General manager Brian Gutekunst has been extremely smart to maximize what the Green Bay Packers can do with their roster. On Monday, there was another good example of that.

The Packers released long snapper Matthew Orzech and activated defensive tackle Jonathan Ford from injured reserve. These are not big moves, they won’t define the team’s season by any means, but it’s interesting to see how Gutekunst does a good job of managing the roster.

Why they did it

Ford couldn’t automatically be placed on the practice squad from the injured reserve. So what the Packers did was activate him to the 53-man roster. In order to not risk losing a player, Green Bay released Orzech, who’s a vested veteran — he has more than three accrued seasons in the NFL. That means Orzech won’t go through the waiver process, and the Packers can re-sign him at any point.

This will give the Packers the flexibility to activate Ford from IR, and then bring the long snapper back in time to play against the Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday in Florida.

The Packers had already done that in 2023 — by that time, teams couldn’t designate players for return if they hadn’t yet made the initial 53. So Orzech was released on final cuts and signed back after a day, occupying a roster spot from a player moved to IR with the chance of returning later in the season.

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Alternative

Now, the Packers have two options. The first and most likely one is to sign Matthew Orzech back on Tuesday, waiving Jonathan Ford. If the former seventh-round pick clears waivers, the team could sign him back to the practice squad.

However, they can do an even smarter and more intriguing move. The Packers could keep Ford on the 53-man roster and sign Orzech to the practice squad. Obviously, the veteran would have to accept that, but the move would maximize the team’s roster flexibility.

According to relatively new NFL rules, each team can elevate up to two players from the practice squad for gameday every week. Each player can be elevated by the same team up to three times throughout the regular season.

That opens the door for the Packers to sign Orzech to the practice squad and elevate him three times, for the next games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, and Detroit Lions. This scenario would allow the Packers to protect Ford from the waiver process, while keeping Orzech available to play.

So far this season, the Packers have elevated fullback Andrew Beck (three times, can’t be elevated again), quarterback Sean Clifford (twice), cornerback Robert Rochell (twice), and cornerback Kamal Hadden (once).

Green Bay has other roster decisions to make this week, because rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd is already eligible to return from IR, and Beck has already had all of his elevations.

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