The Green Bay Packers’ mandatory minicamp begins on Tuesday, and the team currently still has an open roster spot.
With the exception of defensive end Kenneth Odumegwu, the Packers could have 91 players on their roster this offseason. However, in the last few weeks after the release of Rodney Mathews, only 90 players played on defense.
This is a roster spot that will inevitably be filled before training camp, which starts on July 22.
As GM Brian Gutekunst has said in the past, building a roster in the NFL is a 365-day-a-year job. With $30.07 million in available cap space – some of which will go toward a possible Jordan Love extension – the Packers have the resources to explore what’s left on the free agent market.
However, most of the top remaining free agent options are either linebackers or linebackers, which the Packers don’t need. There is no glaring weakness in the squad that needs to be filled.
So my guess is that Gutekunst, as he often does, will continue to rotate the back end of the lineup, building depth in a specific position group while remaining under the radar and never adding.
With minicamp taking place this week, the Packers may decide to invite a few players to tryouts during those two days to see if anyone stands out.
When we are dealing with the last spot in the lineup, the need for a position often takes a backseat. Instead, teams are simply looking for the best player, someone who has a unique quality to look up to, and someone who will hopefully lend a hand elevate the level of competition. Moreover, as I mentioned, even from a numerical standpoint, there is no glaring need for positioning on the Packers’ roster.
But if I had to guess at which positions the Packers might target, a few that come to mind are punter, center and linebacker.
Daniel Whelan has been outstanding in OTAs and if the Packers bring in another player, it won’t be because they feel they need to find an upgrade. The move was intended to give Whelan some rest during training camp so he wouldn’t have to take every rep in the summer.
Center is another position where the Packers could potentially look for depth. Josh Myers has dealt with first-team center reps during OTAs and Jacob Monk has dealt with second-teamers, but having another true center on the roster to work with the third team could be valuable in camp.
Finally, as the Packers transitioned to a 4-3 defense under Jeff Hafley, Gutekunst mentioned in the offseason that the need for additional numbers at the linebacker position could be a side effect of that change.
Time will tell what direction the Packers will go, but I expect a move to be made sooner rather than later, and certainly before training camp, so that the full roster will be intact and ready to go by July 22.
