What to know: Packers claim TE Nate Becker & make 3 cuts

NFL rosters have to be trimmed from 90 players to 85 by 3:00 CST on Tuesday, and the Green Bay Packers started that process on Monday.

The first move was reported by Matt Schneidman of The Athletic that the Packers had released edge rusher Randy Ramsey.

Ramsey was a core special teams player in 2020, finishing with the fourth most snaps and tackles on the team that season, according to PFF ($$).

Unfortunately, last summer, an ankle injury sidelined Ramsey for the entire year. Ramsey began this training camp on the PUP list, but even after being activated, he missed a few practices, along with the Packers preseason opener against San Francisco.

The edge rusher battle behind Preston Smith and Rashan Gary remains fairly wide open, with La’Darius Hamilton, Tipa Galeai, Jonathan Garvin, and Kingsley Enagbare all making cases for playing time.

The other two cuts made, and that were announced by the team, were that Green Bay also moved on from cornerback Donte Vaughn, who was signed just before training camp began, and offensive lineman Cole Schneider.

Both were undrafted rookies who had dealt with injuries this summer.

For a brief amount of time, the Packers roster sat at 87 players, and at the time, it meant that two more cuts would be incoming to get to the 85-player maximum by tomorrow’s deadline.

However, it was then reported by Field Yates of ESPN that the Packers had been awarded tight end, Nate Becker, off waivers from Carolina.

What to know about Packers tight end Nate Becker

The 6’5” – 264 pound Becker went undrafted in 2019 out of Miami of Ohio. There he caught 19 passes on 27 targets over his career at 10.9 yards per catch with two touchdowns. During his final season, Becker ranked 48th out of 200 eligible tight ends in PFF’s run-blocking grade.

Most of his offensive snaps came lined up in-line, but he does have slot experience from his college days. Becker was also on the field for 218 special teams snaps as well.

In the NFL, Becker has just 30 career regular season snaps, all of which came in Buffalo in 2020, where he had one target and no receptions.

Becker is now the Packers’ eighth tight end on the roster, which is quite a few. With Robert Tonyan back in the mix and this being a crowded tight end room as it is, one of Green Bay’s remaining cuts could come from this position.

Once these four moves become official, the Packers roster will be at 88 players, meaning three more cuts will follow.