The Green Bay Packers wrapped up the preseason with a rousing victory over the New Orleans Saints Thursday night and now we await the final cuts. Everybody and their uncle has made roster predictions, I’ll just give you my take on a few.
At backup quarterback I can’t see any way that Brett Hundley isn’t the backup to Aaron Rodgers. He clearly outplayed Scott Tolzien even though Tolzien looked much better than he did last year or the year before. All I know is that if Rodgers gets hurt, Hundley will give the Packers the best chance to win a game. Tolzien has reached his ceiling, Hundley is going to be a starter in this league as soon as the Packers’ trade him.
At wide receiver I would be shocked and disappointed if the Packers cut one of these young guys and brought back a has-been like James Jones or Jarrett Boykin. Especially Boykin. Dude couldn’t make the team in Carolina who has the worst receiving corp in the league. Keep the guys that have been here all offseason and look ready to step up, that could even mean taking a chance on Jared Abbrederis.
Defensively I haven’t seen anything that makes me think they will better than last year. However, hardly any starters played and I am guessing defensive coordinator Dom Capers used about one percent of his playbook this preseason. We will find out what the Packers’ defense is all about against Chicago on opening day. The Bears have the weapons to expose any weaknesses the Packers have because they have a decent quarterback, and a stud running back and receiver. Opening day is not a gimmie.
At running back I think they will keep five. No way they can just keep Eddie Lacy and James Starks at running back. I hear people say John Kuhn can play running back but that is simply not true. The Packers need to keep Kuhn, rookie Aaron Ripkowski, and either Rajion Neal or John Crockett. If there is a vulnerable guy there it would be Kuhn, but damn, that would be a hard cut to make for the Packers.
Look for some surprises tomorrow, but remember the Packers final cuts have to take into account the suspensions of two players. Two guys who make the team Saturday will be gone by week four.