Thursday’s Roster Moves: What They Mean vs. Cardinals
GREEN BAY, Wis. – As expected, the Green Bay Packers made a series of roster moves ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. Also as expected, none of them involved David Bakhtiari, Davante Adams or Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Tight end Dominique Dafney and receiver Malik Taylor returned to the 53-man roster, while receiver Juwann Winfree and offensive lineman Ben Braden were elevated from the practice squad.
With Adams and fellow receiver Allen Lazard on the COVID-19 reserve list, Winfree and Braden officially were COVID elevations. Generally, a player can be elevated to the practice squad twice. The third time means a season-long promotion to the 53-man roster, which was the case with Equanimeous St. Brown. An elevation for COVID reasons doesn’t factor in that math.
Valdes-Scantling will spend a fifth consecutive game on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Bakhtiari will spend his eighth consecutive game on the physically unable to perform list due to the ACL injury that happened almost 10 months ago. The short week and limited practice time made their returns to the lineup highly unlikely.
Elevated: WR Juwann Winfree – This is Winfree’s second elevation to the gameday roster and both were for COVID reasons. With Adams, Lazard and Valdes-Scantling unable to play, Winfree will fortify a group that was down to only veteran Randall Cobb and the young group of St. Brown, Malik Taylor and rookie Amari Rodgers.
With Green Bay’s primary receivers missing most of the offseason practices, someone had to step up. That player was Winfree, who strung together a terrific set of practices to thrust himself into the mix headed into training camp.
“He’s been awesome,” receivers coach Jason Vrable said early in training camp. “I think he's been playing faster, and I don't know if it's his knowledge of the playbook or just trusting what we're looking for. When he first was here, it was a lot of movements and all that stuff, where now he's just taking angles on guys and using his feet and using his speed and his talents and creates separation. He's put in the work and we're really, really happy with him.”
Activated: WR Malik Taylor – After missing two games with COVID, Taylor is officially back on the roster. Playing in the first five games, Taylor caught two passes for 14 yards in the opener and had become a capable gunner on special teams.
“We’ll try to ramp him up and see where he’s at,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Tuesday. “He hasn’t been around for a while. We’ve just got to see where he’s at.”
While Winfree had the strong offseason practices, it was Taylor who had the strong preseason that allowed him to knock St. Brown off the opening roster.
“For Malik, talent has never been the issue; it’s just putting it all together,” LaFleur said in September. “It’s going out there, playing fast, playing confident, and I thought you’ve seen him play with more urgency and more fire on the field. He made some really good plays for us, and I think he’s physical guy, too. He does a great job in the run game, and he’s going to be a guy that we’re going to count on on special teams, as well. He’s a young guy that continues to develop, and I thought he really went out there in the preseason and earned it. He took that spot, and he did a great job and we’re excited about just his development.”
Activated: TE Dominique Dafney – A versatile player, he played 29 snaps in Week 2 vs. Detroit but suffered a hip injury at practice the following week. After a stint on injured reserve, he practiced the last three weeks. With his ability to catch the ball and his comfort level at fullback, he could have a decent role vs. the Cardinals.
“We all want to start and we all want to catch touchdowns, but, first and foremost, I want to win,” he said in September. “If me having to block 300-pound dudes who are 6-8, 6-9 with extremely long arms and that’s what I have to do so we can win, then I’m going to do it because I love winning. Whatever I have to do to be a part of this team and win, then I’m going to do it.”
Dafney was one of the feel-good stories of last season, going from a bouncer at a bar in Iowa to catching a touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers.
Elevated: OL Ben Braden – This is Braden’s third appearance on the gameday roster. For the second consecutive week, he is a COVID elevation. With center Josh Myers sent to injured reserve last week and veteran offensive tackle Dennis Kelly (back) listed as doubtful and unlikely to play, Braden will join Yosh Nijman and Jake Hanson as the backups.
