Most Green Bay Packers fans probably drew the most excitement from early in the preseason finale against the Seattle Seahawks when Jordan Love found Christian Watson for a beautiful back-shoulder touchdown early in the game. And rightfully so. That's the future of the offense taking shape before our eyes.
At the same time, however, so much of the Packers preseason finale was about players trying to earn a spot on the 53-man roster in their final opportunities. There are obviously locks all over the place, but some players entered the matchup with the Seahawks knowing that this was their final opportunity to show the coaching staff and front office that they deserve to stick around for Week 1.
In the end, there were three players who stood out as earning a Packers roster spot, but one player now might end up on the wrong side of the cut line based on how things have transpired.
Packers who earned a roster spot, No. 3: Brenton Cox Jr., EDGE
After not hearing his name called over the seven rounds in the 2023 NFL Draft, former Florida and Georgia edge rusher Brenton Cox Jr. was still a coveted commodity on the UDFA market, ultimately landing with the Packers.
Green Bay's depth on the edge, even after selecting Lukas Van Ness in the first round, remained a bit of a question mark and it seemed as if Cox, a once-heralded recruit who struggled mightily to keep his head on straight throughout his college career, could be an answer to that if he could renew his focus upon entering the professional ranks.
The preseason finale win over the Seahawks was further evidence that Cox is doing just that, continuing what we've seen in the other two games and in training camp.
Cox was quite disruptive against the Seattle backups on offense, registering two tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass defense in his relatively limited work. After generating pressure against both the Patriots and Bengals previously as well, he all but affirmed that he's going to be on the 53-man roster.
Defensive line depth and versatility is going to be a crucial area to watch for the Packers this season and, while Cox is pretty exclusively an edge player, having him on the roster would allow Green Bay to move parts around otherwise if they can continue to see the development from him. In any case, it would be a shock if he ended up on the wrong side of the cut line at this point.
Packers who earned a roster spot, No. 2: Innis Gaines, DB
Coming into training camp, it seemed possible that we could be looking at a battle for a roster spot between veteran Corey Ballentine and seventh-round rookie Carrington Valentine. The latter, however, quickly ended that ever being part of the conversation as he's been a lock to make the 53-man roster for weeks.
Ballentine, however, hasn't fully come off of the roster bubble in Green Bay. Though he has plenty of experience around the NFL in his career to this point, he's been inconsistent, even if that has included flashes of quality play. But second-year defensive back Innis Gaines has now made it likely that Ballentine will get pushed off the roster when cuts are made.
When it comes to filling out the bottom of the depth charts on the 53-man roster, versatility is absolutely king in the eyes of the coaching staff. And put simply, Gaines has proven to be more valuable in that regard. He worked with the starting special teams unit in the preseason finale and continued to be a solid player in that capacity.
More than that, while Ballentine may actually be a better traditional cornerback than Gaines, the latter offers a great deal more versatility in the secondary with the ability to play outside, in the nickel, and even at safety. Again, that's something we saw a bit of in the preseason as well.
Gaines once again showing his multi-faceted value for the Packers in the preseason finale should be a good sign that he's going to be on the right side of the cut line when the time comes in a few days time.
Packers who earned a roster spot, No. 1: Malik Heath, WR
At one point in the preseason and training camp, it appeared that the only locks among Packers wide receivers were Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and rookie Jayden Reed. The rest of the group seemed to then be battling it out for however many remaining spots at the position the Packers were looking to fill.
It feels safe to add Malik Heath to the list of locks now.
The first sign of that was simply that Heath got a start on Saturday night with the Green Bay offense. But he also continued to be productive, hauling in four of his seven targets on the night for 35 yards. He's the leading receiver for the Packers in the preseason as well, catching 12-of-16 targets -- eight of those catches going for first downs -- for 146 yards, even if he did fail to score.
But Matt LaFleur inserting Heath into the starting offense on Saturday night seems to not only indicate that he's going to avoid any cut-day drama, but also that he's above Samori Touri on the wide receiver depth chart. That's a big ascension for Heath, who was signed as a UDFA out of Ole Miss after the draft.
The Packers wide receiver room is one of the youngest in the NFL, if not the absolute youngest. They are leaving no stones unturned to try and find the right group of guys to help set up Love for success in his first season as QB1 and Heath has proven throughout the entirety of the preseason, including the finale, that he can be an asset in the passing game behind the entrenched three on the depth chart.
Packers player who should be cut: Royce Newman, OL
Royce Newman has worn a number of hats for the Green Bay Packers in his two years since the franchise selected him in the fourth round of the 2021 draft out of Ole Miss. The problem is that the hats he's been wearing haven't looked good on him nearly as often as the club would like for them to have.
This isn't a fashion faux pas but, rather, a metaphor for the fact that Newman has been one of the most frustrating presences on the Packers offensive line when he's been on the field. And with Green Bay improving the depth in the trenches over the past two years, most notably with versatile Sean Rhyan last year and UDFA signing Caleb Jones this offseason, Newman looks like he might be getting pushed out -- and he didn't do anything to save himself in the preseason finale.
Newman's penchant for sloppy play showed up even against a Seahawks defense that featured a majority of backups, committing a number of penalties and not being as effective as they would like for him to be. Put simply, it was the same issues that put him on the roster bubble in the first place that haven't gone away, even entering year three.
The one thing that could possibly save Newman is the lack of depth on the interior for Green Bay. With Newman's ability to shift along the offensive front, there's at least a chance that the Packers could value his ability to fill in at multiple spots should he be needed.
I'm not of that mind, however. Rhyan has the ability to play inside or outside and Jones has more upside on the outside than Newman does as a versatile piece. Had Newman shown the necessary improvements in camp and the preseason, he'd probably be a lock. Instead, he hasn't, which is likely going to cost him a spot on the 53-man roster, whether that means being cut or, if he Packers can find an interested buyer, traded.