The cornerback position is under the spotlight as the Green Bay Packers trim their roster down to 53 players. Free-agent addition Nate Hobbs is in a race against time to return from injury for Week 1, and the Packers need to figure out which cornerbacks will take up the final spots on the roster.
Corey Ballentine and Kalen King won't be among them.
The Packers brought Ballentine back earlier this month, and it seemed he would immediately resume his previous role as a core special teams player and backup cornerback. King, meanwhile, starred in the preseason and had seemingly done enough to clinch a roster spot.
Apparently not. Rob Demovsky of ESPN reports that the Packers have released Ballentine. Matt Schneidman of The Athletic followed it with an update that the team has also cut King.
It raises questions about whether the Packers plan to bring in another veteran in the days ahead.
Packers' surprising Corey Ballentine and Kalen King cuts could open the door for another addition
Hobbs, Keisean Nixon, and Carrington Valentine make up the Packers' top three. Bo Melton has reportedly made the roster and will likely take the CB4 spot.
Per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Packers plan to keep six cornerbacks to ensure they have adequate depth while Hobbs recovers from injury. That opens the door for seventh-round rookie Micah Robinson and Kamal Hadden to make the 53.
That's the short-term picture, but beyond that?
It won't be surprising if the Packers add another veteran to the mix. It's hard to imagine them entering the regular season with confidence in a wide receiver-turned-cornerback in the CB4 role, and then two unproven backups behind him.
They may search the waiver wire for a cornerback addition in the days ahead, or perhaps even a last-minute trade (as we've already seen this week). Former Buffalo Bills cornerback Dane Jackson, a surprise cut earlier on Tuesday, is a potential target.
Releasing Ballentine and King comes as a surprise and further highlights the team's worrying lack of depth at cornerback. It could signal that an outside move is incoming.