The Green Bay Packers released their first 53-man roster for the 2024 season on Tuesday.
Who made the team? Who was surprisingly released? What about the injuries? Let’s break it all down.
Here are some important things to know about the Packers’ initial 53-man roster in 2024:
— The Packers placed running back AJ Dillon (stinger) and tight end Tyler Davis (shoulder) on the injured list with no plans to return, ending their 2024 season. They could be released with injury compensation. This looks like it could be the end of Dillon’s career in Green Bay. He has suffered two stinger injuries in the last nine months and has no realistic chance of playing for the Packers in 2024.
— Rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd avoided injured reserve and is now on the 53-man roster, suggesting he is close to returning from a hamstring injury. Lloyd and Emanuel Wilson are the two backups behind Josh Jacobs.
— Veteran Greg Joseph is currently the kicker. Anders Carlson was released.
— Defensive lineman Jonathan Ford was placed on the injured list with the intention of returning. He injured his calf in the last preseason game. He can return after at least four games.
— The Packers have released both Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt. The first 53 includes Malik Willis, who will officially be traded from Tennessee to Green Bay after a medical.
— The Packers released receiver Grant DuBose and kept six receivers, with Bo Melton and Malik Heath as the final two. DuBose had a nice summer, but it’s possible that seven receivers was just too many.
— The Packers retained six defensive ends — both Brenton Cox Jr. and Arron Mosby made the team. Cox was the team’s best pressure player and Mosby made plenty of high-impact plays in the preseason.
— Linebacker Kristian Welch, a preseason standout and special teams regular, didn’t make the cut. He was released. The Packers retained just five linebackers.
— The Packers released rookie cornerback Kalen King. The team retained only five cornerbacks. King and Pratt, two seventh-round picks, were the only two of 11 draft picks released.
— Safety Anthony Johnson Jr., who started for the Packers last season, was surprisingly released. He had a good training camp and preseason but lost out to Zayne Anderson, a key special-teamer, and Kitan Oladapo, a fifth-round rookie.
– For the first time in two decades, no undrafted Packers rookie made the initial 53-man roster.
