Packers place Tarvarius Moore and Tariq Carpenter on non-football injury list
By Paul Bretl
With veterans reporting for training camp on Tuesday, the Green Bay Packers placed safety Tarvarius Moore and linebacker Tariq Carpenter on the non-football injury list (NFI).
Those placed on the NFI list suffered an injury away from football. These players can be activated at any time prior to the 53-man rosters being set. However, if they begin the regular season on the NFI list, they must miss at least the first four games. Players on the NFI list still count towards the 90-man roster.
Carpenter is making the transition to linebacker this season after being at safety as a rookie. With De’Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker as the starters, along with Isaiah McDuffie seemingly well cemented into that third linebacker role, Carpenter’s path to the final roster is again going to have to come through special teams. Although Carpenter would rank 14th on the team in total special teams snaps in 2022, he had the third most tackles, per PFF.
With McDuffie and Eric Wilson also being some of Green Bay’s more productive special teams players, it is quite possible that the team goes heavy at linebacker this season, keeping five on the roster.
While special teams play may be Carpenter’s calling card right now, it’s important that he carves out a specific role on defense this summer. Safety coach Ryan Downard talked about Carpenter’s versatility earlier this offseason, as he’s able to play safety, linebacker, help against the run or pass, and even be a pass rusher, but for a young player, becoming really good in one area is the first step before more can be added to their plate.
Moore, meanwhile, is a part of the wide-open battle at the safety position. He hasn’t seen significant defensive snaps since 2020, where he was a willing run defender–an important aspect of playing safety in Joe Barry’s defense. He would then miss all of 2021 with an Achilles injury and was a primary special teams player for San Francisco in 2022, but during OTAs, Moore saw some snaps with the defensive starters.
In fact, if I were building out the safety depth chart following offseason programs, I would guess that Moore was the third option behind Darnell Savage and Rudy Ford. With both playing time and roster spots up for grabs at safety, it’s going to be important that Moore doesn’t miss much time and fall behind in the competition.
"“You’d like to see two of the guys separate themselves,” said Matt LaFleur on Tuesday, “so it’s clear cut. There’s great competition at that position. We feel like we’ve got a lot of capable guys, but ultimately they have to go out there and perform.”"