Roster Upgrade: Packers Eye Post-Deadline Deals to Boost Roster
Before the trade deadline, players with four or more accrued NFL seasons don’t go through the waiver process. When teams cut them, they are free agents immediately. But that changes after the deadline, and this rule might bring an interesting possibility for the Green Bay Packers.
On Thursday, the Baltimore Ravens waived edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue. The Ravens plan to sign him back to the practice squad if possible, according to ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter, but first he has to pass waivers. Enters the Packers.
Right now, the Green Bay Packers have the 23rd waiver priority — it’s the opposite order of the standings, and it’s updated every week after Week 3. If the Packers put in a claim and nobody with a higher priority does the same, Green Bay would absorb Ngakoue’s old contract with the Ravens for the rest of the season.
If the Packers have a successful claim, they would take $605k in base salary for the rest of the 2024 season. Ngakoue is not exactly a complete edge defender, but his style of play can be really useful for the Packers, especially after the team traded Preston Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday for a seventh-round pick.
