Do the Packers Miss Anthony Smith?

The Packers could use Smith now.

That’s the word, at least according to one report.

The Packers cut safety Anthony Smith during their final roster cutdown, instead deciding to keep Jarret Bush and Aaron Rouse. The team also traded for Derrick Martin. Rouse has since been cut.

Smith was pushing Atari Bigby for playing time during training camp and was easily the most surprising cut the Packers made. Bigby has been hurt since week two and Rouse was ineffective in his place. The Packers employed five linebackers against the St. Louis Rams, leaving Nick Collins as the only safety on the field. Martin started in place of Bigby against the Minnesota Vikings, which apparently was part of the reason Brett Favre torched the Packers secondary.

According to the National Football Post, some within the Packers’ organization are questioning the Smith move.

Sources close to the Packers told the National Football Post that there are some questions—after Brett Favre tore up the Packer secondary—as to why safety Anthony Smith was let go in the final roster cutdowns in early September. Too often on Monday night, the Green Bay corners were caught looking for safety help, and it was nowhere to be found. Would Smith have made the difference? That is a question no one can answer at this point, but it is interesting that after a game in which the secondary struggled, Smith was the first name mentioned by sources close to the organization.

Obviously this was one of Ted Thompson’s more questionable moves, but word out of Green Bay was that Smith was let go because he didn’t play special teams.

Always a good idea to keep a special teams player over a starting caliber safety, Ted, especially considering Bigby’s injury history.

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