Every year, players vying for a roster spot stand out during training camp and the preseason. Sometimes those performances are enough to make the team. Other times, like in the case of defensive lineman Chris Slayton, they don’t quite get them over the hump.
Things could be different for Slayton this time around, considering Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst spoke highly of his play from the previous preseason on Tuesday.
“We’ve got some competition in that room,” Gutekunst said while discussing state of the defensive line. “Chris Slayton’s coming back too and did some nice things for us last year.”
After being claimed off waivers in May of 2022, Slayton showed promise as a pass rusher, logging five quarterback pressures in three preseason games. Unfortunately, the Packers couldn’t find a spot for him on the initial 53-man roster, so they cut him and signed him to the practice squad. He remained there for the entire regular season.
However, not ready to give up on Slayton, Green Bay brought him back on a reserve/futures contract. Now he will battle at a position much less crowded than a year ago. Veterans Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry are no longer around, as those jobs are expected to go to Devonte Wyatt and TJ Slaton. Still, that leaves plenty of snaps for rotational players.
Slayton will be in the mix for a backup role and compete against two rookies in Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks, as well as 2022 seventh-rounder Jonathan Ford. Gutekunst tends to favor his draft picks when deciding between players, but being singled out by the GM is a good sign for Slayton.
In the end, this could be a make-or-break training camp for Slayton, who has struggled to stick with multiple teams since entering the league as a seventh-round pick in 2019. If he can’t beat out two rookies and a fellow seventh-rounder for a spot on a young and inexperienced Packers defensive line, he might not get another opportunity.