Packers Promote DT Brian Price
The Packers are promoting defensive tackle Brian Price from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, as Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com tweets. In a related move, it appears that cornerback Robertson Daniel will be taking Price’s spot on the taxi squad. 
Price, a product of University of Texas-San Antonio, made headlines for the wrong reasons in college. In the second-to-last game of the 2014 season, Price shoved an official to the ground in a fit of rage. In May, Price admitted to Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel that the incident probably cost him an opportunity to hear his name called in this year’s draft.
“I think it was definitely a red flag,” Price said. “You know, in football, tempers flare, emotions run high. It was the heat of the moment. I didn’t know it was a ref beside me, I kind of side-swiped him and it happened to be a ref and I was like, oh, I knew I messed up. I definitely feel NFL teams took note of that.”
Still, despite the incident, roughly two-thirds of the league reached out to Price’s reps after the draft to express interest. The defensive tackle ultimately chose Green Bay and it appears that he chose wisely as he has found his way to the varsity roster.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Packers Try Out LB Brandon Chubb
- The Packers auditioned linebacker Brandon Chubb, per Caplan (Twitter link).
Packers Hosting C.J. Spiller On Visit
The Packers are hosting C.J. Spiller on a visit, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. Spiller has been on the open market since being cut loose by the Saints one week ago. 
Spiller’s release came as a surprise because of the unusual timing. After initially making the 53-man cut in New Orleans, Spiller was cut on Sept. 13, two days after the team’s season opener against the Raiders. Spiller’s release also left the Saints on the hook for a $1.55MM roster bonus a guaranteed salary of $1.7MM salary. The Saints have $4.5MM in dead money left on the cap after releasing the veteran and didn’t save a whole lot, which means that his release was more of a football decision than anything.
Still, the Packers are wondering if Spiller still has something left in the tank. If Green Bay thinks he can help, Spiller could be brought in as a complement to primary tailback Eddie Lacy. In two games this year, Lacy has run for 111 yards off of 26 carries, good for a 4.3 yards per carry average.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
PFR’s Impact Rookies Series
All summer long, longtime scouting consultant Dave-Te Thomas of The NFL Draft Report has been breaking down the draft class of every team in the league and identifying the players that can immediately make a difference. The Impact Rookies series, which wrapped up today with a look at the Seahawks, provides unique insight to this year’s NFL freshman class from a veteran guru who worked closely with several teams around the league leading up to the draft.
Here is the full rundown of the Impact Rookies series:
AFC East
AFC North
AFC South
AFC West
NFC East
NFC North
NFC South
NFC West
Packers Cut Jhurell Pressley
- The Packers have cut running back Jhurell Pressley, per a team announcement. Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette (on Twitter). There are indications Pressley that could return to the next next week, however, as Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette tweets.
Packers Work Out Storm Johnson
- The Packers worked out running back Storm Johnson, tweets Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. The former seventh-rounder last played in the NFL in 2o14, when he played six games for the Jaguars.
[SOURCE LINK]
Packers Reach Injury Settlement With Kyle Steuck
- The Packers reached an injury settlement with Kyle Steuck, as Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com tweets.
[SOURCE LINK]
Packers, David Bakhtiari Agree To Extension
The Packers and David Bakhtiari have agreed to an extension, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Bakhtiari gets a four-year block worth as much as $51.67MM. The new money average is $12MM per year, which puts him in the top five for all offensive linemen in the NFL. 
Bakhtiari, 25 at the end of the month, has positioned himself as one of the better offensive tackles in the NFL. A fourth-round pick in 2013, Bakhtiari has made a lot of GMs regret their choices in that draft.
Last year, the advanced stats at Pro Football Focus gave Bakhtiari a 76.3 overall grade. Had he reached the free agent market, he would have been the highest-graded player at left tackle 2015 to be a free agent in 2017 and under the age of 34. Bakhtiari has drawn stellar pass-blocking grades from PFF in the past, though his run-blocking skills are not considered to be on the same level.
Green Bay freed up some money for this deal after they cut talented guard Josh Sitton loose last week. Sitton was scheduled to earn $6.15MM in base salary and count $6.85MM against the cap and the Packers recouped nearly all of that space, save for his $300K workout bonus.
Now that Bakhtiari is taken care of, the Packers may shift their attention to talented right guard T.J. Lang. He is set to earn $6.85MM in the last year of his four-year, ~$21MM extension.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Packers Reach Settlement With Kyle Steuck
- The following players have been released from their respective teams’ injured reserve list with an injury settlement (all Twitter links via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle unless noted): Buccaneers TE Kivon Cartwright (link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times), Cardinals LB Tristan Okpalaugo (link), Colts CB D’Joun Smith (link), Jets WR Kenbrell Thompkins (link), Giants T Jake Rodgers (link), Packers C Kyle Steuck (link), Texans C Dalton Freeman (link via Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com).
Latest On Packers’ Release Of Josh Sitton
The Packers shocked the NFL world by releasing Pro Bowl guard Josh Sitton during final cutdowns, and while there’s been some speculation as to what Green Bay was thinking with the move, confusion is still abounds regarding the club’s decision. However, Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel yesterday attempted to make some sense of the situation, and ultimately came to the conclusion that general manager Ted Thompson & Co. made a mistake by parting ways with one of its best players.
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Sources tell McGinn that the Packers told Sitton is mid-August that extensions for David Bakhtiari, J.C. Tretter, T.J. Lang, and Eddie Lacy would be the priority, meaning Sitton wouldn’t be getting a long-term deal any time soon. While Sitton may have been upset at that news, he never showed, as far as McGinn could tell. And while Green Bay had mentioned a possible Sitton trade to at least one team, serious discussions didn’t occur until final cutdown weekend.
At that point, the Packers told Sitton he would be released if the club couldn’t find a trade partner. Green Bay, per McGinn, was “apoplectic” that it couldn’t locate another team willing to part with draft compensation in order to acquire Sitton. The Saints expressed some interest, but their cap problems and lack of a fifth-round pick prevented them from making a deal.
With a trade seemingly impossible, the Packers began to worry that Sitton would become a locker room distraction if he was kept on the roster, according to McGinn. If other Green Bay players began to sign extensions while Sitton remained in his contract year, the problem might only get worse, thought the club’s front office.
Still, there’s been no indication that Sitton planned to hold out or become any sort of pariah. And on the whole, McGinn seems correct — the Packers made a massive miscalculation by parting ways with Sitton. Green Bay likely would have recouped a compensatory pick by simply letting Sitton play out the season and find a new home in free agency. Now, the Packers will move forward with Lane Taylor in the starting lineup, and having received noting in return for Sitton.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.