Packers Down To 75 Players: Jarius Wynn Released

The Green Bay Packers announced 10 roster moves to shrink down to 75 players by today's deadline. Most of the transactions involved injured players and only one healthy player was released.

DE Jarius Wynn. This isn't the first time he's been released by the Packers, so it's not a big surprise. He was re-signed during the great injury rush of 2010, after Justin Harrell's annual season-ending injury. He's also one of the few players I've actually interviewed, so I'm disappointed to see that he's gone, but his play on the field didn't earn him a roster spot. He had a strong couple months down the stretch in 2010, and he was useful during their playoff run to the Super Bowl, but he was a non-factor last season after recording 3 sacks in their first three games. He was involved in a couple plays last week against the Bengals, but he was clearly behind other players like Philip Merling. The Packers might have to release three defensive lineman by the end of the week, so the final game will be very important for Merling, Lawrence Guy, and Mike Neal.

FB Jon Hoese was released, but he's also been out with a hamstring injury, so it's a release related to an injury. The former undrafted free agent was released last season too, and then brought back onto the practice squad late in the year, so we might see him again.

TE Andrew Quarless and LB Frank Zombo have been hurting all training camp, but they both have a chance to return after six weeks on the PUP list. I'm a little surprised OL Derek Sherrod wasn't listed here too, which may be a sign that he'll be ready to play soon.

It's too bad to see LB Desmond Bishop's season end before it began, but his hamstring injury was serious and he'll be out for the season on I.R. A few other players were also placed on I.R. (RB Du'ane Bennett, TE DeMarco Cosby, G Ray Dominguez, DE Johnny Jones, and WR Shaky Smithson) but I wouldn't have expected any of them to make the roster if they had been healthy. Rob Demovsky expects those last five players will "receive settlements and be waived."

There are a few other players that I expected to be released (OL Shea Allard, OL Greg Van Roten, and WR Diondre Borel all stood out in a bad way against the Bengals) but they still need players for the final preseason game against the Chiefs. The starters aren't likely to play, and Aaron Rodgers might not play at all. The front office might have a good idea of their final roster, but some guys will get at least one more chance to make a good impression.

The Packers 90-man Roster: Guards

I feel like I'm cheating. There's not much to write about with the guards for the Green Bay Packers. The Packers have two young, established starters, and a group of undrafted free agents battling for a reserve job.

Player	Height	Weight	Age	Experience
Barclay, Don	6-4	305	23	Rookie
Brooks, Jaymes	6-2	300	22	Rookie
Cook, Grant	6-4	318	23	Rookie
Dominguez, Ray	6-4	334	24	2
Lang, T.J.	6-4	318	24	4
Sitton, Josh	6-3	318	26	5

Sitton was outstanding during 2009 and 2010, and he was rewarded early last season with a huge contract extension. He's not going anywhere, and he should be in the discussion when people are talking about the best right guards in the NFL. He was a little off his game last season as he played through some injuries and missed two games, but he should be back strong.

Coming into the 2011 season, T.J. Lang had a lot to prove. He'd shown some promise at guard during his first two seasons, but faced only mild competition from Derek Sherrod during the preseason before securing the starting left guard job. And he did a fantastic job in his first season as a starter. He'll be a free agent next March, but the Packers are almost certain to extend his contract before then. With the departures of Chad Clifton, Daryn Colledge, and Scott Wells over the past two years, there's room for him under the salary cap. Bryan Bulaga won't be a free agent until after the 2014 season, so they can afford to take care of Lang now.

Ray Dominguez has played at both guard and tackle, but he's currently listed as a guard. He spent most of the last season on the practice squad, and he'll be eligible for it again in 2012. He was as good as any reserve lineman who played last preseason, but he wasn't great, and the pool of undrafted rookie free agents (Barclay, Brooks, and Cook) could challenge him with a strong preseason of their own.

Overall competition level: medium. While the starters are set, the backup position is wide open. Not only are four players battling for what could be only one spot on the practice squad, they also have to worry about spill over competition from the tackle position (that'll be a future post). This will be a position I'll be watching this preseason because I really want one of these players to step-up and establish himself as the clear backup guard.