Packers Transactions: Jermaine Whitehead waived, Geronimo Allison to IR

The Green Bay Packers made a host of roster moves on Tuesday, shuffling the deck on the 53 a bit after their week nine loss to the New England Patriots. Three players changed statuses on the 53, with the team freeing up a pair of spots and promoting one player from the practice squad.

One of the moves to open up a roster spot was expected, as the Packers announced that wide receiver Geronimo Allison has been sent to injured reserve. Allison suffered a groin injury in practice last week that was deemed a major issue and required surgery. He was expected to miss six weeks, and combined with the emergence of rookies Marquez Valdes-Scantling and, to a lesser extent, Equanimeous St. Brown, the team did not need to keep him on the roster for the time being.

The other move is surprising at the very least, as the Packers waived safety Jermaine Whitehead. At this time a week ago, Whitehead was viewed by some as a possible starter at free safety, replacing Ha Ha Clinton-Dix who was shipped to Washington in a trade. Come gameday in New England, he played primarily Nitro linebacker after a rough first series at safety, but was ejected for an open-palmed punch to the face of Patriots lineman David Andrews.

It is hard to avoid drawing a correlation between Whitehead’s ejection and the team’s decision to cut him loose. While he had become a notable contributor on the defense, he neither was playing well enough nor was unique enough on the roster to warrant keeping him on the team if the front office deemed him to be a potential problem.

The Packers filled one of the two roster spots on Tuesday by promoting defensive back Will Redmond to the active roster. Redmond signed with the team after final cuts, taking Marwin Evans’ place on the practice squad. This move opens up a spot on the practice squad for the reported signing of linebacker Brady Sheldon, which was reported earlier on Tuesday and was confirmed by the team’s press release.

However, there is still a spot open on the Packers’ active roster after processing these transactions. Stay tuned to see how Brian Gutekunst decides to fill it.