The Green Bay Packers open the 2024 NFL regular season against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 6 at Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, Brazil.
Expectations are high after last season's finish -- winning six of their last eight to make the playoffs and then rolling the Dallas Cowboys 48-32 in the divisional round before losing 24-21 to the San Francisco 49ers. But this is still likely to be the youngest roster in the NFL for the second straight season. It appears the Packers will keep only one player over the age of 29: 31-year-old Preston Smith.
The roster will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Here is a projection for the Packers:
QUARTERBACKS (2): Jordan Love, Sean Clifford
Michael Pratt gave Clifford a solid run for the QB2 job, but the nod likely will go to the second-year player over the rookie seventh-round pick. It's possible they could keep three, but the more likely scenario is that Pratt clears waivers and returns on the practice squad.
RUNNING BACKS (3): Josh Jacobs, AJ Dillon, Emanuel Wilson
The expectation is that rookie third-round pick MarShawn Lloyd (hamstring) begins the season on injured reserve, but a new rule lets teams designate two players to IR before cuts and still allow them to return, as opposed to having to carry them on the initial 53 for a day before making that move. Dillon's recent neck/stinger issue complicates things for him too.
WIDE RECEIVERS (6): Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton, Malik Heath
The Packers have kept seven before, but they don't this time, meaning it probably comes down to Melton, Grant DuBose and Heath for the last two spots.
TIGHT ENDS (4): Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, Ben Sims, Tyler Davis
Sims had a strong training camp to secure a spot, while Kraft (torn pectoral) and Davis (torn ACL) are coming back from major surgeries, so keeping four here to start the season is a good bet.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (9): Rasheed Walker, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jordan Morgan, Zach Tom, Sean Rhyan, Jacob Monk, Travis Glover, Andre Dillard
This is a position that GM Brian Gutekunst could alter significantly the day after initial cuts. There's a feeling internally that the No. 3 tackle (who could fill in on either side) is not currently on the roster. Dillard, the former first-round pick, signed for the veteran minimum, and the Packers would be on the hook for his $1.125 million base salary if he makes it to Week 1. So perhaps they cut him and bring him back later, allowing them to go week by week. Caleb Jones and Kadeem Telfort could also factor in at backup tackle.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (10): Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, T.J. Slaton, Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden, Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare, Brenton Cox Jr.
The same 10 projected before camp are the ones who likely will make up this position group.
LINEBACKERS (5): Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Wilson, Edgerrin Cooper, Ty'Ron Hopper
The Packers would like to keep Kristian Welch for special teams. The risk here is that someone will claim him off waivers, but he was unclaimed last year after the Ravens released him and came to Green Bay on the practice squad originally.
CORNERBACKS (6): Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, Corey Ballentine, Kalen King
They may keep only five here. If so, then King, a seventh-round pick, might be the odd one out. They gave Ballentine a $500,000 signing bonus this offseason, which is a good indication that he's going to stick.
SAFTIES (5): Xavier McKinney, Javon Bullard, Anthony Johnson Jr., Evan Williams, Kitan Oladapo
Zayne Anderson is a tough cut given his special teams experience, but as a fifth-round pick, it's unlikely Oladapo gets cut.
SPECIALISTS (3): K Anders Carlson, P Daniel Whelan, LS Matt Orzech
Early in camp, it looked like veteran Greg Joseph was going to be a serious threat to Carlson. While the Packers don't want to give up on Carlson after just one year, kicker is another spot where they could go outside to find a solution.