The Green Bay Packers made an intriguing roster management move with wide receiver Bo Melton on Friday, and the front office’s ability to pull it off traces back to a little-known NFL roster rule and a signing that dates to 2022.

Green Bay released Melton and re-signed him to the practice squad without the wideout ever hitting the waiver wire. The move creates salary flexibility and an open spot on the 53-man roster heading into the Packers’ Week 1 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.

How the credited seasons rule made this possible

For a player to bypass the waiver process after being released, he needs four credited seasons in the NFL. A player credits a season by spending at least three weeks on an active roster, injured reserve, or the physically unable to perform list.

Melton spent the 2023, 2024, and 2025 seasons on the Packers’ roster, accounting for three credited seasons. The fourth, which was actually his rookie season, is where it gets interesting.

Green Bay signed Melton off the Seattle Seahawks’ practice squad with only two weeks remaining in the 2022 season. Under normal circumstances, two weeks would not be enough to credit a season. However, when a team signs a player to its active roster off another team’s practice squad, the signing team must pay that player three weeks of salary. Because Melton received three weeks’ worth of pay after his move from Seattle, he credited the 2022 season. That gave him four credited seasons total now, allowing the Packers to release him without the waiver process standing in the way.

A clever strategy for Brian Gutekunst’s front office

The move accomplishes several things for the Packers. First, Green Bay now has an open spot on the 53-man roster for at least this week, giving the front office flexibility to make additional moves if needed.

More significant than the roster spot itself is the financial element. By moving Melton to the practice squad, the Packers no longer carry his fully guaranteed base salary for the remainder of the season. If the team decides to move on from Melton at some point during the year, it can do so without absorbing a full salary hit.

The Packers also benefited from fortunate timing on the practice squad side. The Houston Texans signed defensive tackle Jaden Crumedy off Green Bay’s practice squad on Friday, which opened a PS spot. The Packers had their 53 players on the active roster but only 15 on the practice squad, plus the International Pathway Program player, German kicker Lenny Krieg. That open practice squad spot allowed Green Bay to place Melton there without cutting anyone else.

Melton is expected to be elevated for game day to be active against Minnesota on Sunday. The Packers could then promote him back to the 53-man roster as early as Week 2.

It’s a complicated sequence, but the end result is smart roster management by the Packers’ front office. Green Bay created salary flexibility and kept a useful wide receiver and special teamer available for Sunday’s game without sacrificing anyone else on the practice squad to make it happen.