The Packers reached injury settlements with 3 players on Wednesday

According to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson, the Green Bay Packers released the following players with an injury settlement: running back Tyler Goodson, safety Tarvarius Moore and long snapper Broughton Hatcher. They join offensive lineman Jake Hanson, who was released with an injury settlement earlier this offseason.

Players receive injury settlements when their injuries do not justify a year-long injured reserve stint. After players are waived with an injury designation (usually around cutdowns) and go unclaimed on waivers, they then revert to their original team’s injured reserve. From that point on, teams can then reach injury settlements with those players.

Goodson was in the running for the Packers’ RB3 job earlier this summer, before Emanuel Wilson’s breakout. Moore is a player who head coach Matt LaFleur stated would have likely made the 53-man roster, had he been available for Week 1. Hatcher is an undrafted rookie who competed with Matt Orzech for the long snapping job this summer.

Now that settlements have been signed, there is an opportunity for the Packers to re-sign these players down the line once they recover from their respective injuries. Moore, particularly, is a player to highlight with that in mind. They will be eligible to return to the 53-man roster or the practice squad in the future.

With these three transactions done, the Packers only have three remaining players on their injured reserve: tackle Luke Tenuta, tight end Tyler Davis and running back Lew Nichols. Tenuta was placed on the injured reserve after he initially made the 53-man roster, which means that he’s eligible to return to the active roster as early as Week 5. Davis tore his ACL, so his season is officially over.

The one player whose fate is up in the air is Nichols, who might be a season-long stash on the injured reserve. The other option is settling with Nichols and allowing the former draft pick to become a street free agent. That decision will come down to if the Packers see value in holding onto Nichols’ rookie contract from 2024 to 2026.