The Green Bay Packers' preseason debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers helped solidify much of what fans already knew or suspected. Rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse continued his campaign for a starting role. Keisean Nixon continued to struggle.Â
Receivers Isaiah Neyor and J. Michael Sturdivant gave the team good reason to consider rostering an extra wideout. Some of their teammates have already done enough to largely secure their spots. For others, it's looking rather grim.Â
For the six names listed below, the drama is mostly over, for better or worse, unless something substantial changes in the two weeks before roster cutdowns.
3 Packers who have achieved roster-lock status (or close to it)
Kicker Trey Smack
Packers fans just needed to see something positive from Trey Smack after an extremely rough start to training camp, and he responded with an A-plus performance against Pittsburgh.
Officially three-for-three on the day, in reality Smack made not one but two 58-yard field goals, including one nullified by a defensive penalty. That's the leg he showed off during his college career at Florida.
Maybe it seems reactionary to grant him "lock" status, but it certainly sounds like general manager Brian Gutekunst and the Packers are fully on board. After moving up to draft him, they're not looking to bail. With both Brandon McManus and Lucas Havrisik gone, it feels safe to pencil in Smack for the job.
Guard/Center Jacob Monk
Jacob Monk went from a cut candidate to someone in the mix for a real role on the interior, as the Packers have given him first-team reps in practice and started him at right guard against the Steelers.
At this point, he just has to avoid embarrassing himself the rest of the way. With injuries to Aaron Banks and now Darian Kinnard and the overall lack of experience on the offensive line, Monk looks very much like a candidate to earn a meaningful role this season. Props to him.Â
Edge rusher Brenton Cox Jr.
Brenton Cox Jr. has produced reliably enough in a fringe role during his three seasons in Green Bay, recording five sacks in under 250 career defensive snaps. He has held his ground against young challengers like rookie Nyjalik Kelly and Collin Oliver. Cox also registered a sack versus Pittsburgh and has done a solid job overall in camp.
Pencil him in at fourth on the current depth chart behind Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, and Dani Dennis-Sutton. It might be a conversation to revisit when Micah Parsons returns from injury, but Cox should have his seat reserved to start the season.
3 Packers in trouble as cutdowns creep closer
Defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse
We haven't heard much on Nazir Stackhouse during camp, which isn't a good sign to begin with. He made an appearance in the preseason opener, but he won't unseat Warren Brinson, Chris McClellan, or Karl Brooks.
Even Jonathan Ford and Anthony Campbell have put forth stronger cases. After a feel-good story making the roster as an undrafted rookie, Stackhouse feels as good as gone.
Offensive tackle Travis Glover
While fans held out hope that Glover would return strong from injury, he has been surpassed by 2025 seventh-rounder John Williams and others in the Packers' o-line competition.
He did not appear Thursday until late in the game, after other backups had already rotated in. It's another unfortunate instance of a young player being set back by injury. In Glover's case, it feels like the ship has sailed for his chances on the 53-man roster.
Cornerback Kamal Hadden
Hadden fought his way back from the PUP list in early August, where he began camp after a season-ending leg fracture last December. The Packers held him out Thursday, though, and thus far he hasn't had much chance to get involved in the open-ended cornerback competition.
It's especially disappointing from his perspective in that, with Carrington Valentine and Domani Jackson also injured, an opportunity may have been there for the taking. At this point, you have to wonder whether Hadden would be the Packers' first choice as an injury replacement if he isn't able to fully participate soon.
Sealed his fate, literally: Quarterback Kyron Drones
Drones would have been listed, but the undrafted rookie found himself in so much trouble after a dismal preseason performance that he was waived on Saturday. Drones had been promptly yanked after being sacked three times on four pass attempts.
Meanwhile, Kyle McCord started and went 12-for-16 passing for 102 yards. That was enough for the Packers to tag McCord as QB3 and move on from Drones.
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