Packers make a shocking roster move nobody saw coming right before the regular season
Green Bay decided to waive wide receiver and special teamer Bo Melton, who had been with the team since 2022.
The Green Bay Packers made a roster move no one saw coming on Friday, waiving wide receiver Bo Melton just days before the regular season begins. The decision caught many off guard, given Melton’s perceived standing as a versatile depth piece and impactful special teamer on the roster.
According to multiple reports, this is a roster management decision and the Packers want Melton back on the practice squad in time to be elevated for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. Tom Silverstein reported that Melton is a vested veteran who wouldn’t go through waivers. However, Melton has three credited seasons in the NFL, not four, which means he has to clear waivers first.
Melton, who was at practice earlier Friday before the Packers decided to part ways, had carved out a role in Green Bay over the past three seasons. The move leaves the Packers with only five wide receivers on their 53-man roster, raising questions about the team’s plans at the position heading into the year.
A winding path through Green Bay
Bo Melton was originally a seventh-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks in 2022. He didn’t make Seattle’s initial 53-man roster as a rookie and spent most of that season on the practice squad. The Packers signed him from the Seahawks’ practice squad to their active roster in Dec. 2022, and he had been in Green Bay since.
Last season, Melton moved to the cornerback position, though he remained a wide receiver by trade. Even while listed as a cornerback, he played 96 offensive snaps (9% of Green Bay’s offensive total). His primary contribution came on special teams, where he logged 185 snaps, accounting for 44.15% of the Packers’ special teams work. His best season as a receiver came in 2023, when he recorded 218 yards and one touchdown. Last season, he had four receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown.
This offseason, the Packers moved Melton back to the wide receiver room, which seemed to signal continued trust from the coaching staff.
It’s not exactly clear what changed between the final cuts and now, but a potential corresponding move should help explain why the Packers made the move without assurances that Melton will return.
Roster management left WR room thinner
Green Bay now carries five wide receivers on the active roster: starters Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Matthew Golden, along with veteran Skyy Moore (who will primarily serve as a returner and special teamer) and undrafted rookie J. Michael Sturdivant. The Packers also have two wide receivers on the practice squad in Isaiah Neyor and Chris Hilton Jr.
Because Melton does not yet have enough service time to qualify as a vested veteran, he will go through the waiver process. If another team claims him, it would absorb his contract. If he clears waivers and becomes an unrestricted free agent, Green Bay would then sign him back to the practice squad with an elevation on Sunday in mind.
