Putting a roster moves tracker ahead of Week 18 of the regular season was certainly not on my bingo card, but here we are. It was an intense and crazy week for the Green Bay Packers, with multiple injuries, new needs, and it forced general manager Brian Gutekunst to find creative ways to round out the roster.

So between Tuesday and Thursday, the Packers made a total of 17 roster moves. Yes, that’s wild — even though some of them are for the practice squad.

The issue is particularly interesting because the Packers are expected to sit key players against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18, which increases the chance of these added players making an immediate impact on the team.

Packers roster moves of this week

External additions to the active roster

• Claimed DT Jonathan Ford off waivers from the Chicago Bears.
• Claimed CB Trevon Diggs off waivers from the Dallas Cowboys

The Packers added two players who were on other teams’ rosters last week. Jonathan Ford is a former Packer who spent some time with the Chicago Bears, in and out of the 53-man roster. With Jordon Riley’s season-ending injury, Ford became an option to give the defensive line some depth.

The biggest addition of all was Trevon Diggs, a former All-Pro cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys. Diggs was waived for a combination of factors, and the Packers decided to give him another shot, even though it’s a significant salary for a week. Green Bay had cornerback issues all season, and it got worse with Nate Hobbs and Kamal Hadden going on injured reserve.

Promotions from the practice squad to the active roster

• CB Shemar Bartholomew
• CB Jaylin Simpson
• S Johnathan Baldwin
• QB Clayton Tune

With an obvious need in the secondary, the Packers promoted three defensive backs from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. The fourth promotion is quarterback Clayton Tune, who was elevated for gameday against the Baltimore Ravens and now will start against the Minnesota Vikings.

External additions to the practice squad

• RB Damien Martinez
• G Karsen Barnhart
• CB Tyron Herring
• QB Desmond Ridder
• S Mark Perry

With the four promotions and one PS player going on the injured list, Gutekunst had to rebuild a third of the practice squad in three days. The new additions include Desmond Ridder, who may be Tune’s backup on Sunday if Malik Willis isn’t healthy enough, and running back Damien Martinez, a promising player who was a seventh-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks.

Subtractions

• Waived DT Quinton Bohanna

The Packers had claimed Bohanna off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks, but had been outsnapped by Jordon Riley. Now that Riley got hurt, Bohanna could have a bigger role, but the coaching staff wasn’t impressed by what they saw from the veteran.

Injured reserve

• CB Kamal Hadden
• DT Jordon Riley
• S Zayne Anderson
• CB Nate Hobbs

The four players got hurt during the Ravens game and are out for the season — theoretically, they could return in the Super Bowl, but that’s not the expectation based on their recovery timelines, even if Green Bay makes it that far.

Practice squad/injury list

• TE McCallan Castles

Castles was added to the PS when Tucker Kraft got hurt, but the team elevated rookie Drake Dabney over him when needed last week. Now, Castles will miss at least four weeks with an undisclosed injury.

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