After years of underperforming, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley turned the Green Bay Packers' defense around. However, despite their improvement, their cornerback room still left plenty to be desired.
The Packers took big steps to fix that issue this offseason. Letting Nate Hobbs go and signing Benjamin St-Juste were solid moves, and they doubled down on that by drafting South Carolina star Brandon Cisse.
Notably, that also leaves a big writing on the wall. The fact that they added two new guys to the mix all but proves that they don't trust Carrington Valentine to hold down the fort opposite Keisean Nixon. With that in mind, Moe Moton of Bleacher Report believes he's a likely cut candidate.
Carrington Valentine might not make the Packers' 53-man roster
"Under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, rookie second-rounder Brandon Cisse, sixth-year veteran Benjamin St-Juste and rookie sixth-rounder Domani Jackson could compete for snaps on the boundary of the secondary, leading to questions about Valentine's short-term future," Moton wrote.
According to Over The Cap, the Packers would save $3.674 million by parting ways with Valentine. That may not look like much at first glance, but they only have $17.6 million in available cap space, so every penny counts here.
Moreover, this might go way beyond the finances. Valentine failed to impress in an expanded role last season; he was the team's most glaring weakness in the secondary, allowing nearly 500 receiving yards and a whopping 7 touchdowns. Opposing quarterbacks had a 121.2 passer rating with him, and his tendency to miss tackles or fail to finish plays was infuriating at times.
Of course, the Packers can't just cut ties with him until they truly know what they have in their hands with the newcomers. Cisse is an impressive athlete and evidently talented, but he's a bit raw, and the Packers usually err on the side of caution with their young players. Also, St-Juste is criminally underrated, but they have to see how he adapts to a new system.
However, with all that competition, it looks like Valentine is just a miscue away from not even making the 53-man roster. He'll essentially be fighting for his life during training camp, and even if he manages to stick around for a little longer, this will be the final year of his rookie contract, and he'll have to do plenty of heavy lifting for the Packers to even consider making him an offer.
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