Packers Practice Squad/Waivers Tracker: Preseason Star Among 13 Returning

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers couldn’t keep everyone on the defensive line during Sunday’s roster cuts. On Monday, a key player from last season, nose tackle Nazir Stackhouse, was claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans.

With waivers complete, the Packers got to work in building their practice squad. By the end of Monday, the team announced 13 signings. They can sign 16 – or 17 if one of them is an international player. One of those remaining vacancies will be used on the most important position in the sport.

Here’s where things stand, starting with the Packers losing Stackhouse.

Waiver Results

The Packers were not awarded anyone on waivers but did lose nose tackle Nazir Stackhouse on waivers to the Titans.

He was the only player lost by the Packers, meaning the rest of their player cuts from Sunday are eligible to sign to the practice squad.

Stackhouse opened training camp as the No. 1 nose tackle but had lost the job to Jonathan Ford by the first preseason game.

Stackhouse made the roster as an undrafted free agent last year. He had a solid training camp; he just wasn’t productive enough in a crowded room of defensive linemen.

“I feel like my confidence is better this year,” he said during training camp. “Obviously, what I did last year is just my pride, but it’s good to see where I came from and it’s even better to see where I can go.”

Practice Squad: Defensive Line (Two Edge, One DT)

Green Bay Packers edge Nyjalik Kelly (47) tackles Arizona Cardinals running back Tre Stewart. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Packers scored a big win when they re-signed Nyjalik Kelly. The undrafted free agent finished the preseason on a powerful note with a sack/strip against Denver and a sack, three tackles for losses and an interception against Arizona.

“I think he’s made tremendous progress,” coach Matt LaFleur said after the game. “I think DC (assistant coach DeMarcus Covington) does a great job with those guys, and it was cool to see him get extended action and out there making plays.

“I think he had a sack, a TFL and an interception, and I saw multiple other times. I know late, they converted on a third down where he’s hitting the quarterback just as he’s releasing the football. So, I thought he did some really nice things.”

With only four edge players on the opening 53, Kelly could be in position to play right away.

The Packers retained another edge player, Arron Mosby, who is a key cog on special teams. He had eight tackles on special teams while playing in the final 12 games of last season.

On Sunday, the Packers kept seven defensive tackles on their 53. They released two, Nazir Stackhouse and Jaden Crumedy. Stackhouse landed with the Titans on waivers but Crumedy returned to Green Bay despite considerable interest from other teams.

A sixth-round pick in 2024 by Carolina, Crumedy in three preseason games this month had five tackles, two pass deflections and a quarterback hit that resulted in an interception.

Practice Squad: Linebacker (Kristian Welch)

Wisconsin native Kristian Welch fell short of a spot in Green Bay's loaded linebacker room but will provide depth on the practice squad.

He started on the practice squad last season but wound up on the 53. In eight regular-season appearances, he made three tackles. Of his 89 total snaps, 87 came on special teams.

“I think anytime you’ve got a veteran, he’s going to know certain situations and how to attack a guy,” special teams coordinator Cam Achord said. “Veterans are always a comfort factor for coaches too, because they’ve been out there, they’ve been in the heat of battle. Veterans, you’re like, ‘Oh, he’s done it. He naturally does it and feels it.’ But then that’s great teaching stuff, and our vets do a great job of coaching the younger guys.”

Practice Squad: Secondary (Domani Jackson, Safety Dance)

In a big one, the Packers re-signed cornerback Domani Jackson. He was the only one of the team’s six draft picks who did not make the 53-man roster.

Jackson’s rookie season was thrown for a loss due to core-muscle surgery, which kept him out of the offseason practices and the start of training camp. The Packers are betting on the upside of a player who was considered one of the better cornerback prospects at this time 12 months ago.

The #Packers are signing rookie cornerback Domani Jackson to their practice squad, sources tell @CBSSports.

Was a sixth-round draft pick of Green Bay in April. pic.twitter.com/6gG2OI8Uvu
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) August 31, 2026

The first player brought back to the practice squad was undrafted rookie Murvin Kenion III. In three preseason games, he finished third on the team with 11 tackles and was tied for second with two passes defensed.

Kenion was a ballhawk at Nevada, where he was coached by former Packers defensive back Joey Thomas and had five interceptions as a senior.

Kenion and Mark Perry battled for the No. 5 safety job throughout training camp. Ultimately, the Packers kept only four – Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, Javon Bullard and Kitan Oladapo. Kenion will serve as the fifth safety on the roster.

“I think there was good moments for a lot of the guys that got extended playing time,” secondary coach Bobby Babich said after the Denver game. “They’re playing a lot of defensive plays and also turning around and going down on special teams. Gave them a lot of credit for that last night. Liked a lot of the play style.

“There’s some execution things that everybody needs to improve on. But they came out and they toughed it out, and to see some of the physicality that they were playing with – we haven’t had a whole lot of opportunity to see that physicality. So, there’s a lot of things we can improve and we need to improve moving forward to reach the goals, the standards that we want to reach.”

As Perry told Easton Butler, he will not be returning. That is a surprise considering he ran with the No. 2 defense throughout the offseason and training camp and tackled better in the preseason.

Practice Squad: Running Back (Pierre Strong)

According to The Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein, the Packers are bringing back running back Pierre Strong.

In Josh Jacobs’ absence, Strong was in position to be the No. 3 back until the team traded for Kaleb Johnson.

After the Arizona game, Strong said he had no regrets. He thought special teams, where he had a track record in New England with Packers coordinator Cam Achord, could work in his favor. And it might to start the season as Johnson learns the offense.

“If you’re not the No. 1 guy on the team at your position, I feel like you should be on special teams,” Strong said. “I try to work to get on special teams because you’ve got to fit in, you’ve got to find your role, your niche on the team.

“Yeah, I was with Cam early in my career. Kind of the same similarities as far as footwork and detail-oriented. So, I feel like when he came in, he really got detailed with my game and helped me out a bunch.”

Jaden Nixon, an undrafted player from UCF who showed some explosiveness, and Damien Martinez, a seventh-round pick by Seattle last year and a power runner, are not expected back.

Practice Squad: Receiver (Two Return But Not Will Sheppard)

After a big preseason, Will Sheppard was released on Sunday. As we wrote at the time, Sheppard is not expected to return to Green Bay. That would be his choice as he seeks an opportunity to get on the field.

While the Packers didn’t re-sign Will Sheppard, they did bring back Isaiah Neyor, a big, fast, talented player who pushed for a roster spot during training camp before a dropped pass and two penalties against Denver and a dropped touchdown bomb against Arizona on Friday.

The Packers also brought back Chris Hilton, who beat the odds as a mid-camp addition, to the practice squad.

In five seasons at LSU, Hilton finished with only 41 passes for 780 yards and six touchdowns. He went undrafted and signed with the Commanders, who released him when they added Stefon Diggs.

He ran a 4.41 in the 40 before the draft but is faster than that; he opted to play in an unprecedented four college all-star games rather than focus on Combine training.

Asked about the strength of his game, he said after signing: “I would say my IQ, football intelligence. Obviously, everybody would say my speed. But I think the underrated part of my game would be how smart I am.”

He did not catch a pass in the preseason but did have two tackles on special teams.

Practice Squad: Offensive Line (Three Players Return)

The Packers are bringing back Dalton Cooper, an undrafted free agent last year who spent his rookie season on Green Bay’s practice squad.

Cooper played a lot of left tackle during training camp before getting some work at right tackle. During the games, all 62 snaps came at left tackle. He allowed two sacks, according to PFF.

Also, the Packers re-signed undrafted rookie guard Josh Gesky. He played mostly left guard at Illinois but stuck mostly as the No. 3 right guard for the Packers.

Another undrafted guard, Dillon Wade, is expected to return, as well. A versatile lineman at Auburn, he was locked in at left guard during training camp. With Aaron Banks’ on-again, off-again availability, he got a lot of second-team reps along with third-team snaps.

Undrafted rookie center Dylan Barrett is not returning.

Practice Squad: Tight End (Drake Dabney)

Drake Dabney, who was in position to make it as the No. 3 tight end until the Packers signed Jonnu Smith and traded for Mark Redman, is returning to the practice squad. He was signed to the practice squad last year in the wake of Tucker Kraft’s injury.

What About Quarterback?

With the trade of Kyle McCord, the Packers will need a third quarterback. On Sunday, 29 quarterbacks were released around the league.

The Packers almost certainly will add one this week, with practices scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, though former Packers quarterback Sean Clifford is off the table.

The Packers need a quarterback for their practice squad. Around the league yesterday, 29 were released. Here they are, broken down into tiers including the familiar face, reclamation project and former draft picks. ⬇️https://t.co/O2dYxELED7
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 31, 2026

How It Works

Teams had until noon (Central) to put in waiver claims on players. Once that process was complete and the league sorts through all the claims, teams could begin signing players to their practice squad. That means teams can circle back to the players they released on Sunday as well as see who’s available from other teams.

General manager Brian Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur have talked about how it’s not a 53-man roster but rather a 70-man roster, since those practice-squad players often wind up playing in games.

Building the practice squad isn’t only about finding the next-best players. This year, for instance, the Packers kept only four safeties on the roster. That’s not enough to run a practice, so additions will be needed.

“Every year there’s a few areas where you’re just kind of like OK, what’s our practice squad going to look like,” Gutekunst said, “and the guys that we have in the practice squad, do we feel are those guys that can help us still during the year? Are they more just developmental guys for maybe next year?”

Practice Squad FYI

A total of 16 players can be signed to the practice squad. It can be 17 if one of those players is from the International Player Pathway program.

The practice squad used to be for young, developmental players. Not anymore. Up to six veterans with two-plus years of accrued experience (at least six games played in a season) can be on the practice squad.

Rookies and first-year players on the practice squad receive $13,750 per week. For the full 18-week season (including the bye), that adds up to $247,500. Players with two-plus years of experience can earn a minimum of $18,350 per week and a maximum of $22,850 per week.

Each week, two players can be elevated from the practice squad to play in games. A player can be elevated three times. After that, he must be added to the 53-man roster.

Players Released on Sunday

Here were the 30 players released by the Packers. Typically, their initial practice squad is filled mostly with players from this pool. Last year, they signed quarterback Clayton Tune, offensive tackle Dalton Cooper and tight end Josh Whyle from other teams’ cuts to build their first practice squad.

Released on offense (16): RB Damien Martinez, RB Jaden Nixon, RB Pierre Strong, WR Chris Hilton, WR Kisean Johnson, WR Isaiah Neyor, WR Kaden Prather, WR Will Sheppard, T Brant Banks, T Dalton Cooper, T/G Darian Kinnard, G Josh Gesky, G Dillon Wade, C Dylan Barrett, TE Drake Dabney, TE Messiah Swinson.

Released on defense (13): DT Jaden Crumedy, DT Nazir Stackhouse, edge Nyjalik Kelly, edge Arron Mosby, edge Arden Walker, LB TJ Quinn, LB Kristian Welch, CB Shemar Bartholomew, CB Domani Jackson, CB MJ Devonshire, CB Jaylin Simpson, S Murvin Kenion, S Mark Perry.

Released on special teams (1): LS Cal Adomitis.

The Packers have a 53-man roster. Here are the winners and losers from a wheeling-and-dealing Cutdown Sunday. ⬇️https://t.co/AA4fGrVXmc
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 31, 2026

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