The Green Bay Packers’ preseason finale against the Baltimore Ravens provided the final audition for several players vying for a spot on Brian Gutekunst’s roster, which will be revealed Tuesday. Matt LaFleur sat 38 players, including all the projected starters, providing a real opportunity for many to evaluate Saturday at Lambeau Field.
Who played a decisive role in the 30-7 victory over the Ravens?
Here are some of the players who helped their chances of making the squad in the preseason finale:
FROM Arron Mosby
Mosby made two of the biggest defensive plays of the afternoon when he threw a strip sack and an interception on two consecutive drives. A forced fumble was returned for a touchdown; the interception prevented a potential scoring drive in Packers territory. Brenton Cox Jr. looks like a good candidate to be the fifth defensive end, but could Mosby tempt the Packers to keep six? The sophomore defensive rusher spent all of last year on the Packers’ practice squad and now looks much more comfortable as a 4-3 defensive end.
WR Malik Heath
Heath caught a game-high four passes, including a 7-yard touchdown on fourth-and-4 in the second half and a third-down conversion in the first half. On the touchdown, Heath ran through contact at the break point and made a controversial catch in the end zone. In most years, the roster battle at the bottom of the receiver depth chart is highly overrated in all 32 NFL cities. That’s not the case in Green Bay in 2024. Heath, Bo Melton and Grant DuBose are all legal.
RB Emanuel Wilson
Wilson may have been close to being the regular starting quarterback, given the injuries to AJ Dillon (concussion) and MarShawn Lloyd (hamstring). Wilson is looking more and more like he could handle the role in the regular season. He had a couple of 10-plus-yard runs and even caught a 20-yard ball. His blocking has improved, both in terms of identifying blitzers and executing. Wilson could be the No. 2 behind Josh Jacobs against the Eagles in Week 1.
LB Kristian Welch
While he dropped what should have been an interception in the first half on a bizarre play, Welch made up for it in the second half when he provoked the quarterback into a bad throw downfield and — despite jumping — completed the interception. He also made impressive stops on special teams. The former Ravens tight end caused three turnovers in the postseason, was consistently good at the tackle and was everywhere on the special teams primary. The chances are looking better and better that the Wisconsin native will stick with the 53 as the sixth linebacker.
K. Greg Joseph
The veteran kicker converted both of his field goals, including a perfect 55-yarder, and also connected on his only extra-point attempt, making it 3 of 3 on the day. Meanwhile, Anders Carlson missed a 32-yard field goal. Joseph had a abrasive week and a half in training camp, including missing last week in Denver, but it’s possible this latest outing will give him a leg up on the starting 53-man roster.
CB Kalen King
Last week, King failed to make a tackle on a tight end on third-and-17 and allowed a conversion. This week, King corrected the mistake. On the first drive of the second half, the rookie cornerback made a crushing hit in the flat on Ravens tight end Riley Sharp, causing a fumble that Christian Young intercepted and fumbled. In the first half, King made a good read-and-react play on a pass on third-and-long to stop the drive. His five tackles were the most by a defensive back. The tape will have to determine whether King made a mistake on Tylan Wallace’s 48-yard touchdown run. Robert Rochell’s hip injury could pave the way for King to make the roster.
