Sternberger May Sit Precariously on Roster Bubble
GREEN BAY, Wis. – In 2019, the Green Bay Packers used a third-round pick on Jace Sternberger to provide some badly needed punch at tight end. At the time, general manager Brian Gutekunst saw a “difference-maker” who could “be a matchup problem” as a receiver.
In other words, the Packers envisioned the 34-yard catch Sternberger made on Saturday night against the Houston Texans.
However, the reality is Sternberger has made no difference whatsoever. At best, at the midpoint of training camp, he’s fourth on the tight end depth chart. At worst, he might not even make the roster.
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While Sternberger’s big catch jump-started Green Bay’s lone scoring drive and demonstrated what the team saw in him during a breakout season at Texas A&M, tight ends coach Justin Outten on Sunday instead focused on Sternberger’s inconsistent performance.
“That one play doesn’t really describe the player,” Outten said. “It’s more consistently what you’re putting in day in and day out. With his consistency, it’s kind of been sporadic. Whether it’s still getting used to the playbook or feeling around the line of scrimmage, he’s still having some up-and-down days. With the extra reps that he’s getting, he’s got a handle it a little bit better in a sense of more video and doing the extra things outside. But that’s all fixable. Those things can come along. This is a huge preseason for him with these three games and being the guy and getting as much reps as possible in these live settings. He can grow from some lessons that he learned last night and then moving forward.”
By press conference standards, that was a harsh critique. While Outten downplayed Sternberger’s performance, he raved about practically everybody else on the depth chart. He did the same thing during OTAs. Of course, Outten saluted the performances of Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis on Sunday. But he also talked about Josiah Deguara’s versatility opening up the playbook, and how he was “really excited” about what Dominique Dafney can do this season. Even Isaac Nauta was lauded for having “some stuff in his neck” as far as versatility and leadership.
To be sure, injuries have short-circuited Sternberger’s development. As a rookie, he missed most of training camp with a concussion and spent the first half of the season on injured reserve with an ankle injury. He had a role last year until another concussion sidelined him for December. By the time he was healthy, he had fallen behind Dafney, who had been a bouncer at a club in Iowa, and was inactive for both playoff games.
Injuries, however, are no excuse for Outten’s reference about the playbook. How can a player in Year 3 of a system still not know what’s he’s doing every time?
“It’s just the confidence in it. It’s sitting in a room and understanding what to do but then going out and getting it performed,” Outten said. A heavy workload this summer – Outten said Sternberger leads the tight ends in reps during training camp and he played a position-high 26 snaps vs. Houston – should help.
“It’s getting him acclimated and getting back on track because he’s been hit with that injury bug,” Outten continued. “Just getting in a groove and finding his spot and feeling more confident with his body. I know he’s put on some weight that’s going to help him in the in-line world. He’s going to consistently check into work and do the things that he can but just getting him out there more will help him tremendously. You can sit in here and draw it up all you want but you’ve got to physically be able to do it. Putting him in those situations should build his confidence up.”
A few realities could keep Sternberger off the chopping block. One, he’s a third-round pick – a major investment. That investment includes the $1 million signing bonus. Surely, the Packers would like to get some bang for those megabucks. And, oddly, the two-game suspension that Sternberger will serve to start the season could give him a reprieve. Sternberger won’t count on the 53-man roster for those first two games. At that point, maybe somebody else will have to go on injured reserve and Sternberger can rejoin the team without Gutekunst being forced to release someone else.
But with Tonyan, Lewis and Deguara atop the depth chart and the promise of Dafney after last year’s late-season performance, is there any reason for Sternberger to stick around – his draft status notwithstanding?
“It’s just constant evaluation and it’s going to be different for each guy,” Gutekunst said when asked generically about the fish-or-cut-bait conundrum with struggling top picks. “I think sometimes you get to a certain stage where it’s not good for the team to keep them around and then you have to move on. But, certainly, if we invest a draft pick in you and we invest time into you, we’re going to give you an opportunity to see if you can make it.”
