3 Packers who locked up roster spot in preseason Week 2, one cut candidate on the brink
![Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick talk with referee John Hussey (35) during their football game Saturday, August 19, 2023, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The game was suspended in the fourth quarter following an injury to New England Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden (7).Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick talk with referee John Hussey (35) during their football game Saturday, August 19, 2023, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The game was suspended in the fourth quarter following an injury to New England Patriots cornerback Isaiah Bolden (7).Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/aed1ef034568c2cfe5700261696617f776b8ff2f311578e82490c099c07fd260.jpg)
Matt LaFleur’s club hosted the New England Patriots on Saturday night. What Green Bay Packers players made an impression one way or another?
The Green Bay Packers were coming off an encouraging 36-19 win over the Bengals in Cincinnati and hosted the New England Patriots on Saturday night. The teams had engaged in joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday.
Early in the fourth quarter at Lambeau Field, New England cornerback back Isaiah Bolden, the team’s seventh-round pick in April, went down after a collision with teammate Calvin Munson. Bolden would be taken off the field on a stretcher. The game would end with 10:29 to go and the Patriots ahead, 21-17.
Referee John Hussey (via ESPN’s Mike Reiss and Rob Demovsky) made the announcement. “At the agreement of both head coaches and team leadership, we have elected to suspend play for the evening. The game is officially over.”
Packers who earned roster spot No. 3: OLB Kingsley Enagbare
The franchise has always relied more on the draft than free agency. Joe Barry’s defensive unit was a bit of a disappointment in 2022 and the team’s run defense finished 26th in the league.
However, the Packers were also hoping to aid a pass rush that came up with just 34 sacks in 17 contests. General manager Brian Gutekunst used a fifth-round pick on University of South Carolina product Kingsley Enagbare.
In the second quarter on Saturday night, the former Gamecock turned the corner on Patriots’ rookie tackle Andrew Stueber and nailed quarterback Mac Jones. The ball came out, Enagbare recovered and it set up a touchdown that would give the Packers a 14-7 lead.
He played 14 plays on defense and finished the night with both of Green Bay’s sacks, as well as the aforementioned forced fumble and fumble recovery.
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