Packers release Matt Rotheram, Jesse Schmitt on injury settlements

We’re getting to that time of year when scouring the NFL’s transaction wire needs to become a way of life. On Monday afternoon, the Packers made a pair of transactions, releasing a pair of players on injury settlements.

Guard Matt Rotheram was let go from the 90-man roster, while long snapper Jesse Schmitt was released from the team’s Injured Reserve.

Rotheram looked like a promising young guard as a rookie in 2015, and although he did not make the active roster, he stuck around on the Packers’ practice squad all season long. A mauler in the run game at Pittsburgh, he was expected to compete for a roster spot this summer, and had even added some versatility at center this spring. Instead, Rotheram suffered a biceps injury against Cleveland in the Packers’ preseason game and has been out ever since. Apparently that injury has been deemed serious enough that the team feels he has no chance of making the roster.

Schmitt, on the other hand, was brought into camp about two weeks ago to provide some competition for Rick Lovato. He them promptly went out and broke his hand on his first play of his first practice and was later put on injured reserve. This move puts Schmitt back on the open market and leaves Lovato as the sole long snapper on the roster.

Since Schmitt was on injured reserve, the Packers’ 90-man roster now sits at 89 players following these releases. The team will need to cut 14 more players off the roster to reach 75 at the first cut deadline, which is 4:00 PM Eastern on Tuesday, August 30th.