Here’s how the Packers’ initial roster compares to previous years
· Yahoo Sports
There are only so many ways you can stack a 53 man roster.
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Despite plenty of handwringing year in and year out from fans and media alike as to what the roster will look like, the Packers’ initial roster every year is configured in more or less the same way.
The same way, that is, with a couple of year-to-year fluctuations. Here’s a quick look at where the Packers’ 2026 initial roster differs and aligns with previous years.
At quarterback, the Packers kept just two players, the sixth consecutive year they’ve gone with two to start. The Packers last kept three quarterbacks on the roster in 2020, when Jordan Love was a healthy scratch for his entire rookie campaign.
It’s a similar story at running back, where the Packers start with three for the fourth year in a row. They’ve kept three backs to start the season in five of the nine years of the Brian Gutekunst era.
Wide receiver is also on its own four-year streak. The Packers start the season with six wide receivers, the sixth time in nine years they’ve done that. They’ve kept more than six twice (eight in 2018 and seven in 2022) and fewer than six once (five in 2020).
Tight end is one of the most consistent positions across the entire Gutekunst era. They kept four this year and have kept four in seven of nine years under Brian Gutekunst. They’ve never gone higher than that, but have dipped down to three twice (in 2023 and 2024).
On the offensive line, the Packers kept 10 this year, one more than last year, but in line with larger recent trends; they’ve kept at least 10 in four of the last five years, jumping up to 11 in 2023.
Jumping up over to defense, the defensive line represents the biggest outlier on this year’s roster. The Packers kept seven defensive linemen this year, the most they’ve ever carried to start the season.
Edge rusher is a different story. With Micah Parsons on the Physically Unable to Perform list, the Packers kept just four to start the season, just the second time in the Gutekunst era they’ve gone that light. The last time they kept four was 2019, when Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith ended up soaking up a huge number of snaps ahead of a rookie Rashan Gary.
Off-ball linebacker is essentially in the same place as it was at the end of last season; swap Zaire Franklin for Quay Walker and you’ve told the tale. It’s an increase over the start of last season, though; the Packers opened 2025 with just four linebackers on the roster.
Cornerback tends to have quite a bit of year-to-year fluctuation; the Packers haven’t started the season with the same number of corners as the previous year since they kept six in both 2020 and 2021. They kept just five this year, though you could quibble with that number considering how much time Kamal Hadden has spent as a slot corner, a position often grouped with the safeties (look at Javon Bullard , for example). But the Packers call him a corner, so we kind of have to roll with that. Five corners it is, and it’s pretty much in line with historical trends.
Hadden’s inclusion as a corner means the Packers kept just four safeties, only the third time under Brian Gutekunst they’ve gone that low. But ever since they did their extreme makeover of the safety position in 2024, the position has been all but settled; Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, Javon Bullard, and Kitan Oladapo make up the core of the group, and other than a few special teams cameos (we miss you, Zayne Anderson) there hasn’t been much movement at safety since then.
Finally, the Packers kept three specialists. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. They’ve never kept more than that (why would you, unless you drafted B.J. Sander and can’t justify cutting him?), but have gone with fewer twice, floating through initial cuts with just two specialists in both 2021 and 2023, only to rectify the situation as soon as the waiver claim period resolved.
And that’s the ultimate takeaway: the Packers’ initial 53 man roster is just a snapshot, and the picture is going to change quickly. More than a few guys on this year’s roster have won the worst prize in football: a spot on the initial roster that will quickly be taken away as the Packers handle waiver claims and other roster machinations as they trundle toward Week 1.
The process of making an NFL roster really never ends, but for now, this is what the roster looks like.