According to head coach Matt LaFleur, the Green Bay Packers will rest their starters in their second preseason game of 2024 against the Denver Broncos. While you won’t see Jordan Love throwing the football or Josh Jacobs carrying the ball, there’s still plenty to be had beyond the front row of the lineup.
We’ll introduce you to the 14 Packers players we’ll be keeping an eye on during Sunday’s games, as well as explain the reasoning behind these players’ status in the roster bubble.
- QB Sean Clifford, No. 6
- QB Michael Pratt, #17
The backup quarterbacks have already described their battle in training camp as “healthy competition,” but the team will have to make a decision about the position in the next two weeks. Sean Clifford hasn’t come through with the job, in part because of the amount of interceptions he’s thrown in practice. On Friday, during a joint practice with the Broncos, he threw an interception on the first play of a two-minute drill, which certainly didn’t help his case.
Before the joint practice, rookie quarterback Michael Pratt, who has been more successful on deep and intermediate routes than Clifford this summer, actually took over the two-minute drills with the second team, duties that normally fell to Clifford. LaFleur has already stated that Clifford will start this game, but Pratt is breathing down the Penn State product’s neck for a chance with the second team.
With rookie draft pick MarShawn Lloyd out with a hamstring injury, Emanuel Wilson has a real chance to remain on the Packers’ original 53-man roster, either as the fourth running back or as Lloyd’s backup if he goes on the injured list. In the season opener, Wilson led the Packers with 13 carries for 67 rushing yards and a score.
Last year, Wilson was able to convert 14 carries into 85 yards in the regular season (6.1 yards per carry), which was impressive for the 36 offensive snaps the undrafted rookie played in 2023. The only question is whether his ability to carry the ball outweighs the fact that he is not a great pass protector and does not contribute much on special teams.
- WR Grant DuBose, #86
- WR Malik Heath, #18
Malik Heath made the Packers’ 53-man roster last year as an undrafted rookie because he was willing to do some of the dirty work at the position: playing on special teams and blocking on the perimeter for skill players who got more touches than he did. Here’s the problem for Heath: 2023 draft pick Grant DuBose, who missed most of last summer with an injury, is doing the same thing this summer but also contributing more as a pass catcher.
Against the Cleveland Browns last week, DuBose caught five passes for 66 yards, both team-highs. Ultimately, the choice of sixth receiver could come down to which of DuBose and Heath is more productive in the air.
- OT Andre Dillard, No. 73
- OT Kadeem Telfort, #76
- OT Caleb Jones, No. 72
Green Bay is in a three-way battle for the top swing tackle job, and it’s possible only one of those players will survive the 53-man cuts, considering how many of the interior linemen likely to make the roster also have a tackle background.
Andre Dillard started the season opener as a right tackle on the first team’s offensive line, replacing the injured Zach Tom, but Kadeem Telfort and Caleb Jones also alternated playing with Dillard over the summer.
Do the Packers need a fifth defensive end? With Lukas Van Ness and Kingsley Enagbare coming off the bench this year, they have enough proven depth at that position again.
At the same time, Karl Brooks (DT4) and Colby Wooden (DT5) have both played defensive end this summer as veteran rest days piled up at the position. Brenton Cox Jr. isn’t a big player on special teams, meaning he’ll have to prove himself as a pure pass rusher before he’s released. Last year, after making the original 53-man roster, he played defensive end just four times during the regular season.
- CB Corey Ballentine, #26
- CB Kalen King, #34
- CB Robert Rochell, #22
After spending three draft picks on safety, signing Xavier McKinney and retaining 2023 draft pick Anthony Johnson Jr., it’s clear that the Packers will keep a lot of safeties on their 53-man roster. The question here is what that means for the cornerback position, a position that uses similar body types on special teams.
Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine are all but certain to be on the cornerback roster, so will the Packers keep five or six cornerbacks for the 2024 season? Right now, Corey Ballentine is the team’s best backup option at outside cornerback, while Robert Rochell is arguably the better special teams player. Kalen King, who has been used in the slot a few times in training camp, is a 2024 draft pick, which could be the deciding factor in this three-way battle. A good game from any of that trio could help them a lot in cutdowns.
- K Anders Carlson, No. 17
- K Greg Joseph, No. 2
In the summer, returning starter Anders Carlson made 50 of 62 field goals (81 percent), while newly signed Greg Joseph made 52 of 63 (83 percent). The race is close, if not impressive. At some point, one kicker will have to pull away from the other. Perhaps that will be Sunday night.
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