2012 Green Bay Packers Trim Roster From 90 to 75

The NFL increased the off-season roster size from 80 players to 90 players this season.  That allowed each team to carry 10 more practice players, which was very beneficial for the Green Bay Packers considering how many players were injured throughout training camp.

Ultimately each NFL team needs to winnow their roster down to no more than 53 players by 8 pm CST on Friday, August 31, 2012.  The incremental step was to reduce that number to 75 players by 3 pm CST on Monday, August 27, 2012.

The Packers got an early start last week when general manager Ted Thompson released five players: Andrew Brewer (WR), Anthony Hargrove (DE), Micah Pellerin (S), Herb Taylor (T), and Dion Turner (CB).

Today Thompson cleared 10 more roster spots when he placed 6 players on injured reserve (IR), 2 players on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, and cut 2 players.  Here is the breakdown of the moves by Thompson:
- Placed on IR: Du’ane Bennett (RB), Desmond Bishop (MLB), DeMarco Cosby (TE), Ray Dominguez (G), Johnny Jones (DE), and Shaky Smithson (WR)
- Placed on PUP: Andrew Quarless (TE) and LB Frank Zombo (OLB)
- Cut: Jon Hoese (FB) and Jarius Wynn (DE)

The biggest name involved is obviously Desmond Bishop.  Although all indications were that Bishop was done for the year a few weeks ago, confirmation came today that the Packers will be without their best middle linebacker for the 2012 season.

By placing Quarless and Zombo on the physically unable to perform list, both players will not be able to practice or play until Week 7 when the Packers have to add them to their active roster, place them on injured reserve, or cut them.

The biggest names cut were Anthony Hargrove and Jarius Wynn.  Hargrove is a big name solely because of his involvement in the Saints' Boutygate Scandal.  It makes no sense to me that the Packers kept Hargrove around this long only to cut him, especially because they could have kept Hargrove throughout his eight game suspension without having to reserve a roster spot for him.

Following Wynn's lackluster training camp, the Packers decided to push forward with some rookies (Jerel Worthy and Mike Daniels) and free agents signed in the off-season (Daniel Muir and Philip Merling) along the defensive line instead of Wynn.

For at least 22 players (may be 23 or 24 if Thompson wants to leave some roster spots open to claim players cut by other teams) on the current roster, they can breathe a brief sigh of relief because they will still be around till rosters are trimmed from 75 players to 53 players at 8 pm CST on Friday, August 31, 2012.

Check back for my final recommendations on what Thompson should do with the roster on Wednesday, my quick thoughts on the Packers' final preseason game against the Chiefs on Thursday where I might second guess a few of my final roster decisions, and my quick thoughts on the roster cut-downs on Friday.