More cuts incoming for Packers, who and what to watch for

Last Tuesday, the Green Bay Packers, along with the rest of the NFL, had to trim their rosters from 90 players down to 85. Now, this coming Tuesday, rosters have to be at 80 players by 3:00 CST.

In order to get to the 85-player maximum last week, the Packers actually made seven total cuts because they also had two additions–safety De’Vante Cross and tight end Nate Becker.

The players that were released were Randy Ramsey, Donte Vaughn, Cole Schneider, Dominique Dafney, BJ Baylor, George Moore, and Ellis Brooks.

Similar to last Tuesday, the Packers could end up cutting more than five players because of addition, specifically at the safety position.

As of now, Darnell Savage, Vernon Scott, Dallin Leavitt, Innis Gaines, and Tariq Carpenter are all sidelined with injuries. The only healthy players remaining at that position are Adrian Amos — who won’t play in the final preseason game — Micah Abernathy, Shawn Davis, and De’Vante Cross.

As far as who the Packers could move on from this time around, well, that’s always the big question.

A few potential tell-tale signs of an incoming cut could be a fringe roster player who is battling an injury. The interior defensive line room has proven to be quite deep for this Packers team, so that could make parting with UDFA Akial Byers a possibility, as he was inactive against New Orleans.

A second potential sign of an incoming cut is playing time. Against the Saints, Michal Menet and Tyler Clary each played just six snaps.

The Packers have four centers listed on their roster, and that doesn’t include Zach Tom or Elgton Jenkins, both of whom could play there if needed. With Menet and Clary not seeing much of the field, this could make either — or both — expendable.

Sal Cannella at tight end falls into this category as well. He played just five total snaps against New Orleans, the fewest on the offensive side of the ball, and even seeing fewer reps than tight end Nate Becker and wide receiver Travis Fulgham, both of whom were signed just days before the game.

The receiver position could quickly become a crowded room for the Packers if Christian Watson and Danny Davis are able to return to practice this week and participate in Thursday’s game.

Even with Sammy Watkins, Allen Lazard, and Randall Cobb sitting out, that would leave the Packers with eight available receivers. The recently signed Fulgham would be the most likely cut candidate from this position group.

Another factor to consider is special teams, which plays an important role in these decisions as well. If a player isn’t popping on the offensive or defensive sides of the ball, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to be cut. Just about all of these back-end of the roster openings will be determined by special teams contributions.

Lastly, and as I mentioned last week when trying to figure out who could be cut, we have to consider whether the position group can handle losing a player or two.

A prime example of this right now is at cornerback. Without Eric Stokes, Jaire Alexander, and Rasul Douglas playing in the preseason, that leaves the Packers with only five active cornerbacks on game day.

The deadline for these cuts to be made is Tuesday afternoon, but they could realistically begin happening at any time. While the items discussed above can provide us with some direction when trying to gauge who might be cut, we always have to leave room for surprises.