Every NFL franchise heads into the preseason with question marks about their potential roster. The Green Bay Packers are no exception. Several relatively big names on the team's roster will not make it onto the 53-man roster for the regular season.
In fairness to GM Brian Gutekunst and his staff, they've already assembled a deep and talented training camp roster. This is a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. They may not enter the 2025 campaign in the top-tier of title contenders but they have more than a puncher's chance of making a deep postseason run.
Much of their ability to make that kind of lengthy playoff run will depend on the performance of star players like Jordan Love, Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney. The players who latch on to the bottom of the 53-man roster will not have the same sort of impact.
It's still impossible to know when a backup will be called on to play a starring role after a big-name player is forced to miss time. That's why the decisions on the fringes of the roster are so closely scrutinized. The following three Packers are going to find themselves on the wrong side of the cut line before Week's arrival.
1. Sean Clifford
Love is firmly entrenched as Green Bay's starting quarterback and only a serious injury can dislodge him from that lofty perch. Malik Willis went 2-0 as a backup in 2024. The only way he's not going to make the Week 1 roster is if he suffers an injury or another team makes a silly trade offer to bring him in as their starter.
Sean Clifford will enter camp as the No. 3 signal-caller on the roster, but there's no guarantee the Packers will carry three quarterbacks onto the 53-man roster. That's why Clifford spent most of last season on the team's practice squad.
This preseason he will face off against undrafted rookie Taylor Elgersma for the right to be the team's third-stringer for another season. It should not shock any Packers fan if the team opts for the younger signal-caller with the higher upside. Clifford is more prepared to win a game now but he does not have the upside to become anything more than a medioce backup.
The odds slightly favor Clifford outlasting Elgersma in the preseason, but Willis is far ahead of him to serve as Love's backup. Something has gone wrong for Green Bay if the former Penn State quarterback starts the year on the 53-man roster.
2. Mecole Hardman
When Mecole Hardman made the decision to sign for the Packers ahead of the draft it looked as if he was walking into a receiver room with plenty of holes to fill. Unfortunately for the veteran, the team doubled down in the draft by selecting Matthew Golden in Round 1 and Savion Williams in Round 3.
Suddenly, Green Bay has one of the most crowded receiver rooms in all of football. Christian Watson's injury gives Hardman a sliver of hope to make the two deep as one of Love's pass catchers but he faces an uphill battle.
In fact, Hardman's best hope of making the active roster lies in his ability to help Green Bay's special teams unit. His challenge there is that both Keisean Nixon and Jayden Reed have returned kicks and punts for the Packers in the past. They also happen to project as starters at their natural positions.
Hardman should get a long look from head coach Matt LaFleur and his staff during the preseason but it's easy to see him becoming the most prominent player cut just prior to Week 1.
3. Micah Robinson
It may seem unfair to put a rookie on a cut list before he takes a preseason snap but no seventh-rounder is safe during their rookie campaign. Cornerback Micah Robinson faces a real battle if he's going to begin the year on the active roster.
Robinson currently projects to be a backup at outside corner but the Packers have yet to make a signing at that spot in response to Jaire Alexander's departure. Signing a free agent like Rasul Douglas or Asante Samuel Jr. could push Robinson onto the practice squad for his rookie season.
That might actually be the best thing to happen to the former Tulane standout. He is not ready to be thrust into the spotlight of working against high-level NFL receivers. A season on the periphery of Green Bay's roster might help him carve out a long-term career.