Like the rest of the league, the Green Bay Packers finalized their 53-man roster for the 2024 NFL season on Tuesday at 3 p.m. central time. As always, there were a few unexpected moves, with the real eyebrow-raisers mostly concerning skill positions and the secondary.
Brian Gutekunst has drafted 72 players since becoming Green Bay’s general manager, and only eight failed to make the roster as rookies. However, Kalen King and Michael Pratt joined that list this year.
It wasn’t shocking that Green Bay moved on from Pratt. However, reports indicate that the Packers plan to bring back Sean Clifford to the practice squad. While Pratt is a better quarterback than Clifford, Clifford’s two years in the system give him an edge.
The Packers traded for Malik Willis on Monday, but he isn’t a significant upgrade over Pratt. Wouldn’t it have been better to keep Clifford as the backup while focusing on developing Pratt as the third-stringer rather than wasting a seventh-round pick? It’s worth noting that Green Bay found Rasheed Walker and Carrington Valentine in the seventh round.
Green Bay also released Grant DuBose. It would have been tough for the Packers to keep seven wide receivers, especially with two strong pass-catching tight ends on the roster. It seemed DuBose would secure a spot for much of the preseason, potentially meaning the Packers would waive Malik Heath. However, Heath remains a solid option as a sixth receiver. DuBose is undoubtedly an NFL-caliber wide receiver and will likely find a home with another team.
The Packers released Royce Newman, Caleb Jones, Luke Tenuta, Lecitus Smith, and Donovan Jennings. Since entering the league in 2021, Newman’s performance had been underwhelming, which made his release somewhat anticipated. Green Bay kept 10 offensive linemen, but the swing tackle position remains a concern.
The final roster includes Rasheed Walker, Zach Tom, Andre Dillard, Travis Glover, Kadeem Telfort, and Jordan Morgan. Morgan was solidifying his role as the starting right guard before his injury, which leaves Dillard, Glover, and Telfort as options for a swing tackle. Glover is a rookie, Dillard has been bad throughout his career, and Telfort has yet to take a snap in the NFL.
The Packers also released Kristian Welch. Green Bay’s linebacker group was set with Quay Walker and a healthy Edgerrin Cooper starting in the 4-2-5 scheme, even though Cooper missed most of the offseason program. Green Bay retained key special teams contributors Eric Wilson and Isaiah McDuffie, who played under Jeff Hafley at Boston College. Additionally, third-round pick Ty’Ron Hopper was a lock for the team. With these factors in play, there simply wasn’t room for Welch.
The most surprising cuts came in the secondary, where the Packers released Kalen King and Anthony Johnson Jr. Johnson had an impressive performance in Green Bay’s preseason finale against the Baltimore Ravens, making tackles all over the field. With Jeff Hafley’s reputation for developing defensive backs, Johnson could have thrived under his coaching.
For context, Zayne Anderson made the team over him. There’s an inside joke among Packers fans that Anderson isn’t a real person, given the lack of social media clips featuring him during training camp, preseason, or the regular season. His contributions on special teams justify Anderson’s spot, but Johnson was the better developmental prospect.
Experts projected King to be a first-round pick in 2023. However, his stock dropped significantly after he opted to stay in college and experienced a down year. The Packers selected him in the seventh round this year, and there was hope that King could regain the potential he showed last year under Jeff Hafley’s guidance. Unfortunately, his release suggests that Green Bay’s hopes for his development did not materialize.
This year, many “This guy is definitely making the team” statements turned out to be incorrect, more so than usual. That highlights the gap between fans’ and analysts’ perceptions and how the organization evaluates players. Green Bay’s decisions reflect a different perspective on player performance and potential, illustrating how challenging it is to predict roster moves based on preseason impressions alone.
