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Things look solid for the Green Bay Packers’ coaching staff. And the team could be better off after releasing a former Pro Bowler. Also, here is one perfect move the Packers need to make to fill out their roster before the team’s 2025 training camp.
The Packers will begin their training camp on July 18 with the rookies reporting to Lambeau Field. Veterans are scheduled to come in on July 22.
With the departure of Jaire Alexander from the cornerback position, that is an area the Packers need to target with a summer addition.
Packers should sign CB Asante Samuel Jr.
First, let’s get to the meat of this situation. Samuel underwent neck surgery in April. He’s due for a check-up in early July. If that goes well, he will likely find a home. If it doesn’t, the Packers might want to look elsewhere.
The thing about Green Bay is that this could be a Super Bowl season. The Packers don’t want to get clipped because they let one position group get too vulnerable. Yes, it’s understandable that the team felt it could not rely on Alexander to get on the field. But they have to replace him other than what they have in-house.
Green Bay didn’t pick a cornerback in the draft until round No. 7. And that pick, Micah Robinson, can’t be counted on to step in and play a ton of snaps.
The current starters are Carrington Valentine and Keisean Nixon. Kamal Hadden and Robinson stand on the second team right now. So this situation is seriously important.
There’s no doubt a healthy Samuel could help the Packers or other teams, according to a post on X by Jeremy Fowler.
Asante Samuel Jr., one of the top free agent corners in this year’s class, is waiting to sign with a new team after undergoing neck surgery in April, per sources.
Samuel, who visited the Saints today, has a check-up in early July, after which he will reconvene with several interested teams.
(He) plans to return to the field for the 2025 season.
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Samuel played only four games in 2024 due to what he called a stinger in both shoulders. He admitted it’s a condition he has been dealing with since birth. So maybe the surgery will put him in a place to be even better than he showed while starting 43 games over three years for the Chargers from 2021-23.
Packers have a glaring need in the secondary
The Packers’ need at cornerback is obvious. They have even toyed with the idea of playing receiver Bo Melton at the position, according to jsonline.com.
“It's more playing special teams, more so than maybe something on that we saw from the offensive side of the ball,” coach Matt LaFleur said about trying Melton at cornerback. “It's just you don't have too many wideouts in this league that are as as effective as he is on (special) teams.
“He's a real talented player, and has produced. And I just love everything about the guy, how he shows up every day, ready to compete and give his best effort. Matter of fact, I showed some clips of him in the team meeting this morning, just of what he does. And you can always expect a lot of great things when he's whatever it is he's doing.”
It’s kind of a fluky look right now. It’s hard to imagine this being a solution for the Packers’ cornerback situation.
“I don't know (if) we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” LaFleur said. “I mean, I think it's just kind of like pretty fluid. (And) I presented it to him. And I know, obviously, there's a lot of attention with (Travis) Hunter down there in Jacksonville, what he's doing, and so we just kind of presented it to him, and he said he was up for the challenge.”
Still, there just isn’t a lot of experience on the roster, outside on Nixon, Hobbs, and Valentine.
“It’s football, right?” LaFleur said of not having Alexander. “There's things that happen, and you've got to be able to pivot and adjust. And, you know, maybe whether it's game-plan-wise or just guys going in there and picking up kind of where the other guy left off, that's just the nature of the beast.”
