Dec 25, 2011; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers defensive end Jarius Wynn (94) during the game against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. The Packers defeated the Bears 35-21. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

Jarius Wynn, an on-again, off-again member of the Green Bay Packers, was discarded once again by the team this morning.

His cut was the first of several that should be announced sometime this afternoon as the Packers make the move to get down to the 75-man roster imposed by the National Football League.

Wynn was a sixth round pick by the Packers in 2009 and made the roster that season. However, he was cut in 2010, was brought back to the practice squad and was placed back onto the 53-man roster when Justin Harrell went down with injury for the umpteenth time. Wynn played well enough to make it into every game last season, though his production was minimal. He started four games.

However, with the major push by Ted Thompson to improve the defense this off-season, there was little room for Wynn.

As other announcements are made by the team today we will keep you up-to-date here and on our Facebook page.

This past April, former Packer great Leroy Butler walked onto the stage at Radio City Music Hall and announced the selection of the future of the Packers defense: Jerel Worthy.

The Packers took Worthy with the 51st pick of the draft, which raised eyebrows in Packer Nation. Worthy came with a lot of baggage, the same type of baggage from which Ted Thompson normally avoids. While playing at Michigan State, the defensive end developed a reputation for being lazy and taking plays off.

After being drafted Worthy embraced his reputation by saying “I take plays off just like everyone else,” which made many cringe. There were also criticisms of his play. Many scouts said Worthy didn’t possess the ability to shed the offensive lineman and work in space. But with the right coaching staff I feel all of this can be fixed.

Through training camp I haven’t heard much from Worthy other than that he is a high energy player who has treated every play like it was an in-game situation. That last sentence signifies that the man has started to change his ways.

I think that Worthy is the key to getting this defense back into championship  form. I’ll even go out on a limb and say Worthy is the next great Packer defensive lineman.

Worthy plays with a mean streak, and this is what this defense has been missing. If Worthy can put his energy and attitude into playing football then I believe he will fill the hole left by Cullen Jenkins.

In college, Worthy took on a lot double teams. This allowed his defensive mates to take advantage and penetrate the backfield. This fact alone should bring a smile to Clay Matthews and BJ Raji’s faces.

He doesn’t need to be an immediate All-Pro defensive end this season, he just needs to have enough of an impact to make his defensive mates better. Worthy possesses something that CJ Wilson, Mike Neal, and Jarius Wynn don’t seem to have: aggressiveness.

Worthy will get his chances to show his abilities with Anthony Hargrove serving an eight game suspension. If he stays healthy he could start making his impact in week 1.

During Thursday’s preseason game against the Browns, and the remaining two games,  keep your eye on #99 as he starts to get acclimated to the game.

Neal was projected to have a breakthrough year, recovering from a season-ending injury last year and stepping into a starting role when Cullen Jenkins left in free agency.

Now with McCarthy’s declaration that Neal will miss a significant amount of time, some may be feeling a sense of urgency or even emergency.

I don’t think the Packers are to that point yet. If Wynn can continue to play at a high level, the line will be just fine as long as there are no other injuries at that position. Getting Wynn valuable playing time early in the season will, in fact, be to the benefit of the Packers. When Neal does recover from the surgery and gets back on the field, the depth at the position will be that much greater.

However, there are many “ifs” with that outlook. First, the Packers have to stay healthy and second, Neal does indeed need to make a full recovery and come back.

If Neal doesn’t, he will be quickly tabbed as injury-prone and could be on his way out of Green Bay as quickly as he arrived.

Many questions will be answered in the next few weeks. The defensive line will be tested this week as the Panthers will certainly try to establish a solid ground game to allow Cam Newton a chance to succeed with the pass. And with teams like the Bears and Vikings on the schedule – both of those teams like to pound the football – it will be interesting to see if the Packers line can stand up to the pounding.

Stay tuned …

Wynn #94 with a sack

Jarius “SlickWynn” Wynn, the 280lb DE was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 6th round of 2009 Draft. He didn’t see a lot of playing time as the Packers were stacked at that position at the time. Consequently, he was released by the Packers during the 2010 preseason.

But as all Packers fans know, we saw a lot of injured players in the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, DE Justin Harrell was one of those. That was the beginning of  Wynn’s second chance to be part of greatness.

In a phone interview with Wynn today, I asked him how it felt to be released by the Packers then to get picked back up by them just weeks later. Wynn said

“When I was released, I used that as a learning experience. I wanted to always get better and better. I prayed about it and during half time of the Eagles game, I got the call”.

Wynn was happy to be back. He said,

“I want to prove something, I’m going to be ‘That Guy’”

Obviously, he is ‘That Guy’ and he proved it Thursday night against the Saints. Not only did he have 3 solo tackles and 1 assist, he was one of only two defensive players to get a tackle on the elusive Brees.

He was also a key player in the 3rd down 1 stop of Saints TE Thomas and again on the 4th and 1 when the Saints turned the ball over on downs.

I asked Wynn for a prediction for this year, which he gave me a very politically correct

“I won’t make predictions, we’ll continue to work hard and see where the season takes us”

Wynn want’s to continue to focus on his job, work hard, and be better so the Packers can keep on “Wynning”.

Be sure to follow him on Twitter @slickwynn94

Desmond Bishop is being tabbed as a starter at inside linbebacker, but who will back up inside is something yet to be decided. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

With day three of Packers camp in the books and the first day of pad work being held Monday night, there seem to be three things (among others) developing that are of interest to the final coming together of a team.

First, the rookies – it looks like first and second round choices, Derek Sherrod and Randall Cobb, are being looked to quickly for contributions.

Cobb, according to tweets last night and early morning news reports, made several difficult catches yesterday, showed impressive bursts of speed and is being touted as everything he’s been billed in the early going. Getting his timing with quarterback Aaron Rodgers is going to take some time. (more…)