Thursday Cheese Curds: Whitney Mercilus is a lottery ticket

In-season roster churn is a fact of life in the NFL, but it’s been an especially prominent part of the 2021 Packers’ season, especially among their edge rushers. This week alone they’ve signed two new edges, which doesn’t even fully replace the three they’ve sent to injured reserve this season.

Will that move the needle for a unit hit hard by injures? Honestly, probably not. The Packers’ additions this week could be characterized as a has-been and a never-was, although that may be a bit harsh. But the point is the Packers are buying lottery tickets here, and the chances that any of them will hit is low.

However, I think we’d rather have this approach than the stand-pat tendencies of years past. Even if Whitney Mercilus is nowhere near his peak, it’s hard to not feel better about him than any of the members of the parade of undrafted players that likely would have been making their way to Wisconsin in the relatively recent past.

Former Houston Texans defensive end Whitney Mercilus would provide the injury-depleted Packers with a pass-rushing boost | Packers News.com

Mercilus may not be what he once was, but other than Rashan Gary, the Packers’ healthy edge rushers include 2020 seventh-round pick Jonathan Garvin, undrafted journeyman La’Darius Hamilton and….well, nobody else. You might as well sign Mercilus at that point.

Aaron Rodgers-Bears, Tom Brady-Bills: Nine players who ‘own’ a rival team | NFL.com

Nice of the NFL to confirm Rodgers’ ownership of the Chicago Bears.

Aaron Rodgers is getting 2010 vibes from start of Packers’ 2021 season | Packers Wire

Speaking of Rodgers, the Packers’ quarterback thinks the 2021 squad has a lot in common with the 2010 group that won the Super Bowl.

Green Bay Packers Role Players & Backups Stepping Up | Dairyland Express

Beset by injuries, the Packers have gotten solid performances from players further down the depth chart as the rest of the roster recovers.

Another week, another dynamic defensive front for Packers to battle | Packers.com

If there’s anything noteworthy about the Washington Football Team, its their defensive front.

Grateful Dead T-shirt auctioned for a record-breaking $17,640 | UPI

That’s a hefty price for a pretty unique piece of music history. Too bad it’s still only the second-most notable T-shirt in the news this week.