Packers sign Micah Abernathy to practice squad and cut Rico Gafford

Safety Micah Abernathy made the Green Bay Packers’ initial 53-man roster, but just one day later, he was cut in order to make room for Rudy Ford, a special teams player who had just been signed.

As Aberthany would say on Twitter, “it’s a dirty game.”

After being cut, Abernathy would then hit the waiver wire where he would go unclaimed, which allowed him to make his way back to the Green Bay Packers practice squad, which was the hope all along, as Brian Gutekunst told reporters on Wednesday.

Abernathy, who has no regular-season experience and most recently was in the USFL, was signed by the Packers once training camp had already started when they found themselves very thin at the safety position. But from that first preseason game, Abernathy impressed.

He would post an elite RAS of 9.38 coming out of Tennessee, and that athleticism, particularly his explosiveness, is evident when he’s on the football field.

In three preseason games, Abernathy recorded nine tackles and was credited with missing only one, according to PFF ($$). He allowed just two receptions on five targets for negative-three yards, which included him blowing up a screen play in the backfield.

We also saw Abernathy come away with an interception against New Orleans while nearly having another in Kansas City. In addition to his defensive contributions, Abernathy finished fourth on the team in special teams snaps this summer, playing on four of the five different phases.

Currently, the Packers have five safeties on their game-day roster, which is made up of Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage, who will see the bulk of the defensive snaps, while Dallin Leavitt, Rudy Ford, and Tariq Carpenter will likely be primary special teams players.

As we’ve seen in previous years, Gutekunst will frequently churn the bottom of the Packers roster, which at some point could lead to an opportunity for Abernathy to make his way back on to the 53-man.

In addition to signing Abernathy, the Packers also cut cornerback Rico Gafford. Gafford routinely worked with the second-team defense this summer and played on multiple phases within the special teams unit.

The Packers practice squad remains at 15 players, potentially leaving an opening for kick Ramiz Ahmed, who provided needed stability while Mason Crosby was on the PUP list.

Here is a look at which players make up the Green Bay Packers 2022 practice squad as currently constructed:

Benjie Franklin, CB

Kiondre Thomas, CB

Jack Heflin, IDL

Chris Slayton, IDL

La’Darius Hamilton, Edge

Kobe Jones, Edge

Ray Wilborn, LB

Danny Etling, QB

Tyler Goodson, RB

Patrick Taylor, RB

Micah Abernathy, S

Caleb Jones, OT

Shaun Beyer, TE

Travis Fulgham, WR

Juwann Winfree, WR