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With two preseason games down and two to go, we at Acme Packing Company decided it was an appropriate time to put together our second 53-man roster prediction for 2015.
After a pair of contests, some of the position battles have taken shape. The offensive and defensive lines are still somewhat in flux, however, especially at the bottom of the roster. Here's what we have so far.
Position | Starters | Backups |
QB | Aaron Rodgers | Scott Tolzien, Brett Hundley |
RB/FB | Eddie Lacy, John Kuhn | James Starks, Rajion Neal, Aaron Ripkowski |
WR | Randall Cobb, Davante Adams | Ty Montgomery, Jeff Janis, Myles White |
TE | Richard Rodgers | Andrew Quarless, Justin Perillo |
OL | David Bakhtiari, Josh Sitton, Corey Linsley, T.J. Lang, Bryan Bulaga | JC Tretter, Don Barclay, Lane Taylor, Josh Walker |
DL | Mike Daniels, B.J. Raji, Mike Pennel | Josh Boyd, Christian Ringo, Bruce Gaston |
OLB | Julius Peppers, Mike Neal* | Nick Perry, Andy Mulumba, Jayrone Elliott |
ILB | Clay Matthews, Sam Barrington | Nate Palmer, Jake Ryan |
CB | Sam Shields, Casey Hayward | Micah Hyde, Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins, LaDarius Gunter |
S | Morgan Burnett, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix | Sean Richardson, Chris Banjo |
Spec | Mason Crosby, Tim Masthay, Brett Goode |
Suspended: Datone Jones, Letroy Guion
Injured Reserve: Jordy Nelson (knee), Jared Abbrederis (concussion)
Note: we had a three-way split on who we thought would be the starter at outside linebacker opposite Julius Peppers. Perry, Neal, and Mulumba all got votes, but I decided to pencil Neal in as the starter for now because he took the first reps with the first team in Tuesday's practice.
Finally, we do have projections for who we believe will be named to the practice squad. Here are our ten picks:
RB Alonzo Harris, WR Larry Pinkard, TE Kennard Backman, OL Fabbians Ebbele, OL Vince Kowalski, DL Lavon Hooks, OLB James Vaughters, OLB Jermauria Rasco, ILB Joe Thomas, CB Tay Glover-Wright
If you're curious about the writers' individual picks, they are below.
Position | Tex | Jason | Aron |
QB | Rodgers, Tolzien, Hundley | Rodgers, Tolzien, Hundley | Rodgers, Tolzien, Hundley |
RB | Lacy, Kuhn, Starks, Neal, Ripkowski | Lacy, Kuhn, Starks, Neal, Ripkowski | Lacy, Kuhn, Starks, Neal, Ripkowski |
WR | Cobb, Adams, Montgomery, Janis, White | Cobb, Adams, Montgomery, Janis, White | Cobb, Adams, Montgomery, Janis, White |
TE | Rodgers, Quarless, Backman | Rodgers, Quarless, Perillo | Rodgers, Quarless, Perillo |
OL | Bakhtiari, Sitton, Linsley, Lang, Bulaga, Tretter, Barclay, Taylor, Walker | Bakhtiari, Sitton, Linsley, Lang, Bulaga, Tretter, Taylor, Walker | Bakhtiari, Sitton, Linsley, Lang, Bulaga, Tretter, Barclay, Taylor, Walker |
DL | Daniels, Raji, Pennel, Boyd, Ringo, Thornton | Daniels, Raji, Pennel, Boyd, Ringo, Thornton, Gaston | Daniels, Raji, Pennel, Boyd, Ringo, Gaston |
OLB | Peppers, Perry, Neal, Mulumba, Elliott, Hubbard | Peppers, Mulumba, Perry, Neal, Elliott | Peppers, Neal, Perry, Mulumba, Elliott |
ILB | Matthews, Barrington, Palmer, Ryan | Matthews, Barrington, Palmer, Ryan | Matthews, Barrington, Palmer, Ryan |
CB | Shields, Hayward, Randall, Rollins, Gunter | Shields, Hayward, Hyde, Randall, Rollins, Gunter | Shields, Hayward, Hyde, Randall, Rollins, Gunter |
S | Burnett, Clinton-Dix, Hyde, Richardson | Burnett, Clinton-Dix, Richardson, Banjo | Burnett, Clinton-Dix, Richardson, Banjo |
Spec | Crosby, Masthay, Goode | Crosby, Masthay, Goode | Crosby, Masthay, Goode |
Suspended | Guion, Jones | Guion, Jones | Guion, Jones |
Injured Reserve | Nelson, Abbrederis | Nelson, Abbrederis | Nelson, Abbrederis |
Practice Squad | Harris, Pinkard, Perillo, Ebbele, Hooks, Vaughters, Rasco, Thomas, Glover-Wright, Fanor | Harris, Pinkard, Backman, Ebbele, Kowalski, Hooks, Vaughters, Rasco, Bradford, Glover-Wright | Harris, Pinkard, Backman, Ebbele, Kowalski, Hooks, Vaughters, Rasco, Thomas, Glover-Wright |
The reason Aron and I did not pick Bradford to make the practice squad is our expectation that he would get picked up by another team instead of passing through waivers.