When Brian Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur are putting together the Green Bay Packers’ initial 53-man roster, the ultimate goal is to keep the 53 best players.
However, to varying degrees, there are constraints to overcome. One of which the Packers are currently experiencing at the safety position because of injuries.
Fortunately, Innis Gaines and Tariq Carpenter have both returned to practice this week, while the Packers are taking the cautious approach with Darnell Savage, which hopefully makes him available come Week 1.
But the injuries to Vernon Scott and Dallin Leavitt appear to be more severe. We still don’t have a diagnosis on Scott, and the last we heard about Leavitt was LaFleur telling reporters that he was going to be out “a while.”
Prior to their injuries, Scott was consistently working alongside Adrian Amos with the starting defense, while Leavitt was expected to be a core special teams player, given his past experience under Rich Bisaccia in Las Vegas.
It very much seemed that both were going to be contributors to this Packers team in some capacity this season – which adds a new element when it comes to constructing the 53-man roster.
If Scott and/or Leavitt are expected to miss significant time, but either could potentially return at some point this season, the Packers may want to keep that door open, so either player can help this team down the stretch run.
But in order to do so, they’ll have to be placed on the initial roster, even if they can’t contribute right away.
If a player is placed on IR before rosters are set, their season is effectively over. If a player is placed on the PUP list, they either have to be added to the 53-man roster after Week 4, or put on IR at that time, which again, would end their season. So utilizing the PUP list doesn’t exactly work if Scott and Leavitt are dealing with long-term injuries.
On the flip side, if either player is first placed on the initial roster and then added to IR as a corresponding move, they will have the opportunity to return this season.
If the Packers choose to go this route, that likely means rostering five safeties, with Amos, Savage, and Shawn Davis joining Scott and Leavitt. At a minimum, if everyone was healthy, Green Bay would keep four safeties on the 53, which means by having to keep Scott and Leavitt, that’s one roster spot being taken away from another position group.
Once rosters are set, and Scott and Leavitt are then placed on IR, the Packers then have two roster openings that would be filled by players on the practice squad – most likely including a safety, to bring their total to four on the active roster, and a player from another position group, such as a 10th offensive lineman or a fifth linebacker.
Now, with all of that said, everything just discussed could quickly become a moot point depending on the severity of each injury, whether it be season-ending – which we don’t know at this time – or if the timeline to return is much shorter.
The availability of Scott and Leavitt this season will have an impact on what the initial 53-man looks like, even though each player may not contribute any time soon and, in all likelihood, will require some roster maneuvering by Gutekunst.
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