Beyond the bubble

After stressful Saturdays in the past, this year's final cuts should be worry-free ordeals for Jake Kumerow, Robert Tonyan, Alex Light and Tyler Lancaster.

For bubble players such as Green Bay Packers running back Keith Ford, Thursday’s preseason finale against Kansas City is “all or nothing.”

Tyler Lancaster knows the feeling.

An undrafted free agent last year, Lancaster was stuck toward the bottom of a deep defensive line depth chart that included Kenny Clark, Mike Daniels, Muhammad Wilkerson, Dean Lowry and Montravius Adams.

“There was a lot of stress put on this last game,” Lancaster recalled this week. “During the preseason, I hadn’t had too many reps in the first three games. That fourth game was like my Super Bowl and I felt good about it. But I knew that it would be an extremely stressful day, so I tried to treat it like any other day. I came in, I got my workout, took a shower, ate some breakfast, waited in the locker room, and then you get the call.”

“The call,” of course, was the dreaded call to turn in your iPad. Lancaster’s call, though, came with a silver lining. Because of a strong performance in that final game against Kansas City, the Packers wanted to bring Lancaster back on the practice squad.

“At that point, I knew I hadn’t performed to my standards so I was happy to get the call back and stick with the team,” Lancaster said. “It’s definitely different this year.”

It’s different because Lancaster was a revelation last season, as he played in 12 games with five starts. He’s continued to get better and should be a vital cog of the run defense. It’s different for tight end Robert Tonyan and offensive lineman Alex Light, as well. Tonyan and Light were among the players whose bubbles didn’t burst on last year’s Cutdown Saturday. This year, they appear to be safely on the roster ahead of Thursday’s game against the Chiefs. 

Tonyan played only 67 snaps last season and Light played just 26. It should be a different story this year, with Tonyan figuring to have a prominent role on the offense and Light serving as the No. 3 offensive tackle.

“It’s definitely different compared to last year with having a lot more time under my belt to prove it’s not just one offseason and camp to prove yourself,” Tonyan said. “I had a full season to prove myself for this year, so it is a lot different. But, at the end of the day, everyone’s got to make the team.”

Tonyan’s path to the roster last year will forever live in infamy. Just minutes before the deadline, he received a text message to come to the stadium with his iPad. Tonyan believed he was being released. Instead, he was greeted by smiling faces. Was the text a prank? A cruel joke? Whatever it was, Tonyan won’t be starting at his phone this Saturday. Instead, he’ll be eyeballs-deep in preparation for next Thursday’s Week 1 showdown at Chicago. He’s already been told he won’t play against the Chiefs. A quarterback-turned-receiver at Indiana State, Tonyan has been deemed too important to risk in a preseason game.

“It’s been a lot different,” Tonyan said, “but J.O. (tight ends coach Justin Outten) and Coach (Matt) LaFleur and Aaron (Rodgers) have been very helpful and challenging me every day to put me in situations that I’m going to see in a game and trusting me in different situations and keep giving me opportunities to make plays.”

It should be a stress-free Saturday for Light, too. Should be, being the key words. Light laughed at first when asked if this Saturday would be a lot easier than it was last year.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be as easy as you think,” he said. “I definitely have more confidence. I’ve had a good camp so far but it’s not finished yet. Hopefully, when it comes down to it, I’ll be the backup tackle.”

For the first time in five training camps, receiver Jake Kumerow should be off the bubble, too. An undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2015, Kumerow was cut by the Bengals at the end of camp in 2015 and 2016 and early in the season in 2017. Kumerow appeared poised to make the Packers’ roster last summer until his dive into the end zone in a preseason game ended with an injured shoulder and a trip to injured reserve. He made his first eight career catches and scored his first career touchdown during five December games.

Kumerow’s been one of the team’s top offensive players in training camp this summer and frequently has earned rave reviews from Rodgers. Still, after so many unhappy endings, Kumerow is taking nothing for granted.

“I’m still scratching and clawing every day, just like I always have,” he said. “When the day comes, we’ll see what the move is. Hope for the best and expect the worst.”

Expect the worst?

“Always,” he said.

Even when getting regular first-team reps?

“I’ve been with the starters before and not made the 53,” he said. “I’ve seen guys that have been with the starters all camp not make the 53. You never know what they’re thinking, so you’ve got to attack every day.”

Still, for the first time, the 27-year-old appears set to not only make the team but be a regular part of the rotation. That should eliminate some of the stress, right?

“I feel solid, yeah,” he said. “There’s always room for improvement. You can’t be complacent. You’ve got to always be working to get better. You can’t go out there and feel like, ‘All right, cool, I’m out here with the 1s, so I’m all right.’ No, you’ve got to keep getting better every day.”