Though the Green Bay Packers are mostly hoping a certain quarterback shows up at training camp, who could be cut from the roster after camp?
Along with 28 other teams around the NFL, the Green Bay Packers are set to begin 2021 training camp on July 27. Of course, the biggest storyline that fans are following is what’s next with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Will he report to camp and, if so, when? Or will he instead be traded or posture himself to miss games in the regular season?
But while the quarterback is at the heart of what could happen at Packers training camp, there are 52 other roster spots that are on the line as well. Through camp practices and the three preseason games, a switch from the four in previous years as the league switches to a 17-game regular-season schedule, players will be fighting for a roster spot.
Specifically, there are five players who are very much on the roster bubble entering training camp and will be clawing tooth and nail to secure their place on the team for the 2021 NFL season as their position is anything but certain and their cap savings could help sign available free agents or cast-offs from other roster cuts. Note: All salary cap information is via Over the Cap.
Green Bay Packers roster cut candidate No. 5: Dexter Williams, RB
Considering that the Packers kept Aaron Jones in free agency but lost Jamaal Williams, you might figure there is an opportunity for 2019 sixth-round pick Dexter Williams to carve out a role behind Jones and AJ Dillon in the backfield. And yes, the opportunity is there. But it does feel like lit will be an uphill climb for the former Notre Dame back to find his way onto the 53-man roster.
For starters, Williams has not been a big factor in the Green Bay offense over his first two seasons in the league. Again, part of that has been because of the guys in front of him but, even in the midst of injuries, he’s still failed to establish his spot. Williams has just seven total carries over the past two seasons and he played only seven snaps all of the 2020 season.
But the biggest hindrance to Williams making the roster could be incoming rookie Kylin Hill. Though he was only a seventh-round pick by the Packers, Hill has some explosive physical tools but got lost in the shuffle amid a coaching change at Mississippi State in his final college season. He has the requisite versatility and tools to be a higher-upside option than Williams behind Jones and Dillon, which would likely push the third-year player on the wrong side of the chopping block.