Packers Unscripted: Roster recap

[Music] hi everybody welcome to another edition of Packers unscripted from packers.com I am Mike Spofford joined as always by my partner in crime Weston hod quits we're coming to you here from our Studios at Lambo field and West with plenty to talk about we skipped our earlier episode this week because of all of the rostered dust that needed to settle and wow this might have been the most active and interesting uh roster cutdown time in Green Bay in a while because the Packers emerged from it not only with their initial 53 man roster but a new kicker a new backup quarterback both of whom came from the Tennessee Titans um it's been an interesting last few days around I was joking with a friend of mine because you know obviously we're in the two cycle week show for unscripted and I made made a crack about whether we would have tried to shoot the show on Monday or Tuesday we would have had to reshoot it like three times yeah exactly based on every single thing that happened uh beginning with the rumors not the rumors but the reports of the Malik Willis trade on Monday night uh then Anders Carlson is released you have Dre Greg Joseph make it to Wednesday but then the Packers claim uh Braden narison from the Tennessee Titans and on and on and on uh the things go but I'll say this too I got I I do my own informal roster selection I got 49 correct uh I I really there were just some things that definitely threw me for a whirl a little bit I see not so much the guys that made it but like the Anthony Johnson jors you know being released and you know a couple of the the the different decisions that happen and it just again goes to show you Mike for as much as we watch these practices and watch these games you cannot get into the minds and into the meeting rooms of the NFL Scouts of Brian gudakunst they had to make some very very tough calls Brian even said it during his news conference earlier this week they felt like there was more than 53 guys on this Rost that deserve to to be here I think the fact that three of them got claimed on waiver sort of speaks to that and now the Green Bay Packers with what I would argue is probably their most talent-rich team they've had at least during this era of Brian gun's 10 years GM uh they are stacked and ready to get into the season yeah I want to get back to those three released players by the Packers getting claimed by other teams but first let's talk about these two new arrivals a little bit at quarterback Malik Willis couple years ago he was a third round draft pick of the Tennessee Titans he was the third quarterback taken in that draft it was a it was not the typical quarterback draft in 201 22 um that spring Willis was the third quarterback taken he had begun his college career at Auburn had ultimately transferred to Liberty University in Virginia um had a couple of uh highly highly successful Seasons there and then with the Titans he ended up getting sort of three emergency starts as a rookie and then things just didn't really work out for him in Tennessee and there's been a coaching change now um and uh you know quite obviously the Packers felt after the way things went through this training camp in preseason with Shan Clifford and Michael Pratt felt they needed to upgrade at backup quarterback and so Brian gun's traded a seventh round pick to the Titans to get a new quarterback in here it's a very interesting situation with the opener coming up so quickly you you you wonder how fast can Willis get up to speed can he really be the number two quarterback for the opener in Brazil against the Eagles the fallback is that Sean Clifford is back on the practice squad so the Packers will have that option as they set the roster for the game in Brazil depending on how all that shakes out but uh um but a different type of quarterback a dual threat guy the kind of guy that uh that the Packers haven't really had around here A whole heck of a lot but uh um but it's a it's a new leason Life In Summer speaks from in in some measure of speaking for Malik Willis and uh and he's going to help out the Packers at a spot that they need uh they need some Assurance yeah I I was really big on Willis in 2022 I don't know if how much the average fan remembers but I mean his draft stock just soared in the weeks in the months leading up to that whether it was the NFL scout scouting combine or just the fact that you know it wasn't the most talent-rich draft so I mean te we really perseverated did a lot on the quarterbacks that were available Kenny picket goes at number 20 to Pittsburgh Desmond Ritter who also got released this past weekend he went in the third round uh to Atlanta and then you had Tennessee I believe trade up uh to get Willis now the one thing about his 10 year in Tennessee that I never quite understood was I didn't really see what the vision was for him there right they had Ryan tanah Hill to me it almost kind of felt like they got to the third round and he was still there and hey we're just yeah let's take this kid and and we'll see what we get what we develop they never really committed to it as you said there was three spot starts they didn't go great his rookie year he talked at his locker on Wednesday about how he's a much different quarterback today than he went when he got those opportunities they drafted will Levis last season so then he's basically the number de facto number three and Levis was a second round pick someone they invested a higher draft pick in than they had invested in Willis and and now for him to you know he had a really strong preseason the best preseason of his career so far LED them in rushing you know was a guy that had 107 passer rating I watched the final clips of those 10 minutes in that game against the Saints I mean he made some extraordinary throws uh the the the pass that he had down the right sideline which if you go back and look at his draft right up that was something they felt was really strong with him his his downfield accuracy particularly to the sidelines that 34 yard touchdown came off of him leading the receiver in one-on-one coverage so it's not like he's just a guy that just is going to run no I mean he had a lot of arm Talent he's super in intelligent and you could sense that at this Locker just the way he carries himself in this composure and I actually think from a personality perspective is going to fit really well with Jordan love the challenge is the fact that we are at the time that we're taping this eight days away from the regular season Oprah in Brazil yeah how quickly he can digest this Playbook after spending the last three years working in Tennessee system that's going to be the number one thing he has to figure out but that being said athletically intangible wise there's a lot to like about Malik Willis still only 25 years old and I really feel like you really haven't even opened the box yet of what his potential could be in this league well it sounds like there is some carryover in terms of the Playbook the scheme from what Willis was learning his rookie year in Tennessee before some things with the offense and the coaching and whatnot started to change there but the other thing I thought was interesting is is Brian gakon specifically made the comment in talking about Willis that in their evaluation of Willis as they were keeping their eye out for quarterbacks who might who might come available for all the talk about Willis and his running ability and being a dual threat guy Brian gudun said they felt there was a lot of progress made in making plays from the pocket and not just tuck and run and take off with the ball that the kind of stuff he was doing early in his career that progress of becoming a pocket passer while still maintaining that dual threat that type of growth is what really interested the Packers in uh in in making this move so um be interesting to see obviously if all goes well Malik Willis will not be playing for the Green Bay Packers in 2024 that's not the idea here but um but the Packers uh um certainly feel they've upgraded themselves at backup quarterback when it comes to kicker um Anders Carlson Greg Joseph entire offseason all of training camp other third kickers at various times brought in to be um part of the competition as well it ends up being none of them the Packers decide to move on Alex hail is on the practice squad with the international player exemption so there is a second kicker in Green Bay but braen narvis undrafted rookie went to Tennessee was not able to beat out Nick Folk the veteran for the job there and uh and the Packers end up making the claim of narvis on waivers he had a very successful preseason he only missed one field goal out of seven tries and I believe that was a 58 Yer yep he made a 59 y he also made a walk-off I believe it was 46 yards a walk-off kick to win a preseason game so the Packers like the fact that uh you know kind of been in some pressure situations as a rookie in the preseason when he's competing with a veteran to try to to try to unseat a guy for the job and uh you know we're not going to know exactly what the Packers thought of you know Carlson and Joseph and how all this thing went Joseph I thought started out training camp really strong then he hit a rough patch he seemed to kind of recover toward the end um Carlson in some respects was a little steadier uh in terms of the consistency maybe than Joseph but the consistent level wasn't a high enough consistent level really when the Packers looked at it and quite frankly Wes it's not about just one kick Bowen Carlson went out and missed the 32 Y at the in the fourth quarter of the final preseason game against B timore what I felt what I said in Insider inbox is that just felt like a declaration that Anders Carlson was not any better as a kicker in year two than he was in year one and the Packers felt they needed to get better at that position so if he's not going to prove that he's better that then they're going to look elsewhere to upgrade so narvis is the move a lot of different things in play here the one thing I will say and again I thought Andre is the way he handle himself in Green Bay um just the you know total professional from day one but fact is as he makes a 54 yard field goal early in that pre-season game and then in the fourth quarter you miss a 32 y as you venture into the NFL season and as Matt laflor said he knows how close that razor thin line is between Victor and defeat and how sometimes the kicking position is factoring into that you just you can't have that type of fluctuation you have to be more consistent uh Greg Joseph I thought showed an NFL caliber l it was a little disconcerning the middle of that camp where he he sort of lost the way a little bit I thought he did finish strong I'd be curious to see what opportunities are out for him this season still and ultimately a position battle that lasted more than four months it really didn't have a conclusive winner so what does Brian guns do you look at the situation in Tennessee where you had two guys and Nick Fulk at 39 years old still holding on and still holding strong and you had narison who was the upstart Challenger who kind of is in the same mold of a Christian Welch and that I don't know what more that kid could have done to win the job other than maybe making the 58 y but I mean he made a 59 y if you look into his bio he made a 58 Y in high school I mean this guy has been around and he's been a a pretty highly touted kicker for a long time and and worked his way up the college ladder to finish things out at NC State you take a risk bringing in a kicker this late U Matt lefur said this is kind of uncharted waters for him in that regard yeah and as an undrafted rookie you're not sure how he's going to respond to okay now these are all must make situations but all that being said Packers had to go a different direction they had the waiver wire at their disposal they had free agency at their disposal it's a position where you don't have a Playbook and they felt like nerson is the right fit for them right now yeah it's interesting how it unfolded that the Packers ended up making both of these moves with players coming from the same team and you know you just wonder exactly how the discussions unfolded where the backers trying to get both in the trade but then maybe the Titans were asking for too high of a draft pick so then they just settled okay we'll keep the quarterback thing separate we'll just get that done we'll see we'll see what else happens and and narvis and the Packers end up getting him for free essentially off of uh off of the waiver Weare so kind of interesting how that uh how that unfolded with regard to the Packers and getting getting down to the 53 you mentioned that Brian gacun said there were more than 53 guys who were deserving of roster spots and uh um and as it turned out for the first time in seven years not only did the Packers have a released player get claimed they had three of them get claimed safety Anthony Johnson Jr was claimed by the Giants receiver Grant Dubose by the Miami Dolphins and offensive lineman Royce Newman by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and that really speaks to the depth the Packers had on this 90 man offseason roster because there were only I believe the final number was 26 players claimed across the league 26 across the entire league out of 800 plus Carolina took half of them that were on the waiver play yeah Carolina took a bunch they took advantage of being at the top of the waiver claim list I mean that's that's what you have to do if you feel there are better players out there you got to upgrade your team but only 26 were claimed across the league and three of them were claimed off of uh the from the Green Bay Packers cut list so um that says something about what the Packers had in this locker room throughout the offseason throughout uh training camp and uh and let's be honest too I mean that 53 that did make it for Green Bay did not include two players who all of us thought would be on the 53 and I'm talking about running back AJ Dylan and tight and Tyler Davis both of whom unfortunately end up on season ending injured reserve Dylan with the Stinger injury the recurrence of the next Stinger that kept him out of the regular season finale and the playoffs last year Tyler Davis uh after an entire basically a Year's worth of rehab from the ACL from the preseason opener in Cincinnati last year he gets back out on the field in Denver in preseason action plays roughly a dozen snaps and injures his shoulder and now he's out for another season one once again so that was really the bad news and the sad news with regard to um the uh the the roster decisions but again those are two players everybody thought would be on the 53 all else being equal and they weren't and the the Packers filled those spots so they still have their 53 and three guys still got claimed by other teams so I just in in the bigger picture you look at that um this offseason roster was uh was very deep and very talented very deep very talented and so many guys rose up to the to the challenge I think a guy like Christian Welch again you could look at him as somebody that was a long shot even though he was a veteran and he put himself into the conversation with how he performed in the preseason uh Royce Newman I I think everybody would probably agree Royce it was it was time for a change of venue for him and and see what can happen now that he gets down in Tampa with kind of a fresh start um you know the opportunity for the offensive line the where the depth is it didn't really wasn't conducive I I think for him making the roster but then you have Grant tuos who was the only receiver claimed and I think again speaks not only to the depth at receiver but honestly Mike the strength of these last two draft classes the Packers don't find them in a situation of having to release a Dubose or an Anthony Johnson Jr if there isn't Evan Williams if there isn't Javon Bullard if there isn't Malik uh Heath and and certainly Bo Melton right those type of players are the ones that made this decision very difficult and on the other side of it you have guys like Heath who I thought got stronger throughout the preseason I thought Brian gun made a very Salient observation when he said this is a guy that just has a unique ability to make the big play and when you're looking at long-term potential those type of players there's something to be said for that because you can have all the tools but you might not have that it Factor when it's winning time Malik has that you saw it last year with Bo Melton Mike I mean Bo needed to have a good camp he it wasn't like he was just guaranteed a roster spot but you don't have the performance that he had down the stretch last season if you're not talented and if you're not ready for the moment so for the Green Bay Packers to have this much depth at receiver that a guy like Grant toose who performed so well throughout camp and really didn't have very many off days if he's not able to make this roster again I think is another reminder of just how talented how deep and how young uh the Packers are at many spots on this team yeah that uh that clutch comment that gudun made about Malik keath in terms of you know being able to make you know a key play at a key time we saw it last year as a game the Packers lost unfortunately but the Monday night game against the Giants the guy who catches the touchdown pass in the final couple of minutes that gave the Packers a chance to win that game was Malik Heath it was a tough play at the pylon the previous play he had just had what he thought was going to be the touchdown catch and it just got knocked out of his hands by the defender came right back on the next play it was fourth it was either third or fourth down Jordan love went right back to him and uh and he makes that touchdown those are the kinds of things that that stick with decision makers right when it comes to you're trying to decide between this guy and that guy and Grant Dubose he did everything he could he also he was performing on special teams quite well putting some really good special teams film out there as well as what he was doing at receiver unique situation in Miami for him because Miami initially only kept four wide receivers on its 53 they have Odell Beckham Jr who is on the P list they have another wide receiver who was put on injured reserve with the designation to return and then they went and claimed Dubose to essentially be their number five receiver for right now depending on how long it takes those other guys to come back so a big time opportunity for him and uh and hope it goes well but it it's one of those things that you you just never know exactly what everybody else's situation is around the league I think in a perfect world the Packers would love to have brought Grant dubos back to the practice squad but the claim process is out there for reason it's for players to get opportunities with other teams and uh and and Dubose is going to get that now and I think the one thing that you could tell even when Brian was talking about is and Matt LeFleur as well is probably as disappointed as they were not to be able to have Grant you could have cut malake Heath or Bo Melton both of those guys are getting claimed too I I firmly believe that there there are no wha ifs at that position we know how talented they are and there would have been a team like Miami there that is looking for someone when they are that banged up to augment their current roster and the other aspect of it too is it's not like this is a team with several older players where okay well Grant if it if it doesn't happen this year could be he's he was continually going to be fighting this uphill climb against the same exact players for the next two seasons good Lord willing healthwise so it it is what it is but but again the the fun part about that day Mike is the fact like Malik Heath telling people at his locker you know Jason Vel the Packers passing game coordinator his position coach last year was the one that called him to let him know he made the team you know we talk about an Aaron Mosby on the defensive line that was on the practice squad all of last season he has not appeared in an actual NFL regular season game in almost two years uh th those are the stories that make you feel good about this and uh you know as much as it hurts to see some guys end up leaving being able to have that knowledge of how talented this roster is paired with the guys that have some pretty inspiring stories you know it makes for a pretty special day yeah it's uh it's funny because we talked before the you know the preseason finale against Baltimore you know I wouldn't say it's every year but there are years where somebody in that final preseason game plays his way on to the 53-man roster this year the answer to that question was Aaron Mosby he went out there he got the strip sack which his teammate Anthony Johnson Jr scooped up and ran for a touchdown he also dropped into coverage and intercepted a pass um Packers loaded up on the defensive line they have a lot of depth at both interior dline and on the edges and uh but that you know at at a premier position at Edge rusher you show that kind of promise and that kind of potential and the Packers knew you know they know the growth that Mosby has made that entire first year is spending his entire undrafted rookie or on the practice squad he makes it now and um and hats off to to uh bo Melton his third crack at trying to make an initial 53 obviously he's played in NFL games he's got statistics to his name made some big plays for the Packers down the stretch last year but this was the time of year that he was always getting the bad news and end up you know going onto a practice squad or making his way from Seattle to Green Bay whatever the case might be he's on the 53 now to start the season and that's pretty exciting for that young man yeah and you could just see what it means to that locker room uh to have bull melting in there I think I've used the analogy a couple times before I mean he is the heartbeat of that receiving core he might not be the guy that's getting the 50 snaps a game but you know he's one of the straws that stir that drink and make what this team is pretty special and you know just the way he's dealt with us and his professionalism since the day he got uh the day he signed off of Seattle's practice squad I'll never forget that talking to him for the first time in the locker room and just basically just being hopeful for an opportunity understanding he's a on paper he has 434 speed but he has to play that out and on an actual playing surface and I thought last year he did that you know he mentioned when I talked to him after the game uh on Saturday you know he got the 18 yard touchdown it had been a training camp filled with some ups and downs but he felt like there were more ups and I think the Packers agreed with that as well and there are certain intangibles with him that I think just make it so that you just you can't you can't for you can't risk losing that player again like the Packers did last season they were fortunate he lasted as long as he did on the practice squad they were able to elevate him and then sign him in December and you know was a big part of them having the run that they had so yeah kudo's the bow he's gone about it the right way and ultimately got a huge reward from it yeah no doubt about it well I've waited a little too long to take care of sponsor get me paid I'm not going to wait any longer here West Sirius XM NFL radio delivers hard-hitting analysis and up to the minute NFL news that true Football Fanatics need 247365 and at Cousins Subs we have something for everyone like our Wisconsin cheese curds mac and cheese golden fries and creamy shakes all paired with your favorite sub or sub in a bowl Cousin Subs 50 plus years of better all right well you mentioned it earlier in the show the kickoff in Brazil against the Philadelphia Eagles is eight days away which is hard to process right now but that being said the Packers are turning the page they are starting their um full-fledged prep for the season opener and that includes a practice actually Matt lefur informed the media the Packers will be practicing Thursday night under the light at Lambo field sort of spending their Thursday mimicking what game day next Friday in Brazil is going to be they're going to have some morning meetings and and you know sort of like that walkthrough type of stuff then the players will get a little bit of a break and then they're going to come out under the lights for what sounds like it's going to be a pretty high-intensity practice at Lambo field it's a closed practice we won't be there there won't be any cameras or photographers there but um but this is what always so interesting to me is that is that you know you go you go through that last preseason game youve still got the 90 guys on the roster you have to make all these decisions this year it included a trade and a waiver claim both of both at very very significant spots on the roster and then with the Packers not having until that first Sunday of the regular season the fact that the their first game is on a Friday and we'll be traveling to Brazil a couple of days before that it's all happening pretty fast here West and uh and that uh that opening night kickoff for Green Bay against the Eagles is going to be here before we know I there are so many things I've taken issue with the 17 game schedule and all these different things the NFL has done with tinkering with the league and the Outlook the last few years I will put on record I will be on video saying I absolutely love the fact that they have this mini buy or whatever you want to call it before the opener absolutely it adds so much to not only trying to keep rosters healthy but it allows coaches like Matt lafl to try to do some interesting stuff this week um you would never do this if the Green Bay Packers were playing in six or seven days you would do this if you have an extra day or two to kind of you know see where you're at with your roster get guys comfortable and also get them acclimated to not necessarily the time change or any of those type of things but the fact that you now need to prepare a young football team for Prime Time action in an international site in week one yeah that's what the Green Bay Packers are doing I think it you know as many challenges as this is going to be and we're going to have to get through it in a lot of ways the Packers are the guinea pig for this thing in terms of just the amount of travel that is going to go into this before playing a high stakes matchup where you only have 17 of them that is going to be a huge challenge but it also is a major opportunity I think it's a major opportunity to put this team on display for the entire country the entire viewing public and also a guy like Jordan love who is now really put himself out there now as one of the faces of this league with the contract that he got and the way that he played down the stretch last season that's all very exciting and and honestly Mike so much of this is going to be a day-to-day just how is this going to play out what is this going to be like and Matt laflor and his coaching staff are trying to do their best they can to sort of predict that yeah it's interesting because and we'll talk about this more next week leading up to the matchup itself but but you you look at these two franchises that are meeting in this inaugural game in Brazil to open the season the Packers are a team that you know they made this huge transition last year not only at quarterback which obviously was the headliner but with all these other young players on offense around him it was it it's been um it's been this ongoing transition to where a lot of struggles early in the year then you hit your stride late in the year you make the playoffs and you make a run and you come within an eyelash of getting to the NFC Championship Game and now the Packers are looking to build on that and keep their arrow pointing up right the Philadelphia Eagles are coming into this where a couple years ago they were the NFC champions they were in the Super Bowl and they lose a heartbreaking Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs they come back the following year and everybody's saying what Super Bowl hang over the Philadelphia Eagles are 10- one they're looking like they're going to be the number one seed in the NFC again then the adversity hits and things start to Snowball the wrong way and then they end up losing their division to the Dallas Cowboys they get in as a wild card but they are oneandone in the playoffs and now coming off of that everybody is wondering just where are the Philadelphia Eagles headed um two very very different narratives about two teams that in their own way and at different times have been standard Bears within the NFC but the narratives around these two clubs right now heading into week one of 2024 couldn't be more different no and it's interesting too and the Green Bay Packers are nine and eight they squeak into the playoffs and look as good as they did in Dallas against the number one seed and then conversely number two seed excuse me yeah uh then you you look over on this other side of things and it's the Philadelphia Eagles who for a time there looked like they were going to be the number one seed these fall off during the final half of this the season and now they're suddenly in a position where they have questions answer Nick serani has questions to answer going into this year Jason Kelce is no longer there at Center what's the future of the tush push I mean it's all those type of things that you're going to have to bring I had to do it I had to do it bring that up um come on now but all jokes aside there's a lot out there yet for Philadelphia and when you get San Francisco's going through it too man when you get that close to Greatness immortality Legacy and you fall short it sticks with you and I think both of those franchises in a lot of ways and especially with the eagles with how things went at the end tail end of last season it's a very important game for them come out of the box and it's a reminder and we'll talk about this I'm sure throughout the course of the 2024 season but what happened to both the Packers and the Eagles last year and how their Seasons unfolded it is a reminder of how much of a marathon this 17 game Gauntlet is because because after after nine games the Packers were three and six after 11 games the Eagles were 10 and one and look at where those two teams were in the middle of January they were in completely different like polar opposite type of situations from where they had been just a couple of months earlier so just a reminder something to keep in mind and uh we'll talk about it more next week the dangerous thing about having a seven seed Michael is it isn't necessarily the seventh best team in your conference right and the Green Bay Packers how they finished that year was very different than how they played the first six seven weeks of the year yeah and unfortunately the Dallas Cowboys are on the receiving end it well fortunately for the fortunately for the Packers fortunately for Cowboys fans and Jerry Jones with that we'll call it a wrap on this edition of Packers unscripted be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team heading into week one and off to Brazil we will have more show more Packers unscripted next week as well we've got it all for you on packers.com for Wes I am Mike thank you for tuning in everybody we will see you next time