4 Green Bay Packers veterans who will be cut before Week 1

When the Green Bay Packers have to make roster cuts to get from 90 players on the roster to just 53, they're going to have a more brutal time than a lot of other teams around the league. The Packers are young and deep on this current roster, something that's been brought up plenty throughout the 2024 offseason. Some notable players are going to hit the waiver wire if they're not able to be traded.

Some of the roster cuts will be predictable, but some of them are going to be out of left field. After what we've seen so far in training camp and the preseason, and reading through some of the tea leaves and breadcrumbs, which veteran Packers players could end up being cut before Week 1 of the 2024 season?

Let's take a look at a handful of names to keep tabs on entering the final week of the preseason.

Packers veterans who could be cut before Week 1 of the 2024 season

1. Royce Newman, OL

The oft-criticized Royce Newman could finally be nearing the end of his tenure with the Green Bay Packers. Newman was effectively "benched" and replaced last year, even though he was already demoted from starter to backup earlier in his career. We saw the next level in the progression toward him being let go by the Packers when he played the entire second preseason game against the Denver Broncos, and played poorly.

It may not seem like much, but the Packers could save $2.25 million by cutting Newman before Week 1. Those savings could come in handy for the Packers elsewhere on the roster, whether it's helping keep someone else around or bringing in guys throughout the course of the season.

2. Greg Joseph, K

Not that the Packers really needed much of an excuse to keep the kicker they just drafted last year, but Greg Joseph's missed field goal from just under 50 yards out against the Broncos was probably the final nail in the proverbial coffin for his roster chances.

Anders Carlson had a rough rookie year on the whole, and the Packers tried a number of avenues to bring in competition for him this offseason. There was even a point late in training camp when it seemed Joseph might actually be pulling away. But again, the Packers don't need much of an excuse to keep a young kicker they invested draft capital in. They undoubtedly want him to win the job, so Joseph was facing long odds from the start.

3. Sean Clifford, QB

Sean Clifford has been an interception merchant all offseason for the Packers, and it's time for the team to either cut him or make him the clear third quarterback on the depth chart.

And the way to do that is to bring in help from the outside.

The Packers cannot afford to "need" Sean Clifford for any length of time during the regular season. Not with a player like Ryan Tannehill sitting out there in free agency right now, and a number of other interesting names who could soon be made available via trade. Clifford has just struggled far too much dating back to OTAs to justify his standing as QB2. The Packers need to make a change.

4. Malik Heath, WR

Just like we saw Emanuel Wilson showcased in the preseason game against Denver, it felt like we sort of also saw Malik Heath get showcased a little bit. The Packers would undoubtedly prefer to trade from their stellar wide receiver depth, especially after the presumptive top six at the position really all made substantial contributions at one point or another last year.

That group included undrafted free agent star Malik Heath, who was the preseason Cinderella story of 2023. Heath is going to be coveted by someone, but will it be enough for the Packers to be able to trade him instead of cutting him?

Grant DuBose has probably taken Heath's position on the roster at this point. With DuBose's emergence this offseason, Heath could be headed elsewhere in 2024.

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