{"id":83245,"date":"2025-08-25T16:27:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T16:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=83245"},"modified":"2025-08-25T16:27:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T16:27:31","slug":"only-four-cornerbacks-packers-might-take-a-risky-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=83245","title":{"rendered":"Only Four Cornerbacks? Packers Might Take a Risky Approach"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Could the Packers Keep Only Four Cornerbacks?<\/h1>\n

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Photo Credit: Tork Mason\/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin via Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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With the preseason wrapped up, Brian Gutekunst now turns to shaping the Green Bay Packers\u2019 53-man roster. He has until Tuesday at 3 p.m. Central to make the final decisions. For some players, it will mean realizing their dream of playing in the NFL, while for others, it could mark the end of the road.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get right into predicting who the Packers will keep on their final roster. This version will look a bit different from my\u00a0pre-OTAs projection\u00a0for a few reasons, with the biggest change coming on defense.<\/p>\n

Quarterbacks (3)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jordan Love,\u00a0Malik Willis, Taylor Elgersma<\/p>\n

We all knew\u00a0Jordan Love\u00a0and\u00a0Malik Willis\u00a0were locks to make the roster. Taylor Elgersma had a strong preseason, and I have him\u00a0edging out\u00a0Sean Clifford\u00a0for the QB3 job.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still a good chance the Packers keep only two quarterbacks and place Elgersma on the practice squad, but I\u2019m giving him a roster spot here.<\/p>\n

Running backs (3)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Josh Jacobs,\u00a0Emanuel Wilson,\u00a0Chris Brooks\u00a0\/ IR:\u00a0MarShawn Lloyd<\/p>\n

Lloyd suffered a\u00a0hamstring injury\u00a0in Green Bay\u2019s preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts. Matt LaFleur\u00a0said\u00a0he\u2019ll be out for a while, and because of that, I have the Packers putting him on injured reserve and opening the season with Josh Jacobs, Emanuel Wilson, and Chris Brooks in the backfield.<\/p>\n

Wide Receivers (6)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Matthew Golden,\u00a0Romeo Doubs,\u00a0Jayden Reed,\u00a0Dontayvion Wicks,\u00a0Savion Williams,\u00a0Malik Heath\u00a0\/ PUP List:\u00a0Christian Watson<\/p>\n

The biggest question here is Savion Williams\u2019 health. According to\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s Matt Schneidman, Williams has been dealing with a hamstring injury, which kept him out of both of Green Bay\u2019s joint practices against the Colts and last week\u2019s preseason game.<\/p>\n

He could realistically start the season on injured reserve, but I have him making the 53-man roster alongside Malik Heath, who edges out\u00a0Mecole Hardman\u00a0for the final spot.<\/p>\n

Tight Ends (3)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tucker Kraft,\u00a0Luke Musgrave,\u00a0John FitzPatrick<\/p>\n

We should see a lot of 12-personnel with Kraft and Musgrave this year. Meanwhile, John Fitzpatrick had a strong preseason and edges out\u00a0Ben Sims\u00a0for the\u00a0third-string spot. Spoiler alert: Sims will likely be back on the roster at some point during the season.<\/p>\n

O-Line (9)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rasheed Walker,\u00a0Jordan Morgan,\u00a0Aaron Banks,\u00a0Elgton Jenkins,\u00a0Sean Rhyan,\u00a0Zach Tom,\u00a0Anthony Belton,\u00a0Jacob Monk,\u00a0Darian Kinnard\u00a0\/ PUP List:\u00a0John Williams<\/p>\n

Green Bay\u2019s interior depth\u00a0isn\u2019t looking great. Jordan Morgan or Anthony Belton might see some snaps inside during the regular season, but as of now, the situation is far from ideal.<\/p>\n

D-Line (10)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kenny Clark,\u00a0Devonte Wyatt,\u00a0Karl Brooks,\u00a0Colby Wooden,\u00a0Nazir Stackhouse,\u00a0Rashan Gary,\u00a0Lukas Van Ness,\u00a0Kingsley Enagbare,\u00a0Barryn Sorrell,\u00a0Brenton Cox\u00a0Jr. \/ PUP List:\u00a0Collin Oliver<\/p>\n

Stackhouse makes the roster over\u00a0Warren Brinson, who would head to the practice squad. Stackhouse was\u00a0projected\u00a0to be drafted on Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft, but went undrafted. The Packers may prefer keeping him on the 53-man roster rather than risk placing him on the practice squad and potentially losing him to another team.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Barryn Sorrell suffered a\u00a0sprained MCL\u00a0against the Colts and could miss some time, but he\u2019ll make the initial roster instead of going on IR in this projection.<\/p>\n

Linebackers (6)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Edgerrin Cooper,\u00a0Quay Walker,\u00a0Ty\u2019Ron Hopper,\u00a0Isaiah McDuffie,\u00a0Kristian Welch,\u00a0Jamon Dumas-Johnson<\/p>\n

Kristian Welch earns a spot on the 53-man roster after a strong showing throughout the preseason. Meanwhile, Jamon Dumas-Johnson (alongside Nazir Stackhouse) re-starts Green Bay\u2019s\u00a0UDFA streak. Additionally,\u00a0Isaiah Simmons\u00a0makes the roster, but not at the position you might expect.<\/p>\n

Defensive Backs (10)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nate Hobbs,\u00a0Keisean Nixon,\u00a0Carrington Valentine,\u00a0Bo Melton,\u00a0Javon Bullard,\u00a0Evan Williams,\u00a0Xavier McKinney,\u00a0Kitan Oladapo,\u00a0Isaiah Simmons,\u00a0Zayne Anderson<\/p>\n

In this projection, the Packers keep only four cornerbacks, a big testament to their trust in\u00a0Bo Melton\u00a0to transition from wide receiver to defensive back.<\/p>\n

They also move Isaiah Simmons to safety for extra depth in the secondary, allowing\u00a0Javon Bullard\u00a0to play\u00a0closer to the line of scrimmage. Zayne Anderson suffered a\u00a0knee injury\u00a0against the New York Jets, but LaFleur doesn\u2019t believe it\u2019s long-term, so I haven\u2019t placed him on injured reserve.<\/p>\n

Special Teams (3)<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no other way to put it: I\u2019d be shocked if the Packers go in any direction other than this one. They have stability in both the kicking and punting game for the first time in a long while, and that should be enough.<\/p>\n

Nate Hobbs,\u00a0Keisean Nixon,\u00a0Carrington Valentine,\u00a0Bo Melton,\u00a0Javon Bullard,\u00a0Evan Williams,\u00a0Xavier McKinney,\u00a0Kitan Oladapo,\u00a0Isaiah Simmons,\u00a0Zayne Anderson<\/p>\n

In this projection, the Packers keep only four cornerbacks, a big testament to their trust in\u00a0Bo Melton\u00a0to transition from wide receiver to defensive back.<\/p>\n

They also move Isaiah Simmons to safety for extra depth in the secondary, allowing\u00a0Javon Bullard\u00a0to play\u00a0closer to the line of scrimmage. Zayne Anderson suffered a\u00a0knee injury\u00a0against the New York Jets, but LaFleur doesn\u2019t believe it\u2019s long-term, so I haven\u2019t placed him on injured reserve.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Could the Packers Keep Only Four Cornerbacks? Photo Credit: Tork Mason\/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin via Imagn Images With the preseason wrapped up, Brian Gutekunst now turns to shaping… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":83249,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nOnly Four Cornerbacks? Packers Might Take a Risky Approach - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=83245\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Only Four Cornerbacks? 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