GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers started Sunday morning with a 91-man roster. By 5 p.m. Central, that will be down to 53 as they face the difficult task of telling numerous players that they are good, but not good enough, to make the team.

Follow along all day for the latest news as general manager Brian Gutekunst sets his initial 53-man roster.

Off And Running

That task started on Saturday when they officially signed tight end Jonnu Smith. To make room, they released safety Tra Fluellen. He made three tackles in Friday’s preseason game against the Cardinals.

Fluellen went undrafted in 2024 and spent his rookie season on the Saints’ practice squad. He joined the Packers on Aug. 11, so faced the challenge of having to learn the playbook on the fly.

“At the end of the day, we’re all pros, so we’re all running the same things; just different terminology,” he told Packers On SI. “So, part of being a pro is coming in, doing your job and making those adjustments and realizing what you have to do.

“So, I got to do my part as a professional and learn the plays. You’re never going to be perfect – nobody’s ever perfect – but, to the best of my ability, I’m going to learn the plays as fast I can. Obviously, there’s no limit, but it’s going to be a quick turnaround, you know what I’m saying?”  

Will Streak Stay Alive?

The Packers have kept at least one undrafted roster on their opening roster for 21 consecutive years, a streak kept alive last year by defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse.

This year, the Packers fortified a six-man draft class by breaking the bank on their undrafted class. In terms of combined signing bonus and guaranteed salary, edge rusher Nyjalik Kelly received $262,500, receiver J. Michael Sturdivant received $215,000, guards Dillon Wade and Josh Gesky also received $215,000, and linebacker TJ Quinn received $165,000.

For contrast, their final draft pick, kicker Trey Smack, received a $206,532 signing bonus but no guaranteed salary.

Who could keep the streak alive?

There are two front-runners with Kelly and Sturdivant. Both players capped the preseason with big-time performances.

Kelly had six tackles, including one sack and three tackles for losses, and added one interception on Friday night against Arizona. He had a sack/strip against Denver the week before.

Sturdivant, who has a superb combination of height and speed, caught six passes for 112 yards and one touchdown against Arizona.

He brought the football from the touchdown catch into the locker room to talk to reporters.

“He came in and you could tell he was one of those guys who was ready to play,” quarterback Kyle McCord said after the game. “I think he came in with a chip on his shoulder, not being drafted; in my opinion, he should have been.

“One of those guys, really from Day 1, you don’t have to tell him too much. He’s going to know his job. He’s going to know his responsibility. Put him on the field and he’s going to make plays. I think he’s shown that throughout all of camp. He made a really strong case for himself.”

Injuries Are Wild Card

The Packers have four players on the physically unable to perform list. They can keep Micah Parsons (knee), Luke Musgrave (neck), Jordon Riley (Achilles) and Matt Orzech (calf) on PUP to start the regular season. Players who start the regular season PUP can begin practicing after Week 2 and can start playing after Week 4.

There’s no doubt the Packers will do that with Parsons, Musgrave and Riley. If the intention is for Orzech to snap in Week 1 at Minnesota, he will have to be activated on Sunday.

The big question entering roster cuts is what the Packers will do with edge Collin Oliver (calf), receiver Savion Williams (ankle) and defensive tackle Warren Brinson (calf).

Obviously, they can carry all three players on their 53-man roster. The alternative is teams can place two players on injured reserve and designate them as eligible to return. As is the case with PUP, those players can begin practicing after the second game and begin playing after the fourth game.

“I think that is to be determined at this point,” is all LaFleur would say of Brinson, Olivver and Williams after Friday’s game.

Waiver Rules

Players with four-plus seasons of experience who are released become free agents and can sign with the team of their choosing. That’s how the Packers wound up with linebacker Nick Niemann last year. Players with three or fewer years of experience who are released on Sunday can be claimed off waivers on Monday.

The deadline to place a waiver claim is noon (Central) on Monday. Claims are processed in original draft order, so the Packers are 20th. A player who is claimed by multiple teams goes to the team higher in the draft order. For instance, if the Packers and Vikings claim the same player, he would go to Minnesota, which was 18th in the draft order.

Last year, 29 players were claimed off waivers after final cuts. So, while it’s not a rarity, the fear of losing a player to another team is generally overblown and teams can typically get a player they release back on the practice squad.

“If you’re going to try to get a guy through waivers, if you’re going to release him, you have to understand that you have to accept the fact that you may lose him. And you have to be OK with that,” Gutekunst said last week.

Working in Green Bay’s favor is other teams only have three preseason games worth of evidence to look at a player while Gutekunst and his staff have the practice tape and know the player’s work habits and personality.

“We do go through some exercises towards the end of, ‘Hey, if this is all you’re looking at, is this, these three preseason games’ – if this is all they have to look at and this is what they’re making the decision on, what is the likelihood you’re going to pull the trigger on a claim or whatnot? So, you do some of that,” Gutekunst continued.

“Obviously having experience in this thing, there’s a lot less claims than you really think that there are year to year. But, at the same time, I think whenever you take that risk, you have to be willing to risk that player.”

The Packers took full advantage of that in 2020 with undrafted rookie linebacker Krys Barnes. Gutekunst released him at the end of training camp, knowing no team would claim him. He was the team’s Week 1 starter.

Building a Practice Squad

Once the NFL sorts through the waiver claims, teams can begin formulating a practice squad. Sixteen players can be signed to the practice squad. There can be 17 if there is an international player.

The Packers had Australian tight end Thomas Yassmin on their training camp roster, but he missed the last week of practice and the game with a knee injury.

Yassmin played at Utah and spent training camp with the Broncos in 2024 and the Chargers in 2025. He’s not just a project. In time, he might be able to help the team.

“That’s the goal,” he said. “I’ve spoken to my agent. I’ve spoken to my family. That’s sometimes the unfortunate reality of being an international player, you kind of get that [project] label, but I’ve been playing this sport for eight years. I’ve played in college. I’ve made big plays on big stages.

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