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Former Packers CB Brandian Ross

When the Packers’ 53-man roster was released, one of the surprising “keeps” was cornerback Brandian Ross.

A second-year undrafted player out of Youngstown State, Ross put together a solid training camp and impressed the coaching staff enough to keep him on the roster as the 11th member of the secondary. However, he only lasted one week on the 53-man roster, as he was demoted to the practice squad once outside linebacker Erik Walden was reinstated by the league.

Following Walden’s reinstatement, Ross cleared waivers, which allowed the Packers to bring him back to the practice squad on Sept. 12.

Ross will join Reggie McKenzie and former Packer cornerback Pat Lee in a beat up Raiders’ secondary. Buried on the depth chart with the Packers, Ross will surely have a better opportunity at playing time in Oakland. With starters Ron Bartell and Shawtae Spencer both out with injuries, Lee and Joselio Hanson are slotted to start for the Raiders this week against the pass-happy Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Packers now have an opening on their practice squad, which currently features just one defensive player in lineman Lawrence Guy. No news has been released as to who the Packers will sign to fill Ross’s spot, but it’d be surprising if they left Guy as the only defensive player on their eight-man practice squad.  Read more... (320 words + 1 image, estimated 1:17 mins reading time)

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The Packers cut DT Daniel Muir.

Packers GM Ted Thompson is likely scouring the waiver wire as I type this, looking to add an offensive lineman and maybe another player or two that could help his team in 2012.

For now, though, the Packers 53-man roster is set after Friday’s final cuts. Here are some quick thoughts on the players who are no longer Packers:

QB B.J. Coleman: Cross your fingers and hope that Coleman clears waivers and ends up on the practice squad. The kid has a good arm and sounds like a crazy hard worker. I’d like to see him in two or three years after McCarthy has had a few years to work with him.

DT Daniel Muir: If you were looking for a surprise cut, this was probably it. Muir had a good training camp and looked like he could get after the quarterback, exactly what the Packers needed up front.

WR Tori Gurley: A strong showing against the Chiefs in the final preseason game wasn’t enough to save Gurley. I changed my mind at the last minute and put Gurley on my predicted 53-man roster because I thought his size would save him, but alas, I was wrong (shocking, I know).

WR Diondre Borel: If Gurley didn’t make it, Borel was supposed to be the guy. After having the sixth receiver spotlight all to himself early in camp, it just didn’t happen. Too many drops/fumbles, and not quite the big-play ability that was advertised. UFA Jarrett Boykin ended up swooping in and claiming the sixth WR slot.  Read more... (658 words + 1 image, estimated 2:38 mins reading time)

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The Green Bay Packers have made their first moves to cut down their roster to the 53 man mark to open the regular season.

The following players have been released so far according to various reports and sources.  Any reported cuts will not show up here, however, if not reported by a verified member of the media following the Green Bay Packers:

S Anthony Levine

C Sampson Genus

WR Tori Gurley

WR Diondre Borel

TE Brandon Bostick

FB Nic Cooper

C/G Tommie Draheim

G Reggie Wells

WR Curenski Gilleylen

T Andrew Datko

OL Shea Allard

WR Dale Moss

WR Shaky Smithson (injury settlement)

DE Lawrence Guy

CB Otis Merrill

OL Greg Van Roten

RB Marc Tyler

DE Daniel Muir

QB BJ Coleman

OT Derek Sherrod (PUP)

LB Vic So ‘oto (IR)

Currently these represent 18 of the 22 cuts Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers have to make by 9PM EST today to trim their roster down to 53. As soon as the other cuts are knowm you can be sure we’ll have them here. So be sure to stay on AllGreenBayPackers.com to keep updated as the Packers make their final roster moves before the regular season begins.

Kris Burke is a freelance sports writer currently residing in Wisconsin. His work has been linked to by sites such as National Football Post and CBSSports.com. Follow @KrisLBurke

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The full running list of Packers Roster Cuts can be found here:

http://jerseyal.com/GBP/2012/08/31/a-running-list-of-green-bay-packers-final-cuts/

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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.

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Packers LB Jamari Lattimore is rising.

It’s time to bring back the Packers stock report.

I’m back in my blogging chair after spending three booze-fueled days and nights in Madison, Wis. I gained about 10 pounds and reduced the functionality of my liver by about 7 percent. A typical weekend in Madison.

The only way to get my body back to where it was pre-Madison is to type a couple hundred words about the Packers. For the first Packers stock report of the 2012 season, I’m going to focus on players who entered training camp on the roster bubble. There will be plenty of stock reports dedicated to guys like Aaron Rodgers and Charles Woodson during the season, but for now, let’s focus on the guys who may or may not make the team.

Rising

Dezman Moses
The buzz about Moses grew louder during OTAs and he’s lived up to that hype during training camp. Perhaps hype is a poor word choice. I don’t think anyone is expecting Moses to come in and be an All-Pro. But he looks like a wild-card type of player, someone that could show flashes of brilliance and deliver production from a roster spot that you originally didn’t think would yield much of anything. Whichever word you want to use, Moses is definitely rising.  Read more... (766 words + 1 image, estimated 3:04 mins reading time)

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The Green Bay Packers receivers may not have room for one more.

Earlier in the offseason, I examined a couple ways the Green Bay Packers could shuffle around the 53-man roster to make room for six wide receivers. Both Diondre Borel and Tori Gurley are making a strong push to make the final cut, and the possibility is certainly there. Today, however, I’m going to play the Devil’s advocate and present a few reasons why the Packers won’t even decide to keep that extra receiver.

1. Offensively Useless

First and foremost, there simply isn’t room for a sixth wide receiver in the offense. The maximum number of receivers you can have in a given play is five, and it’s highly doubtful Mike McCarthy would line up Borel or Gurley in place of one of the “Top 5.” He’s going to put the best talent on the field, and that’s not going to include numero seis on the depth chart. Plus, according to the “Football Outsiders Almanac 2012,” the Packers offense lined up in a 4+ WR set on just 7% of their snaps.

Some might counter that having a sixth receiver provides good depth if someone were to get injured; however, we have to remember that tight ends also play a factor. Jermichael Finley and perhaps even D.J. Williams make the issue of depth a little moot. On top of that, the practice squad is always there in case of dire emergencies.

2. Special Teams Factor  Read more... (928 words + 1 image, estimated 3:43 mins reading time)

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Green Bay Packers wide receiver Diondre Borel runs the ball against the San Diego Chargers during the first half of an NFL preseason football game Thursday. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

Diondre Borel had an opportunity to separate himself from the competition in the race for the sixth wide receiver spot on the Packers’ roster Thursday night.

Did he do it? Well, not really. But he also didn’t take a major step backwards. Like the whole battle-for-the-sixth-receiver-spot storyline has been thus far, Borel was just kind of meh against the Chargers. Not terrible, but far from great.

Things didn’t start well for Borel. He got drilled by San Diego’s Demorrio Williams on a first quarter kickoff and fumbled. Coughing the ball up is the surest way to find yourself in Mike McCarthy’s doghouse and off the team, so Borel put himself in a deep hole right off the bat.

Borel returned three more kicks/punts on Thursday, including a 34-yard return late in the first half where he flashed some of the speed and burst that make him an intriguing prospect.

Borel finished with three catches for 13 yards and was targeted five times by Graham Harrell. Those numbers are nothing to brag about, but he didn’t have any drops and he definitely didn’t look overmatched.

Like he showed on the 34-yard return, Borel looked quick after he caught the ball — as quick as someone can look when they’re immediately being swarmed by defenders, anyway.  Read more... (490 words + 1 image, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

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