Instant takeaways from the Packers initial 53-man roster

After a busy day, the Green Bay Packers initial 53-man roster is set—at least for the time being.

Here are my instant takeaways in regards to the moves made and how the Packers constructed their roster.

-Perhaps the biggest surprise was the Packers keeping Jonathan Ford over Jack Heflin or Chris Slayton. Ford had the much quieter summer–although, to a degree, that’s the nature of the position that he plays. Ford had two pressures, and only four special teams snaps all preseason. For what it’s worth, he was also one of PFF’s lowest-graded Packers defenders. Last season, Heflin barely saw playing time as the 6th IDL. Does Ford’s season play out the same way?

– Given all of the praise that Aaron Rodgers heaped on Juwann Winfree this summer, he felt close to a roster lock. However, he never truly stood out in any one game or on special teams.

– Ultimatley, the Packers went with Samori Toure’s upside, which is what teams should do when it comes to those final roster spots. He really flashed in that final preseason game — both in reliability and in making plays downfield — as well as in the last joint practice against New Orleans–not to mention that Toure could help out on special teams right away.

– The safety position is a bit thin on experience and one that I would expect the Packers to look into outside of the organization. There were several veteran safeties released on Tuesday. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Green Bay explore the edge rusher market, either.

– Credit to Micah Abernathy, however, who made the most of his opportunities this summer. He was a very sound tackler, came away with an interception and neither another in Kansas City, and he brings a ton of athleticism to the safety position as well as special teams.

– Despite the ups and downs from Jack Coco early on in training camp, he did earn that roster spot with his consistency throughout the preseason, specifically on punts, which he didn’t do during his time at Georgia Tech. With that said, Cincinnati did release Cal Adomitis, who was widely considered the best long-snapper in the 2022 draft class. Will the Packers put in a waiver claim?

– The Packers are going with only five cornerbacks. We kept waiting for either Rico Gafford or Kiondre Thomas to truly pop on special teams, but those moments never consistently came. I imagine they will try to get one, if not both, back on the practice squad and may use game-day elevations to add extra depth at the position.

– I wouldn’t call the Packers releasing Tyler Goodson a surprise. Pass protection and special teams were going to decide the final running back role, as Matt LaFleur frequently told us, and Goodson had issues in both areas.

– Patrick Taylor, meanwhile, likely didn’t pop enough on offense — or perhaps special teams for that matter — although I do still believe he was more reliable on special teams and in pass protection. The Packers will now have to rely on practice squad call-ups each week to add running back depth until Kylin Hill returns.

– Players who were cut can now be claimed and added to the 53-man rosters of other teams, but it’s important to keep in mind that out of the 850-ish cuts made a year ago, only 27 players went claimed.

– With the Packers releasing Ramiz Ahmed, that tells us that Mason Crosby will be coming off the PUP list and should be ready to go for Week 1. While Ahmed has been consistent since joining the Packers, there comes are a lot of unknowns that come with trusting an inexperienced kicker–which is why as long as Crosby is healthy, this is his job. He will need to improve from last season, but a number of those misses fell on the field goal unit’s operation.

– It was very difficult to gauge where the battle for that fifth edge rusher role stood. Tipa Galeai, La’Darius Hamilton, and Kobe Jones all had their moments, but all battled ups and downs as well. Ultimately, it shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise that Galeai got that final spot. He was on the “starting” defense during the first two preseason games, he has the most experience among the three, and he was a starter on multiple special teams units.

– Keeping both Rasheed Walker and Caleb Jones was going to be a tall task as rostering 11 offensive linemen really takes away from another position. Both players really impressed — with Jones even working his way up to the second unit — but at the end of the day, Walker’s technique appeared to be much more refined, which potentially makes him someone who can contribute sooner. Walker allowed no pressures in that final preseason game, per PFF ($$).

– I did think Ray Wilborn had a shot at the final roster given his special teams upside; however, Tariq Carpenter can fill a similar role — on both defense and special teams — and comes with more potential.