Well, this was pretty simple for the Green Bay Packers, it appears. They sent two guys from two of their most overcrowded positions to injured reserve and they promoted two guys who play those same positions from the practice squad to the active roster. Following receiver Geronimo Allison was safety Jermaine Whitehead.
Whitehead was an undrafted free agent from Auburn in 2015. He spent most of that season on the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad. He was also on Baltimore’s active roster for two games before being released in the offseason and getting signed by the Packers. Whitehead was in camp with the Packers this year and played decently. We noted the big hits he delivered on several occasions, but the Packers kept six safeties on the active roster to open the season.
Whitehead would have been seven and six was already an absurd enough number.
That’s why the moves today were a little curious. The Packers are clearly lacking depth at cornerback with injuries to Sam Shields, Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins. Did they really need to get back to six safeties and seven receivers instead of signing another corner?
No, they did not, but they did anyway.
Finally, here’s a fun fact. Three of the Packers’ six safeties are undrafted free agents. Kentrell Brice and Marwin Evans also fall into that category. That number jumps to four if you want to count Chris Banjo, who was just put on IR.