GREEN BAY – Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst addressed the media Tuesday after all the roster decisions made over the previous several days.
Here are five things learned from his comments:
1. Keeping a ton of big guys was no accident.
The Packers have 10 offensive linemen and seven defensive tackles on their 53-man roster, plus three more O-linemen and one DT on the practice squad as of Tuesday morning. While the players had to earn those spots, the large contingents are also partly by design, for multiple reasons.
On the offensive side, Gutekunst always wants to guard against injuries and getting caught short. The Packers began training camp with 17 offensive linemen, and 13 of them are still here.
"That's always, for me, being heavy, particularly early in the year with big guys is important," he said. "Because when we get to October and November and injuries pile up, finding big guys is almost impossible, right? There's just not very many of them out there."
On the defensive side, Gutekunst anticipates new coordinator Jonathan Gannon needing more interior linemen active on game day to have a deep rotation of players available for snaps. Their overall workload is expected to be greater than it was the last two years with Jeff Hafley as defensive coordinator.
Even with keeping seven, that position group was strong enough that second-year pro Nazir Stackhouse was claimed by Tennessee upon hitting waivers.
"It was just a deep group for us, and you want to try to keep as many of those guys as you can," Gutekunst said.
2. Trading QB Kyle McCord wasn't easy, but there's already another QB3 on the way.
As the third-string quarterback, McCord shined in the preseason, which prompted a call from Miami (where former Packers personnel executive Jon-Eric Sullivan is the GM) about a possible trade. At that point, Gutekunst had to decide whether to keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, or likely lose McCord to waivers for nothing.
"We were obviously contemplating do we keep three? Do we try to get him to the practice squad? What's the likelihood of that?" Gutekunst said. "When somebody calls you up and starts offering you, talking about a trade, I think the likelihood of you getting him to the practice squad's probably not strong."
Gutekunst acknowledged when a player like McCord shows so much progress, "it's hard to just move on." But the fluidity of the overall roster as the season unfolds was going to make it difficult to keep three QBs all the way through the year, even if they could've found a way to keep McCord initially.
"It's our job to find the next guy and develop the next guy," he said. "That's kind of what we do, and that's what we'll do as we go forward."
That next guy appears to be Kedon Slovis, who was just in Green Bay last week with Arizona for the joint practice and preseason finale. The transaction presumably will be official later in the day, but Slovis will be signed to the practice squad.
Slovis, who went undrafted out of BYU in 2024, threw for 223 yards on 21-of-35 passing with one TD and two interceptions last Friday night at Lambeau Field. The Packers are his fourth NFL team.
3. The Packers hope RB Josh Jacobs will be playing for them at some point in 2026.
Placed on the commissioner's exempt list over the weekend while his case involving two misdemeanor charges continues to be investigated by the league, Jacobs' status for the upcoming season is in limbo.
The Packers believe Jacobs will be an active player for them at some point, and both Gutekunst and Head Coach Matt LaFleur voiced their support for that outcome.
"I think that's to be seen," Gutekunst said regarding Jacobs playing for the Packers in 2026. "But I'm certainly hopeful that he will, and certainly would expect that. But we're going to let this process play out, and we'll be prepared either way."
The Packers are heading into Week 1 with MarShawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks and newly acquired Kaleb Johnson (via trade with Pittsburgh) as running backs on the active roster, with Pierre Strong Jr. on the practice squad after a solid training camp and preseason.
LaFleur confirmed that Jacobs will remain around the team during his time on the exempt list, but according to league rules he can't practice or play in games.
4. The tight end position has undergone considerable change, but the Packers like where they landed.
Signing veteran Jonnu Smith and trading for the Rams' Mark Redman to join Tucker Kraft and Josh Whyle on the initial 53 gives TE coach John Dunn and the offensive staff a lot of work to do to get the whole group ready to play. Drake Dabney also was retained on the practice squad.
Smith's versatility and ability to line up anywhere and perform any duty asked of a tight end made him an attractive acquisition. Redman is more of an in-line blocking tight end, a role Gutekunst has talked about filling ever since the draft.
"It's going to be a process to get them up to speed and then we'll see how much they can handle and where it goes from there," LaFleur said of the new additions. "But yeah, definitely feel much, much better about the depth in that room."
As for Kraft and whether he will be without any restrictions for the start of the regular season, coming off his ACL injury from last November, LaFleur said: "I hope so but we'll take it one day at a time and see where he's at."
5. There's some good news on the injury front.
DT Warren Brinson, who missed the latter portion of training camp due to a calf injury, has "a good chance" to be ready for Week 1, Gutekunst said.
Meanwhile, WR Savion Williams (high ankle sprain) and edge rusher Collin Oliver (Achilles), who were placed on injured reserve with the designation to return, aren't expected to be out longer than the mandated four-game IR absence.
Also, TE Luke Musgrave, who is remaining on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) due to a neck injury, is projected to return to action eventually, but there is no timeline.
"We're really hopeful and I expect that to happen," Gutekunst said of Musgrave's availability. "(Neck injuries) are obviously sensitive. I would expect him to play. One of those unknown things, so we'll see."
Last but certainly not least, edge rusher Micah Parsons is also on PUP, which requires him to miss a minimum of four games, but a new rule this year allows players to come off PUP and begin practicing after two games. Gutekunst left the door open to that possibility with Parsons.
"I imagine when that time comes, there's going to be some conversations about … what he can and can't do, because he's going to be really eager to get out there," he said. "It doesn't shock me at all, obviously, but these guys, they want to play. They're unhappy when they're not playing. They want to be out there with their teammates, they want to be competing. He's definitely in that category."
