Packers Cut Heflin & Yiadom to Make Room for Smith & Mercilus

The Green Bay Packers entered Friday with a full roster of 53 players–meaning if any players were to be activated off IR, you know who I’m talking about, some cuts would have to follow as corresponding moves.

Well, that’s exactly what happened. After both Za’Darius Smith and Whitney Mercilus returned to practice just a little over a week ago, both have been activated from IR, added to the 53-man roster, and will be available for tomorrow.

Led by Preston Smith and Rashan Gary, the Green Bay Packers have been one of the most productive teams in the NFL this season in terms of generating pressure on the quarterback. Gary ranked second among all edge rushers in total pressures, while Smith ranked tied for 10th.

However, as good as those two have been, the overall depth of the edge rusher position was a real concern. Jonathan Garvin and Tipa Galeai both possess upside, but as a former seventh-round pick and UDFA only in their second NFL seasons, there was also a noticeable lack of pressure when Smith and Gary were on the sidelines.

Packer Report’s Andy Herman grades every play of every Green Bay Packers player over the course of the season, and through Week 17, he had Garvin as his lowest graded defender and Galeai as his fifth-lowest. Both also had issues against the run as well.

So to state the obvious, the additions of Z. Smith and Mercilus are going to be significant upgrades. Smith has totaled 164 pressures and 32 sacks the last two seasons along with being named a second-team All-Pro in 2020. Meanwhile, since joining the Packers, Mercilus posted 10 pressures, a sack, and ranked 32nd out of 105 edge rushers in PFF’s pass-rush productivity metric from Weeks 7-9.

Given the level of play from P. Smith and Gary this season, along with the fact that both have played the entire season, in terms of snap counts, I still expect them to be the top-2 edge rushers on Saturday. With Z. Smith and Mercilus working their way back from injuries, my guess is that they will be in rotational roles, playing 20 to 30 snaps each over the course of the game. With that said, I certainly expect to see the Smith Bros and Gary on the field together at times as well.

To make room on the roster for Z. Smith and Mercilus, the Green Bay Packers had to cut two players. Those players ended up being Isaac Yiadom and Jack Heflin.

Yiadom saw the field on just 96 defensive snaps this season and allowed five catches on six targets for 99 yards, along with a passer rating of 118.8 per PFF. He was a core special teams player for much of this season, but with the emergence of Juwann Winfree as a gunner, Yiadom’s role again was reduced.

I also have to think that Yiadom’s release means that Jaire Alexander could see some snaps on Saturday–he is currently listed as questionable.

Heflin was a training camp standout and put on a show during the preseason, but as a rookie UDFA, he saw just 17 snaps during the regular season. Over the last three weeks, Kenny Clark and Dean Lowry have been Green Bay’s primary interior defenders, with TJ Slaton, Tyler Lancaster, and Abdullah Anderson each playing between 10 and 25 snaps per game in rotational roles–I would anticipate similar usage in the playoffs.

Throughout the season, the Green Bay Packers have done an excellent job of navigating injuries, but now a number of those players have returned at just the right time. With the additions of Z. Smtih and Mercilus, a premier position gets a serious boost.