Green Bay Packers: 5 underdogs who could make final roster
By Joe Kipp
3. Greer Martini, Inside Linebacker
Jake Ryan’s season-ending ACL tear makes this selection even more obvious, although the Packers didn’t have much depth at inside linebacker to begin with. Green Bay placed Ryan on injured reserve earlier this week, effectively opening another roster spot.
This bodes well for Greer Martini, an undrafted rookie out of Notre Dame, who’s been getting considerable reps with the first-team on special teams. In fact, Martini was even seeing snaps on the first-team defense, perhaps as an attempt for the coaching staff to see his capabilities when performing against the first-team offense.
Martini isn’t the most-athletic linebacker, but he still showed plenty of promise during his time at Notre Dame. As a captain last season, he racked up 75 tackles, two forced fumbles and an interception in 12 games. At his Pro Day, he recorded a 4.81 forty-yard dash, 33-inch vertical leap and a 6.90-second three-cone-drill.
If Martini can prove his worth on special teams and add in a couple eye-opening performances at linebacker in the preseason, then he may just may book a spot on the final 53-man roster. However, when considering his athletic limitations and lack of experience, the coaching staff may turn the other way when final cuts occur.