Packers release LB Tariq Carpenter to make room for wavier claims

The Green Bay Packers were awarded tight end Ben Sims and safety Zayne Anderson off waivers on Wednesday, which means in order to make space on the roster for them, two corresponding cuts have to be made.

One of those roster cuts will come from the Packers moving on from second-year linebacker Tariq Carpenter, as first reported by ESPN’s Rob Demovsky and then confirmed by GM Brian Gutekunst.

Carpenter was a core special teams player during the second half of last season. Despite ranking 14th on the team in total snaps, Carpenter had the third-most special teams tackles.

This offseason he underwent a position change, moving from safety to linebacker, and it very much came with a learning curve for Carpenter. During the final two preseason games, Carpenter was out snapped on defense by undrafted rookie Jimmy Phillips, making him the sixth defensive option at the position. It was for this primary reason that I left Carpenter off my final 53-man roster prediction.

While Carpenter’s role this season was always going to come primarily on special teams, his play on defense this summer did make him more expendable, not to mention that this is a roster that has a number of other special teams contributors, including within his own position group on Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson. And, for what it’s worth, he had the fifth-lowest special teams grade from PFF on the roster this preseason.

Carpenter would be a prime candidate to be brought back on the practice squad, however, where he can continue to develop as a linebacker. The Packers are now left with four linebackers on the 53-man roster, which includes De’Vondre Campbell, Quay Walker, McDuffie, and Wilson.

In addition to moving on from Carpenter, the Packers have one more cut that has to follow in order to fit both Sims and Anderson on their regular season roster.