Packers unintentionally open the door to valuable roster flexibility, and Micah Parsons will eventually be part of the equation
Green Bay has only 50 players on its 53-man roster after a busy weekend, and the injured list will decide how those openings get used.
The Green Bay Packers made several roster moves on Saturday ahead of their Week 6 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Those moves left the 53-man roster with only 50 players, so the team has three open spots to work with over the next few weeks.
Green Bay also elevated two players from the practice squad for gameday against the Cowboys, edge defender Arron Mosby and wide receiver Coleman Owen. Both revert to the practice squad on Monday, which keeps the three open spots intact.
Some of those spots are already spoken for. But the front office still has flexibility, especially while edge defender Micah Parsons remains on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. So, let’s discuss how those three spots could be used.
Two spots should be filled soon
The first opening goes to running back Josh Jacobs. He will be lifted from the NFL Commissioner’s Exempt List on Monday, so he counts against the 53-man roster once again. That spot is filled as soon as he returns.
The second spot could go to defensive tackle Jordon Riley this week. Riley suffered an Achilles injury late last season, and the Packers designated him to return from the PUP list two weeks ago. After two full weeks of practice, he should be back on the 53-man roster soon.
The timing works well for Green Bay, because the defensive tackle room is thin due to injuries. Warren Brinson and Jonathan Ford went on injured reserve, with the expectation that both return this season. Javon Hargrave, meanwhile, is out for the season. A healthy Riley would give the interior defensive line a needed body.
The Micah Parsons timeline
The third spot is more open. Theoretically, it belongs to Parsons once he returns, but nobody knows exactly when that will happen. The Packers haven’t even opened his 21-day practice window yet.
Therefore, the team can wait. Green Bay could designate Parsons to return to practice this week or next week, for example. Once it does, the team has three weeks to activate him to the 53-man roster. That allows for a ramp-up period while Parsons still doesn’t count against the roster.
Parsons isn’t the only player in that position. Tight end Luke Musgrave is also on the PUP list, and the Packers haven’t opened his 21-day practice window either. Edge defender Collin Oliver is on injured reserve with a designation to return, and his practice window remains closed as well.
As a consequence, the 53rd spot is available for now. If needed, the Packers could fill it with a practice squad player. If they are comfortable with how the roster looks, they can simply keep the spot open, save some money, and still elevate players from the practice squad on gamedays if needed.
Plenty of elevations left
The Packers haven’t relied much on practice squad elevations. Each player can be elevated up to three times during the regular season, and Green Bay has used very few of them so far.
Wide receiver Bo Melton and linebacker Kristian Welch received one elevation each, but they are now on the 53-man roster, so that doesn’t matter. Mosby and Owen each have one elevation after this weekend. That leaves the Packers plenty of room to call up practice squad players when injuries pile up, without committing a full roster spot.
Losing players to injured reserve is never a good thing, and the defensive tackle group shows how quickly depth can disappear. Still, the open spots give Green Bay options to replace those players. With Jacobs back, Riley close, and Parsons still waiting for his practice window, the next few weeks will show how the front office decides to use that flexibility.
