After all the dust settled from the preseason and the roster cuts, the Packers looked like its roster was set for the year, until general manager Brian Gutekunst made one of the biggest moves of recent NFL history.
On Aug. 28, news broke that the Packers traded defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks to the Dallas Cowboys for three-time All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons. With the Packers sitting in a spot where it was struggling to get over that hump in the playoffs, making the move to get one of the best players in the entire NFL seems like it could be the move to get the team to that next level.
Losing Clark gives the Packers somewhat of a hole on the interior defensive line, but with the continued development of Devonte Wyatt and Karl Brooks, as well as the preseason and training camp play of Nazir Stackhouse, it is obvious that Gutekunst and the rest of the front office felt comfortable when trading for Parsons.
What Parsons brings to the Packers should instantly be felt, as he is one of two players in NFL history to have at least 12 sacks in his first four seasons. The other player who fits that description is Reggie White, who famously helped the Packers win its third Super Bowl.
Outside of the shocking news signing Parsons, the roster does not look dramatically different than it did last season.
Jordan Love will still lead the offense, while the early offseason addition of Aaron Banks from the San Francisco 49ers is the only new addition to the offensive line. Joining Love in the backfield will be Josh Jacobs once again.
Who would be on the roster behind Jacobs was a major storyline of the preseason, but with Marshawn Lloyd starting the season on the injured reserve list, Green Bay gets the flexibility to bring back Emmanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks. Overall, the offense should see performance from last season, as all of the depth chart is pretty much the same, but having another year all together is beneficial.
While there are not many big cuts to talk about with the offense, the one that stands out is wide receiver Mecole Hardman. Hardman was signed in March before the draft and seemed like he could be that explosive player to bring creativity to the offense. While he did not perform exceptionally in the preseason, neither did Malik Heath, who he was competing with.
The only other notable cut on the offensive side of the ball was at the quarterback position. After switching each player on drives in the last preseason game, the Packers cut Taylor Elgersma and Sean Clifford. While having the experience with Clifford would be nice on the practice squad, the Packers signed veteran Clayton Tune to fill that role.
“Sean has been here and has done really good things for us, but he has been here a few years and we just kind of thought that we wanted someone maybe a little bit further than (Elgersma) is,” said Gutekunst.
On the defensive side of the ball, the biggest change will come at the cornerback position, as Jaire Alexander was released in the offseason. With Keisean Nixon stepping up to fill that cornerback position, Green Bay picked up Nate Hobbs to fill another corner position.
With an already depleted secondary, it was surprising to see Green Bay cut four corners. It is obvious that the team feels that Bo Melton can contribute, but when you release someone like Corey Balentine, there is fair questioning to be had.
“I feel really good about our entire secondary group,” Gutekunst said. “(Melton) has done an amazing job making that transition, and I am really excited about not only right now what he does for us as a football team, but what he will do in the future as well.”
While Parsons will make up for some deficiencies on this defense, especially in the cornerback room, without a true number one cornerback on this team, the pass defense could be an issue, especially against the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings.
