{"id":33931,"date":"2025-09-27T22:55:54","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T22:55:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931"},"modified":"2025-09-27T22:55:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T22:55:54","slug":"packers-make-inevitable-roster-decision-before-cowboys-game-that-surprises-no-one-but-still-carries-big-implications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931","title":{"rendered":"Packers make inevitable roster decision before Cowboys game that surprises no one but still carries big implications"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/atozsports.com\/.image\/w_3840,q_auto:good,c_limit\/Mzk6MDAwMDAwMDAwMjYwMzE2\/usatsi_27057425.jpg\" alt=\"Sep 11, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur looks on in the first quarter against the Washington Commanders at Lambeau Field.\n\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\" data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\">The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/atozsports.com\/nfl\/green-bay-packers-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Green Bay Packers<\/a>\u00a0had no viable option other than elevating an offensive lineman from the practice squad for gameday to face the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/atozsports.com\/nfl\/dallas-cowboys-news\/cowboys-packers-week-4-final-predictions-bold-score-micah-parsons\/\">Dallas Cowboys on \u2018Sunday Night Football.\u2019<\/a>\u00a0On Saturday, the Packers confirmed that interior offensive lineman Lecitus Smith has been elevated to be available in Week 4. The player reverts back to the practice squad on Monday.<\/p>\n<p data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\" data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/atozsports.com\/nfl\/green-bay-packers-news\/injury-report-week-4-cowboys-snf\/\">Right tackles Zach Tom (oblique) and Anthony Belton (ankle) are both out this week<\/a>, and left guard Aaron Banks (groin) is doubtful, prompting the Packers to make the roster move. The decision is a strong indication that Banks, in fact, will not be available.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"experience-in-the-mix\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-m-font-size\">Experience in the mix<\/h2>\n<p data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\" data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\">Lecitus Smith has been in the NFL since 2022, and spent time with the Packers on several occasions over the past two seasons. Originally a sixth-round pick by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/atozsports.com\/nfl\/arizona-cardinals-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Arizona Cardinals<\/a>, he\u2019s already played for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/atozsports.com\/nfl\/houston-texans-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Houston Texans<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/atozsports.com\/nfl\/philadelphia-eagles-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Philadelphia Eagles<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/atozsports.com\/nfl\/new-england-patriots-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New England Patriots<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/atozsports.com\/nfl\/pittsburgh-steelers-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\" data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\">Last year, he had been signed by the Packers in May and spent the training camp in Green Bay, starting the season on the practice squad. However, the Patriots signed him off the Packers\u2019 PS in October. In 2025, he returned to the Packers in August and was released as part of the final cuts, but re-signed to the PS earlier this week to add more experienced depth.<\/p>\n<p data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\" data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\">Throughout his NFL career, Smith has played 202 snaps at right guard, eight at left guard, and two as a sixth offensive lineman in regular season games. Over the past two years for the Packers in preseason, he played 79 snaps at left guard, 113 at center (including 72 this year), and three at right guard.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"nfl-rules\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-m-font-size\">NFL rules<\/h2>\n<p data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\" data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\">The NFL increased the size of the practice squad during Covid and kept some of the adjusted rules. Of the 16 players, 10 must be players with up to two accrued seasons, and there\u2019s no restrictions for the other six. There\u2019s also an extra spot for a player with an International Pathway Program exemption\u2014for Green Bay, it\u2019s Irish kicker Mark McNamee.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the season, teams can elevate practice squad players for gameday. Each player can be elevated up to three times for the same team without being a member of the active 53-man roster. After the game, the player reverts back to the PS.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"practice-squad-elevations-in-2025\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-m-font-size\">Practice squad elevations in 2025<\/h2>\n<p data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\" data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\">Micah Robinson \u2014 2<br \/>\nBrant Banks \u2014 1<br \/>\nLecitus Smith \u2014 1<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"packers-practice-squad\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-m-font-size\">Packers\u2019 practice squad<\/h2>\n<p data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\" data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\">RB Pierre Strong Jr.<br \/>\nEDGE Deslin Alexandre<br \/>\nDB Johnathan Baldwin<br \/>\nC\/G Lecitus Smith<br \/>\nT Dalton Cooper<br \/>\nDT James Ester<br \/>\nWR Jakobie Keeney-James<br \/>\nLB Jamon Dumas-Johnson<br \/>\nK Mark McNamee<br \/>\nEDGE Arron Mosby<br \/>\nWR Isaiah Neyor<br \/>\nCB Micah Robinson<br \/>\nWR Will Sheppard<br \/>\nS Jaylin Simpson<br \/>\nQB Clayton Tune<br \/>\nLB Kristian Welch<br \/>\nTE Josh Whyle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0Green Bay Packers\u00a0had no viable option other than elevating an offensive lineman from the practice squad for gameday to face the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys on \u2018Sunday Night Football.\u2019\u00a0On Saturday,&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-green-bay-packers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Packers make inevitable roster decision before Cowboys game that surprises no one but still carries big implications - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Packers make inevitable roster decision before Cowboys game that surprises no one but still carries big implications - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The\u00a0Green Bay Packers\u00a0had no viable option other than elevating an offensive lineman from the practice squad for gameday to face the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys on \u2018Sunday Night Football.\u2019\u00a0On Saturday,...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-27T22:55:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/green-bay-bau-52.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931\",\"name\":\"Packers make inevitable roster decision before Cowboys game that surprises no one but still carries big implications - Breaking News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/green-bay-bau-52.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-27T22:55:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-27T22:55:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/green-bay-bau-52.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/green-bay-bau-52.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Packers make inevitable roster decision before Cowboys game that surprises no one but still carries big implications\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"Breaking News\",\"description\":\"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15\",\"name\":\"MrKen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrKen\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Packers make inevitable roster decision before Cowboys game that surprises no one but still carries big implications - Breaking News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Packers make inevitable roster decision before Cowboys game that surprises no one but still carries big implications - Breaking News","og_description":"The\u00a0Green Bay Packers\u00a0had no viable option other than elevating an offensive lineman from the practice squad for gameday to face the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys on \u2018Sunday Night Football.\u2019\u00a0On Saturday,...","og_url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931","og_site_name":"Breaking News","article_published_time":"2025-09-27T22:55:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/green-bay-bau-52.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"MrKen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrKen","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931","name":"Packers make inevitable roster decision before Cowboys game that surprises no one but still carries big implications - Breaking News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/green-bay-bau-52.png","datePublished":"2025-09-27T22:55:54+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-27T22:55:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/green-bay-bau-52.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/green-bay-bau-52.png","width":1080,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=33931#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Packers make inevitable roster decision before Cowboys game that surprises no one but still carries big implications"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/","name":"Breaking News","description":"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b503ba061d907097809c4aa8a240af15","name":"MrKen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrKen"},"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33931"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33933,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33931\/revisions\/33933"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}