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The Green Bay Packers roster cuts were certainly worth keeping an eye on yesterday afternoon. Their roster heading into the 2022 season is very deep all around, and it resulted in some ferocious training camp battles that came to an end yesterday afternoon.
The Packers 53-man roster is once again being built around Aaron Rodgers under center. Contrary to how it's been the past few seasons, though, there may be more talent on the defensive side of the ball rather than the offensive side of the ball this season. Whether that will change the Packers recent playoff struggles remains to be seen.
Rounding off the edges of the roster was extremely important for Green Bay, and that's why their roster cuts were so important. Now that their 53-man roster is set, let's take a look at the Packers three most shocking roster cuts from yesterday afternoon.
3. Shawn Davis
Shawn Davis entered training camp seeming like a lock for a roster spot. He was one of the team's top backup safeties behind Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage, and seemed ready to make the jump into Green Bay's lineup after playing just nine special teams snaps last season.
Davis ended up playing with the second and third-stringers for most of camp, but still seemed like he had an inside track for a roster spot, even given his somewhat disappointing training camp period. Davis seemed set for snaps that didn't end up coming his way, and it became clear pretty quickly that his seemingly secure roster spot wasn't as secure as it was initially thought to be.
The real surprising part is that Davis got beat out for a roster spot by Tariq Carpenter, who was practically invisible throughout training camp. Carpenter may have more special teams upside than Davis, but other than that there's really no way you can justify Davis' release here. Davis went from a supposed roster lock to a surprise cut in a fairly short time, and he should end up being a prime practice squad candidate for Green Bay.
2. Tyler Goodson
One of the more surprising decisions around the league involved Green Bay entering the 2022 season with just two healthy running backs on their roster in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. Jones and Dillon will end up getting virtually all of the carries out of the Packers backfield this season, assuming they stay healthy. The problem is if they don't stay healthy, Green Bay has little to no protection for them on their roster.
That's the main reason why the Packers decision to cut Tyler Goodson doesn't make much sense. Goodson was one of the standout performers for Green Bay throughout training camp, and seemed to be making a push for the third running back spot behind Jones and Dillon.
Surprisingly enough, Goodson ended up being one of the Packers first releases of the day. They also cut Patrick Taylor as well, but that wasn't nearly as surprising considering how good Goodson was throughout camp. Goodson is a strong practice squad candidate, but it was pretty shocking to see him be among the Packers roster cuts after how well he played during preseason action and training camp.
1. Juwann Winfree
Juwann Winfree seemed set to parlay a strong training camp period into a roster spot. The Packers need all the help they can get at wide receiver, and after spending the past two seasons with Green Bay, it seemed like Winfree was ready to take the next step forward and earn a spot on the Packers roster.
It was hard to miss Winfree's improvements throughout camp, and he seemed like a safe bet for a roster spot. He was running alongside Rodgers and the first team offense at times against the top defenders the team had to offer, and was making his mark against them. Even Rodgers gave Winfree a vote of confidence, but it proved to make no difference with the Packers coaching staff.
As mentioned, the Packers are looking for all the wide receiver help they can get after losing Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason. Any help they could get at the position would be a positive for Green Bay, but instead, they decided to throw away a talented young player in Winfree rather than hold onto him and see if he can make plays in regular season games.
Winfree will likely head back to Green Bay's practice squad yet again, which is where he's spent most of the past two seasons. He could get called up off the practice squad at some point during the regular season, but it doesn't seem likely since they ended up cutting him. The Packers roster cuts were confusing in some cases, but it's clear that Winfree's release was the most shocking of them all.
