Packers with open roster spot after cutting Dafney and 3 others

Following three cuts on Monday – plus an addition – and four more cuts on Tuesday, the Green Bay Packers now have a roster spot opening.

What to know about the Packers latest roster moves

NFL rosters needed to be trimmed from 90 players to 85 by Tuesday afternoon. The Packers entered the day with 88 players but now sit at 84 after reportedly releasing tight end Dominique Dafney, running back BJ Baylor, offensive lineman George Moore, and linebacker Ellis Brooks.

The move to release Dafney obviously comes as the biggest surprise. He missed the Packers’ preseason game against San Francisco but had an impressive performance during the Family Night practice.

Ultimately, making the 53-man roster was going to be challenging for Dafney, which in all likelihood, is probably one of the reasons why he was cut.

His skill-set is similar to that of Josiah Deguara’s, who we know was going to be on this roster, along with Robert Tonyan, who just returned to practice, and Marcedes Lewis. Outside of those three, there is little playing time on offense to go around.

Tyler Davis has had an unspectacular but solid training camp, although he is coming off a rough performance against the 49ers, both as a pass catcher and a blocker. However, his primary role will be on special teams, where he has caught Rich Bisaccia’s attention.

With that said, given the added emphasis on special teams this season, I still thought there was a path for Dafney to make the initial roster as a fifth tight end if he could stand out in that role.

Meanwhile, Baylor has seen his share of snaps during Family Night and in the preseason game, but the third running back role belongs to Kylin Hill once healthy, while Tyler Goodson and Patrick Taylor battle for that job in the meantime. The Packers also just recently signed Dexter Williams.

Similarly, Brooks was in a crowded linebacker room where three of the roster spots were accounted for before camp even began, while Isaiah McDuffie appears to be running away with the fourth spot, as he plays much fast on defense and is a part of several starting special teams units. Green Bay also has Ray Wilborn and Ty Summers at linebacker as well.

Lastly, Moore was an undrafted rookie who didn’t see the field, despite being healthy, against the Niners.

Once all is said and done, the Packers are left with 84 players, one below the 85-player maximum, which leads one to believe that an addition may be incoming.

As far as which position the Packers could address, I’m sure in the end that Brian Gutekunst will surprise us as he often does, but a few that come to mind include long-snapper and added competition for Jack Coco. As well as edge rusher, where three roster spots are still up for grabs, along with safety, where Dallin Leavitt is expected to miss some time.

According to Over the Cap, the Packers have $16.03 million in available salary cap space at the moment.