While not as dramatic as Tuesday’s deadline for NFL teams to reduce their rosters to 53 players, Wednesday is still an important day around the league. Not only do waiver claims come in on many of the players who were released on Tuesday, but it also is the first day that teams can begin to sign players to their practice squads for the 2025 season.
NFL teams are allowed to assemble practice squads of 16 players, plus an additional 17th player if that individual is an eligible for International Pathway Program. The Packers did have an IPP player in training camp in the form of Irish kicker Mark McNamee, so he could end up coming back as the 17th man.
Out of the standard 16 players on the practice squad, a maximum of six can be veteran players, defined as having more than one accrued season of experience in the league. The remainder must be first- or second-year players. Keep in mind also that teams can elevate up to two players from the practice squad to the gameday roster each week, though a player can be elevated a maximum of three times before having to be added to the 53-man roster in order to be eligible to play in another game.
Additionally, only players who are free agents are eligible to sign with a team’s practice squad. Because many players are subject to the waiver system, teams need to wait until waivers clear at 12 Noon Eastern today before they can begin assembling their practice squads.
Keep it here as we track all of the news of the Packers’ signings as well as players who were recently released by the team who are landing elsewhere.
Packers practice squad signings
The first big surprise on the practice squad is Hardman, who takes up one of the six veteran spots on the unit. His release and return to Green Bay may be related to the week one vested veteran salary guarantee; by being on the practice squad in week one, he would not have his entire season’s base salary guaranteed even if he is elevated to the gameday roster.
The next big name here is Tune, who will be the Packers’ #3 quarterback option instead of Sean Clifford or Taylor Elgersma. Tune’s likely signing with the Packers was reported on Tuesday after he was waived on Monday, but before waivers cleared on Wednesday. He was a 5th-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2023 and started one game for them as a rookie. Notably, Tune was also Matthew Golden’s quarterback at the University of Houston during the receiver’s freshman season in 2022.
Cooper is another interesting player who was not in Green Bay this summer. He signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in April, but the Packers brought him in on a pre-draft visit a few weeks earlier. The former Oklahoma State tackle is another beefy guy (6-foot-5 1/2 and 323 pounds) and had a 9.01 RAS.
Former Packers on other teams’ practice squads