Packers rumors: Sean Clifford's future, surprise legacy cut, plan at kicker

The Green Bay Packers, led by the emergence of Jordan Love, surprised many and not only made the postseason, but upset the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card Round last season. Love established himself as a star quarterback, and got paid like one earlier this offseason.

They're as set as any team in the NFC under center, but one major storyline to follow in Packers training camp and in their preseason games was who'd win the backup job. That, and many other roster battles have officially come to an end with Tuesday being the deadline to trim the roster down to 53 players.

With Week 1 of the regular season rapidly approaching, Packers rumors are swirling. Here are the most important ones for your enjoyment on this fine Tuesday afternoon.

Packers rumors: Green Bay finally declares winner of underwhelming kicker competition

Is there anything more frustrating in the NFL than watching a bad kicker attempt to put points on the board for your favorite team? Most kicks feel like "gimmes," yet last season, Packers fans had to deal with arguably the worst kicking situation in the NFL.

2023 sixth-round pick Anders Carlson was the team's starter at the position and let's just say things didn't go too well. He made just 81.8 percent of his 33 field goal attempts and just barely made over 50 percent of his kicks 40 yards or beyond. He even made just 87.2 percent of his extra-point attempts, making him the least efficient kicker in that department in 2023.

The Packers gave him another chance to prove himself this preseason, but Carlson was outplayed by veteran Greg Joseph, who evidently won the underwhelming competition. The Packers have released Carlson in somewhat of a surprising move.

There's still a chance that Green Bay goes outside of the organization for a kicker if they find anyone they like, but for now, the spot is Joseph's to lose. While it's tough to release a kicker that you recently used a draft pick on, it's hard to argue against Joseph being the more reliable kicker for a Packers team that will need every point it can get as they try to make a deep postseason run.

Packers rumors: Green Bay makes surprising legacy cut

Carlson wasn't the only player cut by the Packers on Tuesday. Green Bay made the somewhat surprising decision to release Jalen Wayne, the cousin of NFL legend Reggie Wayne, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

The Packers had signed Wayne in July to add more depth to their wide receiver room, but his chances of making their 53-man roster were pretty slim. The fact that he had just one reception in his three targets this preseason for a total of eight yards made it almost impossible for Wayne to make the team.

While the Packers don't have an established WR1 in their receiver room, they actually have a good amount of depth. Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, and Dontayvion Wicks were all clear locks, and guys like Bo Melton, Malik Heath, and Grant DuBose all had strong cases to make the team.

Wayne was going to need to have an electric preseason to stand a chance, but he did not. It would've been cool to have Reggie Wayne's cousin on the team, but it just didn't make much sense. Perhaps we'll see him on the practice squad.

Packers rumors: Green Bay finally makes Sean Clifford decision fans can get behind

The Packers are set with Jordan Love as their starting quarterback, but they still entered the preseason with a glaring quarterback problem. Neither Sean Clifford nor Michael Pratt made sense to be Love's primary backup, and while they both had some good moments this preseason, neither showed enough to be worthy of a Week 1 roster spot.

Sure enough, the Packers made a trade on Monday, acquiring Malik Willis in a deal with the Tennessee Titans. Is Willis an ideal backup? That remains to be seen, but he certainly has more upside than both Clifford and Pratt.

With Willis entering the mix, the Packers had a decision to make about Clifford in particular. They chose to release him, giving the former fifth-round pick a chance to sign with another team before the regular season begins.

While Pratt was released also, there's reason to believe he'll be on the Packers practice squad come Week 1. There's a very good chance that Clifford has played his last game in the Packers organization.

The hope obviously is that Love plays in all 17 games and nobody has to even think about who their backup quarterback is, but that's not a guarantee. If Love has to miss time, it's hard to argue that the Packers are in a worse position with Willis taking his place over a guy like Clifford who has just one NFL pass attempt under his belt in games that count.