Green Bay Packers: 7 Big Takeaways from 53-Man Roster

The Green Bay Packers’ initial 53-man roster is set, and here are seven big takeaways from what took place on Saturday.

On Saturday, the Green Bay Packers, along with the rest of the NFL, had to make some difficult decisions as teams trimmed their rosters from 80 players down to 53. While I wouldn’t say there were any huge surprises, I mean, it’s not as if a Josh Sitton level player was cut, there certainly were a handful of moves that stood out.

So after having a day to digest what took place, here are my seven big takeaways from cut down day.

Malik Taylor over Kumerow, Shepherd, and Begelton

I’m sure that most will agree that this was the most surprising move that took place. Coming into training camp, there were very few – if any – that mentioned Taylor as someone who could make the final 53-man roster. Even as the beat writers put out their final roster predictions, I didn’t see any that had Taylor making it.

However, while his camp was quiet, it was solid. Being on the practice squad in 2019 gave Taylor that time to get a better understanding of the offense, and it clearly showed over the last few weeks of practice. A common word used this offseason by Matt LaFleur, and Brian Gutekunst was “consistency,” and Taylor has clearly shown that.

Cutting Kumerow shouldn’t come as a shock

Speaking of Jake Kumerow, he was cut, but this shouldn’t come as a shock. While he’s flashed some big-play ability and Aaron Rodgers often speaks highly of him, he was also the oldest receiver on the roster who had reached his ceiling. When filling out the back-end of the roster, teams should always choose upside over a known player who, in all honesty, hasn’t done much in his career.

Green Bay Packers cut Alex Light

While I wouldn’t say I was shocked that the Packers cut Alex Light, it did catch me off guard. He certainly took his lumps when called upon last season, but this is a Green Bay team with very little experience on the roster at the tackle position. Now, after David Bakhtiari and Rick Wagner, the only true tackle the Packers have on the roster is Yosh Nijman, who has no NFL experience.

The Green Bay Packers should still sign Jared Veldheer

As I just mentioned, the depth at the tackle position is very worrisome and Jared Veldheer is still an unsigned free agent. He knows this Matt LaFleur offense, he filled in very well for Bryan Bulaga last season against Detroit and Seattle, and while the Packers are tight on cap space, he isn’t going to break the bank. Pick up the phone Gutey.

No Tim Williams or Tipa Galeai

We knew The Smiths and Rashan Gary were going to make the roster, and we also knew that Jonathan Garvin was as well, given Mike Pettine’s comments recently. However, Andy Herman of Packer Report said it best:

"“I’m not shocked they cut T. Williams, and I’m not shocked they cut Tipa, but I am fairly shocked they cut both.”"

Both Williams and Galeai are coming off very good camps, and now hopefully, each can make it back to the practice squad.

The roster is going to change quite a bit and quickly

While the initial 53-man roster is set, several moves are going to take place and very quickly. The Green Bay Packers have to sign 16 players to the practice squad, and they’ll have to do some roster maneuvering with injuries as well.

Once again as Andy Herman pointed out, Kabion Ento, Kamal Martin, Billy Turner, Montravius Adams, Raven Greene, and Randy Ramsey all have varying degrees of injuries, and depending on the severity, several could be placed on IR and then likely replaced with players who the Packers just cut.

No UDFA made the initial roster

Typically we see at least one undrafted free agent make the Green Bay Packers initial 53-man roster, but not this year. And that’s understandable. In what has been an unusual offseason with no OTAs, mini-camps, or preseason games, an already difficult task for UDFAs became even more challenging with less practice time to prove themselves.