6 PACKERS WHO COULD BE CUT PRIOR TO TRAINING CAMP

After an outstanding second half of the 2023 season and a little run in the playoffs, the Green Bay Packers have caught everyone's eye as one of the top young rosters in the NFL. The Packers went on the road to Dallas in the playoffs and beat the Cowboys -- handily, at that -- and then had the San Francisco 49ers on the brink of elimination in the Divisional Round.

If it weren't for kicking issues, we might be talking about the Packers at least representing one of the final two teams in the NFC last season. Needless to say, this young roster assembled by general manager Brian Gutekunst and head coach Matt LaFleur is loaded from top to bottom, but it's also one of the youngest teams in the NFL.

There will be plenty of competition across the board for the Packers this year and for some players, the writing might be on the wall before training camp even begins. What players are in danger of being cut?

6 Green Bay Packers players who could be cut before training camp in 2024

1. Joel Wilson, tight end

The Green Bay Packers have a lot of young players at the tight end position, including the top two guys on the depth chart -- 2023 draft picks Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft. Given the way this Packers roster is constructed from 1-90, it's tough to find a spot for more than three tight ends on the team.

Last year, Josiah Deguara and Tucker Kraft actually ended up playing the most special teams snaps out of any Packers tight end, but there's going to be someone else leading this position group in that particular category in 2024 since Deguara is no longer on the roster. The favorite right now has to be Ben Sims, who played 94 special teams snaps last season. The Packers also have Tyler Davis on the roster, which leaves 2023 UDFA Joel Wilson likely on the outside looking in.

He's going to need a breakout training camp and preseason in order to stick around.

2. Royce Newman, offensive line

It's hard to remember at this point how many times we've talked about the idea of the Packers moving on from Royce Newman. At some point, it's bound to actually happen, right?

It was clear as of last season that the Packers were getting ready to move on. Newman has gone from starting for the Packers to being a swing backup, and now we've seen him get phased out of even that backup role he previously held. The Packers turned to Sean Rhyan last year when Jon Runyan Jr. couldn't play, our clearest indicator yet that Royce Newman was on the chopping block.

The 2021 fourth-round pick out of Ole Miss is now joined on the offensive line depth chart by a host of new players, including:

• Former first-round pick Andre Dillard (a tackle)
• 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan (who could start at guard)
• 2024 fifth-round pick Jacob Monk
• 2024 sixth-round pick Travis Glover

It's going to be impossible to justify keeping Newman around this season given the way he's played lately when given opportunities and given the Packers' variety of additions along the offensive line. Maybe the Packers are trying to trade him to another team, or maybe they really feel like they can maximize their investment and keep him around for another year.

It's hard to believe they would still be keeping him around at this point, especially given the depth they've assembled all along that offensive line.

3. Greg Joseph, kicker

One of the top training camp battles for the Green Bay Packers in the 2024 offseason is going to be the battle for the kicker job. And this job is mostly going to be about making or missing field goals, but there is undoubtedly an added wrinkle in there with the NFL's new kickoff/kickoff return rules. You've got to start hitting the ball into a specific "landing zone" this season.

It's all fascinating.

But the kicker job right now has three candidates: 2023 draft pick Anders Carlson, the incumbent, along with veteran Greg Joseph and recently cut former Lions kicker James Turner. The Packers have been trying all offseason to find alternatives to compete with Anders Carlson, including the Packers getting into the bidding war for star UFL kicker Jake Bates, who ended up signing with Detroit.

Even as important as this position is -- and we saw it bite the Packers in a big way during last year's playoffs when a missed field goal was likely the reason this team didn't go to the NFC Championship -- it's hard to imagine any NFL team going into training camp with three kickers on a 90-man roster.

That's a bit of overkill.

The Packers are clearly doing more than trying to "push" Anders Carlson right now. They appear to be doing everything they possibly can to replace him. His job security is non-existent at this point. But having three kickers on the practice field probably isn't going to help any of these guys get better. Part of kicking well is getting in a rhythm. The Packers will need to trim this competition down to just two guys sooner than later and because Carlson was a draft pick last year and James Turner was just added, Greg Joseph is the odd man out.

4. Ellis Merriweather, running back

The Green Bay Packers were clearly not pleased with the way things went last season at the running back position as a whole. Of course, injuries are unpredictable in today's NFL (other than just expecting them to happen) but the Packers were forced to use AJ Dillon as the primary back for much of the 2023 season, and as a result, the team had to rely on quarterback Jordan Love to carry the offense a little bit more than they probably expected.

The plan going into the year was undoubtedly to have Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon taking a lot of the pressure off of Love in his first full season as the starter, but Jones was hurt early on and those plans were foiled. Luckily for the Packers, Love's growth and progression happened a lot faster than anyone could have anticipated.

The team went out in the 2024 offseason and made this position a huge priority. They spent big money in free agency on former All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs, once a first-round pick of the Raiders. Jacobs will come in as the expected featured back, but the Packers also spent a third-round pick on former USC star running back MarShawn Lloyd.

And offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich has maintained that Lloyd is going to get a lot of touches this year.

The Packers also found a unique way to bring back AJ Dillon on a rare one-year contract, and the team should still be high on 2023 UDFA Emanuel Wilson, who contributed last season. Thanks to all of that, it's hard to see a place for Ellis Merriweather, especially with the Packers getting 2024 UDFA Jarveon Howard acclimated.

This is now a loaded position for Green Bay and it's tough to find a spot for someone like Merriweather. With two new faces at the top, the Packers might not want to sacrifice a ton of reps here.

5. Samori Toure, wide receiver

One area of this Green Bay Packers roster where we could see some trades happen during or after training camp is at the wide receiver position. Not only have the Packers done a great job of throwing darts at this position in the last handful of years, but they've done a great job of hitting their target.

Even without spending a first-round pick on the wide receiver position, the Packers have a loaded group featuring former second-rounder Christian Watson as the WR1 and former fourth-round pick Romeo Doubs as another go-to threat. Another player who really emerged in 2023 was second-round rookie Jayden Reed, a player who was used in a variety of ways by head coach Matt LaFleur thanks to his playmaking skills.

But the Packers saw the emergence in 2023 of a number of other guys at the position. Rookie fifth-round pick Dontayvion Wicks emerged as a go-to player in a handful of games and has the traits and ability to break out in his second season. Bo Melton, a former Seahawks draft pick with tons of speed, was actually the first Packers receiver this past year to crack 100 yards receiving in a game.

The depth chart is loaded, and there probably isn't space for someone like former seventh-round pick Samori Toure, and he's not alone. Even cracking the Packers' practice squad this year at receiver is going to be tough with so many intriguing players and so much talent. The Packers might be doing right by Toure to let him go before training camp starts and give him a fair shot at landing with another team elsewhere in the NFL.

6. Sean Clifford, quarterback

You're not typically going to see teams carry just two quarterbacks during the offseason when 90-man rosters are allowed, but it wouldn't be shocking if the Packers were so disappointed by the offseason performance of 2023 fifth-round pick Sean Clifford that they decided to move on.

Clifford was throwing interceptions left and right throughout OTAs and minicamp and was getting out-performed by seventh-round rookie Michael Pratt. Is it possible that we could see the Packers opt for a different third quarterback completely to back up Jordan Love?

One possibility that could make some sense is veteran Ryan Tannehill, who didn't cross paths with Matt LaFleur in Tennessee but could come in and raise the floor at the position in case Jordan Love has to miss any time. Because if Clifford's rough performance at OTAs and minicamp showed us or taught us anything, it's that the Packers need to be better prepared in the event that Jordan Love has to miss any extensive time.

Take last year for example. What if Love had to miss a stretch of two or three games while the Packers were clearly contending for a Wild Card spot? It would have been catastrophic to have to turn to Sean Clifford in November or December to start multiple games. The Packers got away with it last year, but 67 quarterbacks started games in the league last year. The odds are, they're going to need the backup to play at least a little bit.

And that can't be Sean Clifford. The Packers need to make some type of move to upgrade their QB2 situation and possibly cut their losses with the former Penn State starter.

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This article was originally published on dairylandexpress.com as 6 Packers Who Could Be Cut Prior to Training Camp.

2024-06-30T12:05:01Z dg43tfdfdgfd