The dust has settled and many teams have finished making moves. There are still some surprising players losing spots or getting contracts, like the Jets cutting running back Zonovan Knight earlier today. The Packers have finalized their first official 16-man practice squad of 2022 with some interesting faces. There are still moves being made so the look of the practice squad may change over time.
Packers Week 1 Practice Squad
Here is the initial practice squad for the Green Bay Packers:
- QB Danny Etling
- RB Patrick Taylor
- RB Tyler Goodson
- WR Travis Fulgham
- WR Juwann Winfree
- TE Shaun Beyer
- OL Caleb Jones
- DL Jack Heflin
- DL Chris Slayton
- OLB La’Darius Hamilton
- OLB Kobe Jones
- ILB Ray Wilborn
- CB Benjie Franklin
- CB Kiondre Thomas
- S Micah Abernathy
- K Ramiz Ahmed
Of the 16 signed to the squad, 14 of them played for the Packers during the preseason. The only players who didn’t are Tight End Shaun Beyer and Corner back Benjie Franklin. The practice squad allows the Packers to carry 16 additional players onto their roster who don’t dress or count towards the depth chart.
Some of the more interesting names are Goodson, Taylor, Fulgham and Abernathy. Goodson and Taylor are both great story lines from camp after they battled it out for the third running back spot. Unfortunately, the Packers chose to go a different way and keep two running backs instead while Kylin Hill is on IR. Fulgham is a few years removed from a productive season with the Eagles. In 2020, the receiver recorded 38 receptions and four touchdowns, however he ended up with the Broncos before being waived.
Abernathy is another interesting name after his impressive performances in the preseason. Abernathy dominated games at times and provided reliant coverage over top. Unfortunately, he lost his roster spot on the Packers to Rudy Ford who became available during 53-man roster cuts.
How Does the Practice Squad Work?
In the NFL now, each team is allowed four “keepers” who are safe from other teams signing them. The other 12 players will remain available to the rest of the league to sign onto their active roster. Also, practice squad players can only be signed to active rosters. Likewise, they cannot be signed to another practice squad unless they are cut. Each team can protect any player as many times as they want throughout the season.
Along with this, each team gets two extra roster spots, a 54th and 55th. The Packers will get their choice of two practice squad players who they can promote to the active roster on game day, who essentially become emergency players.
Follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports, click here!
