Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love (10) had an excellent first year as the Packers’ starting quarterback. … (+)
Kadeem Telfort, Zayne Anderson and Greg Joseph avoided the Turk.
Anders Carlson, Sean Clifford and Kalen King were not so lucky.
After some difficult decisions, Green Bay Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst reduced his roster to 53 players on Tuesday.
Gutekunst still has time to tinker and play around before Green Bay faces Philadelphia on Sept. 6 in São Paulo, Brazil, in both teams’ season opener.
For the most part, though, these are your 2024 Green Bay Packers.
Here’s a complete breakdown of Green Bay’s roster with analysis and position ratings.
Quarterbacks (B+)
Starter: Jordan Love
Reserves: Malik Willis
Summary: Love started all 19 games last season, throwing 37 touchdown passes and just 13 interceptions. During a two-month window between Week 11 and Green Bay’s NFC divisional playoff game at San Francisco, Love had a stretch in which he threw a remarkable 23 touchdowns and just one interception.
This is something that Green Bay legends Bart Starr, Brett
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Love completed 409 of 634 passes (64.5%) for 4,625 yards and achieved a passer rating of 98.5. By comparison, Rodgers threw 28 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in his first year as a starter in 2008 and achieved a passer rating of 93.8.
“It’s been so much fun playing with that guy all year,” Packers center Josh Myers said of Love. “I can’t say enough about the work he’s done. When he came in and spent his first year as a starter, he just did an incredible job. I felt like we hit a great stride and just continued to improve as the season went on, so I’m excited to see what happens next.”
Love signed a four-year, $220 million contract extension in July and had a solid summer, but he only played three snaps in preseason games, raising questions about whether or not he’ll be rusty come Week 1.
“I think what gives me comfort is knowing that he’s going to work to be what he can be,” Packers manager Brian Gutekunst said after Love signed his new contract. “The best version of himself. He’s done that consistently since he got here and when I see him, his learning experiences, his development over that time, I don’t expect him to change.”
Willis, a third-round draft pick of the Titans in 2022, has a brutal 49.4 passer rating and is 0-3 as a starter in two NFL seasons. However, he has a strong arm and is an excellent runner.
Overall, Willis is in the bottom half of NFL reserve players.
Running backs (B)
Starter: Josh Jacobs
Reserves: Emanuel Wilson, Marshawn Lloyd
Summary: Jacobs had a career year in 2022, leading the league with 1,653 rushing yards and ranking second with his 12 rushing TDs. After missing training camp last summer and suffering a quadriceps injury late in the season, Jacobs finished the season with career lows in rushing yards (805) and rushing touchdowns (six) and averaged just 3.5 yards per carry.
This did not stop Green Bay from signing Jacobs as a free agent and trading Aaron Jones, who has the third-highest rushing yards (5,284) in team history.
“I think he’s quite capable of being a high-volume feature back where he gets the majority of the action,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of Jacobs. “But we’ll see how it plays out.”
Wilson replaces AJ Dillon – who was placed on the season roster on Tuesday due to a neck injury, thus sealing the end of his season – as the No. 2 running back. The explosive Lloyd is working on his comeback from a hamstring injury.
Wide Receiver (B)
Starters: Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Christian Watson
Reserves: Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton, Malik Heath
Summary: The top four (including Wicks) can rival any quartet in football, and it’s impossible to predict who will get the ball each week.
While some wonder who the Packers’ best receiver is, coach Matt LaFleur doesn’t care.
“To be honest, I want to puke every time I hear ‘Receiver No. 1,'” LaFleur said. “It drives me crazy. That’s something you guys talk about. I feel like we have a lot of that.”
Reed was the Packers’ all-time leader in receptions (64) and receiving yards (793) during his brilliant rookie season. He was also the team’s all-time leader in receiving touchdowns with eight catches and carried the ball for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
Doubs was second on the team in catches (59) and yards (674) last year and tied for the team leader with eight receiving touchdowns. Doubs then had a sensational postseason with 10 receptions, 234 yards and two TDs in two games.
Wicks (39-581-4) has been getting better and better in his rookie season and could be the player with the most potential in the group. The key will be whether dynamic wide receiver Christian Watson, who only played nine games in 2023, stays healthy.
Tight Ends (B)
Starter: Luke Musgrave/Tucker Kraft
Reserves: Ben Sims
Summary: Musgrave (34-352-1) and Kraft (31-355-2) both had solid rookie seasons. They will have a chance to play in more two-tight end packages this year and could prove dangerous.
“When you put two guys on the field, the defense is wondering, ‘How do you compete?'” Packers tight ends coach John Dunn said. “How do they defend that? How do they use them? And we talk about it all the time in our room: The more you can do, the better our offense is going to be.”
Offensive Line (B-)
Starters: Rasheed Walker, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Sean Rhyan, Zach Tom
Reserves: Jordan Morgan, Jacob Monk, Kadeem Telfort, Andre Dillard, Travis Glover
Summary: Green Bay brings back four starters from a group that ranked 8th overall according to Pro Football Network.
The biggest question is whether Rhyan or Morgan will start at left guard. Morgan, who was selected in the first round of the Packers’ draft in April, seemed like the likely starter before a shoulder injury opened the door for Rhyan.
Depth – especially in swing tackle – is a problem.
Defensive line (A-)
Starters: Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark, TJ Slaton, Preston Smith
Reserves: Luke Van Ness, Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden, Jonathan Ford, Brenton Cox, Aaron Mosby
Summary: This is the strongest and most talented group on the team.
Clark recorded 7.5 sacks last season, which is a career high and third on the team. Slaton is an excellent run stuffer, while 2022 first-round pick Devonte Wyatt has excellent athleticism and versatility.
Green Bay’s top three outside linebackers in 2023 – Rashan Gary, Preston Smith and Lukas Van Ness – have moved to the defensive end position and could cause a lot of chaos there. Second-year players Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden provide tremendous depth.
“We’re deep,” Wyatt said of the defensive line. “Really deep. We’re going to give people some problems.”
Linebacker (C-)
Starters: Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Wilson
Reserves: Edgerrin Cooper, Ty’Ron Hopper
Summary: Walker led the Packers with 118 tackles and had 2.5 sacks in 2023, but is out of his position too often. The Packers need him to flourish and shore up this unit.
McDuffie, a 2021 sixth-round pick, is a very committed player who has gone from a standout on special teams to a starter at base and nickel. Cooper, a second-round draft pick in April, is behind after missing much of training camp with a hip injury. Hopper, a third-round pick this year, finished the preseason strong and is more ready to help than Cooper.
Cornerbacks (B)
Starters: Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes
Reserves: Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, Corey Ballentine
Summary: Alexander, the league’s highest-paid cornerback, is looking to rebound from the worst of his six NFL seasons. Stokes has struggled with injuries the past two years but had a solid training camp and has been healthy the entire time.
Valentine and Ballentine both played well when needed in 2023 and provide solid depth. Nixon’s chance at the slot corner job is fragile at best.
“We can be great. I truly believe we can be the best secondary in the league,” Stokes said. “And we certainly have the skills and the players here to do that. That’s our goal and that’s the only goal we have in mind.”
Fuses (B-)
Starters: Xavier McKinney, Javon Bullard
Reserves: Evan Williams, Zayne Anderson, Kitan Oladapo
Summary: McKinney signed a four-year, $68 million contract as a free agent and was asked to lead this group, and so far he has been as good as promised – on and off the field.
“I’m just here to add something,” McKinney said. “Obviously, in my room, we’re younger, so I make a point of guiding them in the right direction, leading by example, trying to do the right things to make sure they see how it should be done and make sure they go out and are able to do the same thing.”
Bullard, a second-round draft pick, will start alongside McKinney but is also versatile enough to move to the slot. He was one of the Packers’ summer stars.
Williams, a fourth-round pick in April, also had a sensational summer. He has a feel for the ball, is an excellent tackler and could see the field early.
Anderson is a top-notch special teams player.
Special teams (D)
Specialists: PK Greg Joseph, P Daniel Whelan, LS Matt Orzech, KR/PR Keisean Nixon
Summary: Green Bay in 29th placeth in Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings, continuing a two-decade streak of poor performances.
Joseph in 16th placeth in 2021, 27th in 2022 and 27th in 2023 in field goal accuracy among kickers with at least 20 attempts. Joseph also posted these mediocre numbers while playing at Minnesota’s covered U.S. Bank Stadium, a far easier place to kick than Lambeau Field.
“He’s been an indoor kicker for a while now, so it’s a little interesting to be here,” Packers special teams coach Rich Bisaccia said of Joseph. “He’s got an incredible leg. He’s got a great attitude.”
Whelan finished 25th in the league in gross average (46.2 yards per punt) and 31st with a net average of 39.7 yards. He needs to improve.
Nixon led the NFL in kickoff returns with 782 yards and was also the best kickoff returner of all qualified kickoff returners with a 26.1-yard average.
