action since he suffered a concussion against the Giants so technically he's lost his roster spot to Grant, though Starks' knee injury is reportedly season-ending. Maybe they still have some hope that Starks can return this season.

The Packers didn't re-sign Grant after last season, despite the fact that he was their best running back according to Football Outsiders. That's faint praise, Grant was ranked 28th while Starks was ranked 39th, and it skimmed over the fact that Grant was basically useless for most of the season. In their first 11 games, he ran for over 40 yards on only one occasion: against the Bears in Week 3.

But he did finish the season strong. Over his last four games, he ran for 85, 66, 44, and 48 yards. Plus, he had a big 80 yard touchdown reception against the Lions. It makes sense that it would take some time for him to get back to full strength because he missed nearly the entire 2010 season.

It's also understandable that the Packers didn't re-sign him. His best days are behind him and GM Ted Thompson doesn't fill his roster with aging, mediocre veterans. He wants to bring in some young, cheap players, and see if the coaches can turn them into something.

However, at this point, with RB Cedric Benson out for the year (and Starks not too far behind), the Packers need help now. They'll reevaluate the position before next year's draft. In the meantime, the Packers could really use a healthy, mediocre veteran running back who knows their offense.

Packer Injuries: Matthews, Sherrod, and the D-Line

The bad news is that LB Clay Matthews may still not be available next Sunday, but the bigger concern might be on the defensive line.

DNP for the #Packers: Woodson, White, Shields, Matthews, Driver, Pickett, Wilson.
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) November 28, 2012

They've survived so far without CB Charles Woodson and CB Sam Shields. WR Donald Driver hasn't played much this season. DE C.J. Wilson is not a surprise, neither is backup RB Johnny White, since they both were hurt during the loss to the Giants. I'm not sure why DT Ryan Pickett has been held out because the injury report hasn't been released yet, but Mike McCarthy said Pickett will return to practice no later than Friday.

While shutting down the Vikings' passing attack is probably the key to the game, I still expect the Packers to frequently line up with three defensive lineman when they face RB Adrian Peterson. That could be hard to do if two starters (Pickett and Wilson) are out. However, DE Jerel Worthy has returned from his concussion, so he'll provide depth alongside DE Mike Neal and DE Mike Daniels. But that would with only be five healthy lineman, and any setback by Pickett could leave them with a very tight four man rotation.

I doubt it's a surprise to anyone reading this but it's finally official: OL Derek Sherrod is not playing this season. His leg injury was severe, and it happened late last season, so it's not surprising he needs more time to recover. I'm not sure how much could have helped anyway, but the offensive line's problems aren't going away so he can become part of the solution in 2013.

Out For The Year: Replacing Brandon Saine and D.J. Smith

While the Green Bay Packers looked very impressive in their win on Sunday over the previously undefeated Texans, the victory came with a cost: backup RB Brandon Saine and starting LB D.J. Smith were lost for the season due to knee injuries. Word on CB Sam Shields and LB Nick Perry is pending until later this week.

If Saine played at all on offense, I must have blinked and missed it, but he was a key player on special teams.   Mike McCarthy was complimenting rookie LB Terrell Manning as a special teams player on Monday, so Manning might be playing a larger role in the future. Though Saine didn't play on offense, his loss, in addition to the temporary absence of RB Cedric Benson and the ongoing limited playing time for RB James Starks (turf toe), has made depth a problem at running back. So the waiver claim of RB Johnny White seemed necessary.

White was a 5th round pick in 2011 and probably deep behind Bills' RB Fred Jackson and RB C.J. Spiller on the depth chart, which could have made him expendable in Buffalo. He hasn't done much as a pro, but he was a jack-of-all-trades in college at North Carolina, playing cornerback and wide receiver in addition to running back, so he could fit the role as backup, scout team player, special teams performer quite nicely. The Packers usually have three running backs active each week, so White might get thrown into the mix at special teams right away until Benson returns.

There's been no roster move to replace Smith yet, but as soon as the Packers want to add someone to the 53-man roster, Smith's certain to go onto I.R. They don't need to make a move immediately because Manning was not active against the Texans, so he'll take a backup role and probably play on special teams against the Rams.

Veteran LB Brad Jones spent the offseason preparing to play inside linebacker, which seemed unnecessary a few months ago and now looks like a wise move. Smith got off to a slow start with a poor game against the 49ers, but he'd been looking a lot better over the past few weeks. If Jones was a better player then he would have already been ahead of Smith, but I'm not expecting much of a drop off. I'm also expecting to see a lot more of LB A.J. Hawk; Smith had been playing ahead of Hawk on some of the Packers nickel and dime packages this season.

If Jones struggles, then I'm sure they wouldn't hesitate to give either LB Robert Francois, LB Jamari Lattimore, or Manning a chance (though McCarthy admitted Manning's "farther ahead on special teams than he is on defense.") Losing two inside linebackers (LB Desmond Bishop during the preseason) is a bad thing, but the Packers have a lot of depth to make up for it.