Friday, August 31, 2012

2012 Green Bay Packers Initial 53-Man Roster

Green Bay Packer general manager Ted Thompson trimmed the active roster from 90 players to 75 players on Monday, August 27, 2012.  Just four days later, Thompson trimmed the active roster to 53 players by placing Derek Sherrod (T) on the PUP list, placing Vic So'oto on injured reserve, and releasing 18 players* by Friday, August 31, 2012 at 8 pm CST.  Much like I did last year, here is a look at the initial 53-man roster for the 2012 Green Bay Packers:

QBs (2): Graham Harrell and Aaron Rodgers

RBs (5): Cedric Benson, Alex Green, John Kuhn, Brandon Saine, and James Starks

WRs (6): Jarrett Boykin, Randall Cobb, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones, and Jordy Nelso

TEs (4): Tom Crabtree, Jermichael Finley, Ryan Taylor, and D.J. Williams

OLs (7): Don Barclay, Bryan Bulaga, Evan Dietrich-Smith, T.J. Lang, Marshall Newhouse, Jeff Saturday, and Josh Sitton

DLs (6): Mike Daniels, Phillip Merling, B.J. Raji, Ryan Pickett, C.J. Wilson, and Jerel Worthy

LBs (9): Robert Francois, Brad Jones, A.J. Hawk, Jamari Lattimore, Terrell Manning, Clay Matthews, Dezman Moses, Nick Perry, and D.J. Smith

DBs (11): Morgan Burnett, Jarrett Bush, Casey Hayward, Davon House, M.D. Jennings, Jerron McMillian, Sean Richardson, Brandian Ross, Sam Shields, Tramon Williams, and Charles Woodson

STs (3)
: Mason Crosby, Brett Goode, and Tim Masthay

Besides the initial 53-man roster, the Packers have a number of other players still affiliated with the organization even before they sign eight players to their practice squad.  Here is a breakdown of those players:

Injured Reserve (6): Du'ane Bennett (RB), Desmond Bishop (MLB), Johnny Jones (DE), Eric Lair (TE), Mike McCabe (T), and Vic So'oto (OLB).  Look for Bishop and So'oto to stay with the team while the Packers attempt sign the rest to injury settlements.

PUP (4): Jaymes Brooks (G), Andrew Quarless (TE), Derek Sherrod (T), and Frank Zombo (OLB). After the Packers finish their 6th game of the season on Sunday Night Football on the road against the Houston Texans, they have three weeks to let Brooks, Quarless, Sherrod, and Zombo to start practicing.  From the first day one of those guys start practicing, the Packers have three weeks to add them to the active roster (in place of someone on the 53-man roster), cut them, or place them on injured reserve.

Reserve/Suspended (3): Erik Walden (1 game, OLB), Mike Neal (4 games, DE), and Johnny Jolly (indefinitely, DE).  Walden will be put on the active roster for Week 2 but the same cannot be said for Neal.  The Packer might actually cut Neal by mid-season, which is a mighty fall from grace since Neal was supposed to be Cullen Jenkins 2.0.

Here are a few things that stood out to me about the roster moves:

- The last three guys cut were probably: Tori Gurley (WR), Daniel Muir (DT), and Reggie Wells (G/T).

- The last three guys kept were probably: Jarrett Boykins (WR), Brandian Ross (CB), and Sean Richardson (S).

- For the second year in a row the Packers kept 24 offensive players, 26 defensive players, and 3 special teams players.

- Of the 53 players kept on the initial roster in 2011, only 37 of them are on the current 53-man roster: 18 offensive players, 16 defensive players, and 3 special teams players.  That means 18 of 24 offensive players returned while only 16 of 26 defensive players returned.  That makes sense that not as many defenders were retained since the defense struggled so much in 2011.

- Aaron Rodgers will have 10 weapons (6 WRs and 4 TEs) to throw the ball to but only 7 guys to potentially block for him. Look for the Packers to add another offensive lineman to the roster at the expense of Boykin or Richardson by Week 6 at the latest.

Once the Packers fill their initial 8-man practice squad, check back for my initial rankings of those eight guys.  Besides that, check back Wednesday for my thoughts on the Most Overpaid and Most Underpaid 2012 Green Bay Packers and next Sunday for my ranking of the initial 53-man roster for the 2012 Green Bay Packers.


FOOTNOTE:
* = Shea Allard (T), Diondre Borel (WR), Brandon Bostick (TE), B.J. Coleman (QB), Nic Cooper (FB), Andrew Datko (T), Tommie Draheim (C/G), Sampson Genus (C/G), Curenski Gilleylen (WR), Tori Gurley (WR), Lawrence Guy (DE), Anthony Levine (S), Otis Merril (CB), Dale Moss (WR), Daniel Muir (DT), Marc Tyler (RB), Greg Van Roten (G), and Reggie Wells (G/T).

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