2024 Roster Status/Tracker

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It was reported the Packers saved 2 million for this season. They save all of his future cap hits but could've probably saved those future cap hits by cutting or trading him after the season. They basically got next to nothing for him. That's why the trade is so hard to figure out. Perhaps they just think he's hit the wall and can't do much?
 

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I agree that saving money this year had little to do with it. I don't think a 7th rounder had much to do with it either. I am looking forward to seeing the new look on the D line. I hope I'm not disappointed.
 

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I agree that saving money this year had little to do with it. I don't think a 7th rounder had much to do with it either. I am looking forward to seeing the new look on the D line. I hope I'm not disappointed.
We don't all the reasons for the fire sale of Smith. Maybe he was voicing displeasure at Hafley's defense? Since the production of the entire D Line compared to last season has declined remarkably, some push back could be starting to percolate? I'm not saying that's true but there are probably some reasons that the fans don't know that contributed towards the fire sale.
 

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You're right about how LVN is getting handled by competent tackles. It's why I think he needs to be moved inside. I just don't see him radically changing his athleticism. He has good speed and strength but it doesn't translate into winning his match ups.
Yeah if his career is going to be salvaged it may be by adding some weight and moving inside. He is much better off going in one direction rather than trying to bull rush a tackle when he has no flexibility in hips. He hasn't even shown glimmers of what I think was expected when he was drafted.
 

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I am looking forward to seeing the new look on the D line. I hope I'm not disappointed.
I wouldn't hold your breath on a "new look". As I posted elsewhere, Smith has been rotating in and out all season, with the number of his snaps slowly declining. Against the Lions, he was only in for 21 defensive snaps or 37% of the plays. Opening game, 54 snaps, 71%.
 

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I wouldn't hold your breath on a "new look". As I posted elsewhere, Smith has been rotating in and out all season, with the number of his snaps slowly declining. Against the Lions, he was only in for 21 defensive snaps or 37% of the plays. Opening game, 54 snaps, 71%.
By "a new look" I only meant we are going to see different players more often. But it will affect pass rush and holding down the run. Either for the good or it won't change much. imho
 

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Smith asked to be traded. Explains the low return.

Thanks for posting the interesting article. Goes to show that Smith must have been well respected and had a good relationship with Gute. He asked to be traded and Gute obliged his wishes. I think the mutual respect in this story is the type of action that pays dividends to the Packers because it's seen as a player friendly organization. It would seem to work in the Packers favor in signing free agents if pay is competitive.
 

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I wouldn't give on LVN yet but he's not an edge rusher. Maybe he can add some weight and move inside. Right now he's a tweener. Too stiff to play on the edge but too small to play a DE position over a guard or tackle.
LVN is 6'-5", 272 lbs. "Average" 4-3 DE's are 6'-4", 265-285. That would make LVN prototypical in size (Rashan Gary is 6'-5", 277 lbs). LVN was only 21 when drafted, had a RAS score of 9.39, and was nicknamed "Hercules" for his strength/power. What part of that sceams tweener for a DE? Sounds, to me, like an ideal mid-1st round pick. I haven't been disappointed & he's only going to get better as he's also described as a "student of the game" by Gary.
 

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Not sure if this was posted elsewhere. But THIS is why they should have sat Love on Sunday!

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LVN is 6'-5", 272 lbs. "Average" 4-3 DE's are 6'-4", 265-285. That would make LVN prototypical in size (Rashan Gary is 6'-5", 277 lbs). LVN was only 21 when drafted, had a RAS score of 9.39, and was nicknamed "Hercules" for his strength/power. What part of that sceams tweener for a DE? Sounds, to me, like an ideal mid-1st round pick. I haven't been disappointed & he's only going to get better as he's also described as a "student of the game" by Gary.
LVN has 1 sack this season in 9 games. That sack came when the qb was flushed into his arms. He's also had very few tackles or TFL's. He's had nearly zero impact this season. While technically a DE, he's rushing the passer mostly on the outside of the tackle similar to an OLB edge rusher in a 3-4. He's not well suited for that role. I think he may have more success rushing on the inside where he might have more success using his strength for a bull rush and not be as inclined to bend around the edge. At this point his RAS score seems irrelevant because he's nearly invisible out there.
 

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Stat comparison of Gary & LVN's first 2 years:
Gary - Games played 31, 32 solo tackles, 7 sacks.
LVN - Games played 26, 38 solo tackles, 5 sacks.

Not saying they're the same type player, but to bag on LVN for a lack of results doesn't add up to me. If Enagbare, Cox or Mosby offer more pass rush then Hafley needs to platoon that position with LVN in on run downs & others on obvious pass downs.
 

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1 Sack in 9 games just doesn't cut it in his second season. Compared to the other pass rushers taken in the first round, LVN is dead last in pass rush production after 26 games. He's certainly going to get more snaps now but its not like getting hasn't had his opportunities. He's just not making any plays. What has he shown so far that makes one think he'll break out and start to be an impact player? I hope I'm wrong but he's worse now than he was at the start of his rookie season.
 

Pokerbrat2000

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I'm thinking that's a click-bait story. I'm not finding any info on this. He hurt his MCL in week 1, so possibky a re-aggravation if true?
I think and hope that you are correct and I should have researched it better, before posting. I am also not finding anything else to collaborate the "Schefter Story". This was the only thing I found and as you said, someone having some fun and manipulating his original tweet from Sept.

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Stat comparison of Gary & LVN's first 2 years:
Gary - Games played 31, 32 solo tackles, 7 sacks.
LVN - Games played 26, 38 solo tackles, 5 sacks.

Not saying they're the same type player, but to bag on LVN for a lack of results doesn't add up to me. If Enagbare, Cox or Mosby offer more pass rush then Hafley needs to platoon that position with LVN in on run downs & others on obvious pass downs.
Not sure that comparing to Gary right now helps LVN's status, unless we want to look for a guy to piddle along for a few years, come out of his shell long enough to qualify for a huge contract, and...
 

Pokerbrat2000

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Not sure that comparing to Gary right now helps LVN's status, unless we want to look for a guy to piddle along for a few years, come out of his shell long enough to qualify for a huge contract, and...

Sadly, NFL contracts have evolved into a situation where teams are willing to pay you based on hope and projections. Not only are NFL teams excited about giving you all that money for services yet to be rendered, they have so much of that money, that they are willing to GUARANTEE you that the money is yours, no matter how poorly you play after they give it to you!

A great system the NFL has :rolleyes:. A ton of motivation for players in a contract year to go all out, play injured, hope for some luck and then they are rewarded with enough money to live comfortably forever.

Have a bad contract year? Maybe you were injured or stats were down? Don't worry, there's another team out there that also has carts full of money, willing to wheel them over to you, betting that you will play much better and they guarantee that....you will get paid....no matter what level of football you play at after you come back from the bank.

Football was much better when guys where playing to either get a ring and/or gold jacket.

Ok....I'm done ranting. :D
 
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The Packers probably figured that they were going to be reducing Smith's snap count further, as they moved younger players forward. Instead of keeping him on the roster, they could save a few bucks, give him a chance to play elsewhere, and open up a roster spot for someone that has the potential of becoming a good piece of the puzzle down the road.

I think it was a win-win situation for everyone at the table to be honest.
 
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So with Preston I'm curious. Is there any monetary benefit to trading him now vs cutting at the end of the season? Obviously we do get SOME return in this scenario, but it feels like we are basically saying that a 7th round pick is worth more than keeping Preston for 8 more games...
According to Tom Silverstein, Pittsburgh takes on his pro-rated $3.2mil + 900K per game
 
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tynimiller

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Sadly, NFL contracts have evolved into a situation where teams are willing to pay you based on hope and projections. Not only are NFL teams excited about giving you all that money for services yet to be rendered, they have so much of that money, that they are willing to GUARANTEE you that the money is yours, no matter how poorly you play after they give it to you!

Yup, Gary was paid EXACTLY in the manner I would bet ALL other teams and a few in Canada if they could would have in GB's situation.

The crazy thing is Gary is still putting together a starting level year at his position just not a top level starter at his position.

With Preston being so transparent about his discomfort in the new system, that should make everyone realize the difference 100% does make a difference and likely takes time. I think Gary is suffering from that and he likely could be a guy that is never going to regain everything from his injury...sad but could be true.

LVN is a roller coaster of a dude for sure at times and I've vented on him...but I'm still saying there are a handful of plays every week where he blows me out of the water with his pop and play. He's still very young, second year and a new system for the third year in a row (Iowa, Barry, Hafley).
 
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LVN is a roller coaster of a dude for sure at times and I've vented on him...but I'm still saying there are a handful of plays every week where he blows me out of the water with his pop and play. He's still very young, second year and a new system for the third year in a row (Iowa, Barry, Hafley).
Yes. Many of forget that many of our players are Rookie, 1st or 2nd year players. Couple that with the decision to not only switch DC’s, but really start from scratch in an entirely new System on the Defensive side. The reality we are left with is we made a substantial conversion on Defense. A more typical expectation would be in the second or third year where we are able to analyze our current group and make adjustments. Then ideally address the weaker links in the following FA and draft etc.

In retrospect and looking from a broad view, Hafley hadn’t done bad at all. He's really picked up about where Barry left off and initially kept this D group performing adequate to good. Not to get derailed but after watching the Detroit game, we did allow a few additional chunk Run plays, but we didn’t get blown out either. We were operating with Nixon often on St Brown and seemed to play it safe by dropping into a zone feel. It allowed some medium grade chunks, but again it was respectable performance against a highly talented opponent. There’s a realistic chance if J’aire played he takes away a play or two there. Nixon was really an unfair matchup against one of the NFL’s premier Wideouts.
 
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I still think GB is 1 veteran CB short of a full deck there in our secondary. Thats when Evan Williams is healthy.

Now we’ve really got a very good reason to go after a DE in the next draft or FA. It’ll be interesting to see how Hafley overcomes this temporary adversity of losing Preston. It’s really going to bring a few weeks of player evaluation with others picking up the slack of Smiths’ snaps.

Personally, I’d like to see us draft a DE first. Then possibly go after a FA at Cornerback to bolster that group. This might change with the emergence of someone down the stretch, but that’s where I am today on roster needs.
 

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I’m hoping a vet release is gonna come our way.
Way to shine that crystal ball... Yannick Ngakoue was just released by the Ravens. Win a waiver claim & he may be that 4-3 DE you were hoping for? 6'-2", 246 lbs so considerably smaller than LVN & all others on depth chart but for $657k (remainder of '24) may be situational pass rusher?
Best stat years were as 4-3 DE, and has played for 6 teams already... maybe our turn? ;)
 
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gopkrs

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Way to shine that crystal ball... Yannick Ngakoue was just released by the Ravens. Win a waiver claim & he may be that 4-3 DE you were hoping for? 6'-2", 246 lbs so considerably smaller than LVN & all others on depth chart but for $657k (remainder of '24) may be situational pass rusher?
Best stat years were as 4-3 DE, and has played for 6 teams already... maybe our turn? ;)
I don't know him at all well. But based on his salary and that he was just let go and has played on various team; I think we want to try our guys first.
 
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Way to shine that crystal ball... Yannick Ngakoue was just released by the Ravens. Win a waiver claim & he may be that 4-3 DE you were hoping for? 6'-2", 246 lbs so considerably smaller than LVN & all others on depth chart but for $657k (remainder of '24) may be situational pass rusher?
Best stat years were as 4-3 DE, and has played for 6 teams already... maybe our turn? ;)
Interesting. There’s a high probability that the Packers are shopping at filling a spot at DE. While in the short term we should function ok, we didn’t address the position in the last draft because we had a sizable group of what I’d call “tweeners”. Guys that can play that role in a pinch, but not necessarily an ideal fit or more a better fit at OLB in a 3-4. The Packers have an opportunity to really add someone who can be a designed fit and I can’t stress this point enough. It’s really not ideal to just switch players around “on a dime” like we’ve done. Ideally you go after someone who’s got some experience or even possible someone that’s played for Hafley or that Design in the recent past.
Thankfully GB does have multiple DL with some position versatility that can hold down the fort. That said Ngakoue is no slouch. He’s put up 69 Sacks in his NFL career, which is ahead of Preston Smith by 0.5. Almost couldn’t get a much better Comp he made the Probowl and led the NFL in Forced Fumbles so he’s a disruptive Defender.
That would almost be as close as you can get to a trade off if we’re thinking he’s a good fit? I have no clue our specific short term interests or intentions though.
 
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