As of now, the Green Bay Packers have 15 new players on their 53-man roster who weren’t a part of the team in 2025. Today, we’re going to break down every single one of these new players and what their expected roles on the team are, in case you missed any of the new from Green Bay this offseason.
There are also a couple of players I want to make a note of as honorable mentions, as they were technically members of the 2025 roster, but they didn’t play in a single regular season game. Let’s dive into
who the new contributors will be for this year’s team, starting off with the offensive skill players.
QB Tyrod Taylor
While he didn’t have a good preseason, Tyrod Taylor threw 16 passes for 8 completions (50 percent) and just 38 yards (2.4 yards per attempt). The Packers never let anyone else take significant snaps with the second-team offense during training camp. After trading away Kyle McCord to the Miami Dolphins at the cutdown deadline, Green Bay’s brass admitted that there was never really a competition for the job to back up Jordan Love, as Taylor was brought in to bring a veteran presence to the quarterback room.
With proven veteran backup quarterbacks generally going in the $5 million to $8 million range, the Packers got Taylor on the cheap, as he signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the team shortly after the 2026 NFL Draft. Taylor has previously played for Green Bay passing game coordinator Jason Vrable, who was the assistant quarterbacks coach with the Buffalo Bills in 2016, when Taylor was the starter there. Taylor is going into his 16th season in the NFL and has played in 100 games (62 starts, with a 29-31-1 record).
RB Kaleb Johnson
At the cutdown deadline, just before the news that starting running back Josh Jacobs was going to be put on the commissioner exempt list, the Packers traded for former Iowa and Pittsburgh Steeler running back Kaleb Johnson. Notably, Johnson played under Hawkeyes offensive coordinator Tim Lester, who served as a senior analyst for the Packers in 2023.
In 2025, Johnson was considered the 55th overall player in his draft class, according to the consensus draft board, but had some early struggles in Pittsburgh and fell down the depth chart. He’s hoping to rebound with the Packers and their return to the outside zone scheme, which he ran frequently at the college level. He should back up MarShawn Lloyd as Green Bay’s number two ball-carrying option (Chris Brooks is more of a blocking back) while Jacobs is out.
WR Skyy Moore
One of the few “compensatory free agents” that the Packers signed this spring was receiver Skyy Moore, who recently played for the San Francisco 49ers and Kyle Shanahan, a close friend of Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur. At the moment, it looks like Moore will be the backup slot receiver (behind Jayden Reed) offensively and also contribute as both a kick returner (at least until Savion Williams returns from his ankle injury) and as a punt returner.
WR J. Michael Sturdivant
The undrafted rookie streak lives on in Green Bay, and this year the man who kept it alive was former Florida (and Cal/UCLA) receiver J. Michael Sturdivant. Sturdivant should slide in behind Christian Watson as the backup Z receiver in the Packers offense while Savion Williams is sidelined, as they played similar roles (on both offense and special teams) during the summer.
Sturdivant also received reps on special teams as a gunner on the punt team, a lead blocker on the punt return team and as the “off returner” (a lead blocker role, unless he’s kicked to) on the kickoff return unit. He was a lead blocker on kickoff return at the college level, too, so the 6’2.5”, 207-pound receiver with 4.40-second speed is familiar with contributing on special teams.
To end the preseason, Sturdivant had his best performance of the summer, bringing in six receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown. That was the most yards a Packers receiver recorded in a single preseason game since 2011.
TE Jonnu Smith
Head coach Matt LaFleur has a prior connection with Jonnu Smith, as he coached Smith when LaFleur was the offensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans. Smith is famously an off-ball tight end who at times even carries the ball.
Don’t go assuming Smith is an all-around tight end who is a threat when his hand is in the dirt. He’s here to play a hybrid tight end-fullback role where he contributes to the offense by getting the ball in his hands.
Look for him to help out in obvious passing situations as a yards-after-catch threat. Eventually, whenever Luke Musgrave returns from the PUP list after his neck injury, Smith should push Josh Whyle out of his role on the team. At some point, the team will probably release Whyle, hoping to land him back on their practice squad, because they’ll simply need roster numbers at another position.
We didn’t get a look at Smith during the preseason, because he only officially signed with the Packers on the day of the cutdown deadline. When I’ve asked about why Green Bay didn’t wait an extra day to sign Smith, I was told that the Packers had a practice that day and they wanted Smith to participate in it, the same reasoning for why long snapper Matt Orzech spent all of training camp on the PUP list but was activated on the day of cutdowns.
TE Mark Redman
After the draft, general manager Brian Gutekunst stated that the team was disappointed that there wasn’t value on the board for the Packers to take a true Y tight end, as there was a crazy run at the position starting in the second round of the draft. This void was eventually filled by Mark Redman, who was traded from the Los Angeles Rams at the cutdown deadline.
Worth noting: Redman was coached by Matt LaFleur’s brother, Mike, when he was the offensive coordinator with the Rams in Redman’s rookie season of 2025.
By all accounts, Redman looks the part of a blocking tight end based on his preseason film (he didn’t play a regular-season game last year). He’s got a little more wiggle than John FitzPatrick, who played this role for the team post-Marcedes Lewis.
OL Jager Burton
There’s a little uncertainty on the offensive line right now, because the team has been managing the recovery of left guard Aaron Banks (tendinitis) and right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele (partially torn patellar tendon) throughout the summer. With that being said, Banks’ injury has given Jager Burton, a rookie fifth-round pick, a lot of opportunities to play with the first-team offense in both training camp and in the preseason.
If Banks can’t go to start the year, assume that Burton will take over at left guard (because it seems like the starting right guard job has gone to Jacob Monk). Even if Banks is “starting,” I’m not sure he won’t be rotating with Burton, which has been a common occurrence for the 5th and 6th offensive linemen under Matt LaFleur’s tenure as head coach.
Burton has really good traits and does some things well for a Day 3 rookie, but he also drops his head often when making blocks, which causes him some issues on stunts — particularly. He’s green, but the faster he’s onboarded, the better the Packers will be off long-term, in my opinion.
DL Javon Hargrave
Because we didn’t get an extended look at Javon Hargrave in the rotation during the preseason, the veteran defensive tackle’s standing in the lineup is a bit of a question mark. There are signs that Karl Brooks is going to be the starting 3-4 defensive end opposite Devonte Wyatt, as Brooks has been pulled with the first-team defense around the same time as other established starters on defense, which leaves Hargrave’s role on the team up in the air.
No matter who “starts,” the interior defensive line unit should rotate significantly during the regular season, so everyone will get their opportunities. Maybe Hargrave, who played for defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon when the two were with the Philadelphia Eagles, will age into a pass-rushing specialist role. Keep an eye on this situation early on in the regular season.
DL Chris McClellan
The third-round rookie is probably right on the bubble of being a gameday active or not, depending on how many interior linemen the Packers feel like they can keep on the active 48. With Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks and Javon Hargrave primarily playing 3-4 defensive end and under tackle looks, Jonathan Ford being the team’s true nose tackle and Warren Brinson being slightly ahead of Chris McClellan on the depth chart, he’s probably the 6th priority at the defensive line position right now.
Will the Packers carry five or six players at the position? That’s an open question right now. We tackled how carrying five interior linemen is one of the three reasonable options that Green Bay has for getting down to 48 players in our gameday roster projection.
ED Dani Dennis-Sutton
With only four edge rushers currently on the Packers’ 53-man roster, one rookie who will absolutely be playing for Green Bay to start the season is fourth-rounder Dani Dennis-Sutton. While he missed the first two preseason games of 2026 due to an overheating issue, Dennis-Sutton cleaned up against the Arizona Cardinals’ reserves in the preseason finale. He looked every part of a freak designated pass-rusher in that game, even though he was mostly going against third-stringers.
Early on, I assume that Dennis-Sutton is going to be behind Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell and Brenton Cox Jr. in the pecking order, but look for Dennis-Sutton to get on the field in some obvious passing situations. He’s very fun.
LB Zaire Franklin
Near the start of the new league year, the Packers traded defensive lineman Colby Wooden to the Indianapolis Colts for linebacker Zaire Franklin. Franklin is now the team’s green dot linebacker and starting Mike, while Wooden was waived by the team at the cutdown deadline and was picked up by the New Orleans Saints. Also, Franklin has already been named a team captain for Green Bay.
So far, the trade is looking like a big win for the Packers.
CB Brandon Cisse
With the way the Packers have been rotating at the cornerback position this summer, it’s assumed that Keisean Nixon will be the team’s starting left cornerback, but the right cornerback job will come down to incumbent starter Carrington Valentine and second-round rookie Brandon Cisse. As of now, the team has not officially named a starter at the position, but Cisse certainly built moment as training camp unfolded. Early on in camp, he was clearly third in the pecking order, followed by free agent signing Benjamin St-Juste.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some sort of rotation between Cisse and Valentine at right cornerback to start the season, before one of them starts to run away with the job.
CB Benjamin St-Juste
The Packers signed Benjamin St-Juste, who was the Los Angeles Chargers’ fourth cornerback in 2025, to a modest contract that fits in line with some top special teams contributors at the position. His two-year deal really functions as a one year deal with a team option in 2027, so unless he ends up winning a starting job this year (unlikely), Green Bay will probably move on from him next year. Don’t buy your St-Juste jersey just yet.
While Valentine and Cisse have been rotating at right cornerback, St-Juste has been playing left cornerback as Nixon’s backup for most of training camp. As it stands right now, it would probably take an injury (or two) for him to get on the field on defense. St-Juste also plays some of the most snaps of any cornerback in the NFL, and he’s expected to contribute as both a jammer on the punt return unit and as a gunner on the punt unit, two premier roles in the kicking game.
K Trey Smack
While rookie sixth-round pick Trey Smack has had his struggles during practices, he was perfect in the preseason on both field goals and PATs. The only real hiccup he had was on the first kickoff against the Denver Broncos in Week 2 of the preseason, when he kicked the ball too deep on a kickoff, which he said was due to the elevation. Otherwise, he did well on the kickoff unit, too.
He, obviously, will be the Packers’ starting kicker for the 2026 season.
Honorable mentions
- RB MarShawn Lloyd
- OL John Williams
- OL Travis Glover
- DL Anthony Campbell
Beyond the 15 truly new Green Bay Packers, the 4 players above deserve honorable mention notes as new Packers for the 2026 season, since they didn’t play a single game in 2025. Running back MarShawn Lloyd, offensive lineman John Williams and offensive lineman Travis Glover were injured for the entire 2025 regular season, despite them being members of the Packers’ active roster at some point last year. Defensive lineman Anthony Campbell, maybe the MVP of training camp, was added to Green Bay’s practice squad going into the postseason, so he was technically, by the skin of his teeth, a member of the 2025 team, too.
If you want to say that there are 19 new Packers on the 53-man roster, not 15, I won’t argue with you.
