The Packers announce their initial 53-man roster for 2023

The Green Bay Packers officially announced their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday, just minutes after the league-wide deadline had closed. Three undrafted rookies made the team, which should push the Packers’ consecutive seasons with an undrafted rookie on the roster in Week 1 to a 19-year streak when they face off with the Chicago Bears. The three players in the mix to help extend this streak are running back Emanuel Wilson, receiver Malik Heath and outside linebacker Brenton Cox Jr., who were all standouts in the preseason.

You can find the Packers’ full roster below, as well as some analysis of the team’s choices.

2023 Packers 53-Man Roster

• QB (2): Jordan Love and Sean Clifford
• RB (3): Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon and Emanuel Wilson
• WR (6): Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Malik Heath, Samori Toure and Dontayvion Wicks
• TE/FB (3): Luke Musgrave, Josiah Deguara and Tyler Kraft
• OL (11): David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jon Runyan Jr., Zach Tom, Rasheed Walker, Yosh Nijman, Royce Newman, Sean Rhyan, Caleb Jones and Luke Tenuta
• DL (6): Kenny Clark, T.J. Slaton, Devonte Wyatt, Colby Wooden, Karl Brooks and Jonathan Ford
• OLB (6): Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Kingsley Enagbare, Lukas Van Ness, Justin Hollins and Brenton Cox Jr.
• ILB (5): De’Vondre Campbell, Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Wilson and Tariq Carpenter
• CB (4): Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas, Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine
• SAF (5): Darnell Savage, Rudy Ford, Jonathan Owens, Anthony Johnson Jr. and Dallin Leavitt
• K (1): Anders Carlson
• P (1): Daniel Whelan

Offense

• Many people believed that the Packers would only keep two running backs on the 53-man roster, as they have done in the recent past, but general manager Brian Gutekunst must have seen something from the preseason’s team-leading rusher Emanuel Wilson. Wilson got the nod over Patrick Taylor. Taylor is a better pass blocker and special teamer, but a less dynamic runner, than Wilson.
• Two rookie draft picks were released by the Packers at offensive skill positions. First is running back Lew Nichols, who was waived with an injury designation that will likely lead to an injury settlement. The second is receiver Grant DuBose, who like Nichols was also picked in the seventh round of the draft in April.
• Guard Royce Newman, who has struggled after playing the most snaps of any offensive player in his rookie campaign of 2021, survived cuts today. He was a popular name to get dropped, based on 53-man roster projections, but he’s sticking around to provide interior depth on a team that has one true center and three true guards currently on the roster.

Defense

• The Packers are keeping 12 line of scrimmage defenders on the team, split evenly between defensive linemen and outside linebackers. That’s a lot of non-special teams playing bodies to hold onto, especially with just three tight ends, but both position groups are filled up with young players on cheap, long contracts. The players on the roster bubble coming into today were reserve nose tackle Jonathan Ford, a 2022 seventh-round pick, and reserve outside linebacker Brenton Cox Jr., an undrafted rookie.
• Maybe the biggest surprise of the day, from a numbers perspective, is that Green Bay only kept four cornerbacks. At some point, Eric Stokes — who was officially placed on the physically unable to perform list today — will add to the group. Because Stokes is on the PUP list to start the season, though, he will be unable to play in at least the first month of the regular season.
• The odd man out at the safety position was Tarvarius Moore, who was waived with an injury designation today. If Moore passes through waivers, he will revert to the injured reserve — where the Packers can offer him an injury settlement to become an unrestricted free agent. Once he’s healthy, Moore would then be eligible to re-sign with Green Bay, either on the team’s active roster or its practice squad.

Special Teams

• The Packers do not currently roster a long snapper, as the plan is to re-sign Matt Orzech tomorrow. Orzech is not subject to waivers, because he is a vested veteran. This move allows Green Bay to play around the league’s injured reserve rules. If a player is placed on injured reserve before the cutdown deadline, that player is ineligible to return to the team during the regular season. That window ends on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Eastern. Now, it’s possible for the Packers to hold onto a player that they want to designate to return from injured reserve — let’s say it’s tackle Luke Tenuta — for a single day and then begin the process of swapping them out on the 53-man roster for Orzech after waivers are processed tomorrow.