Packers make 3 roster moves before facing Panthers in Week 9

The Green Bay Packers made three roster moves on Saturday before facing the Carolina Panthers in Week 9. The team placed linebacker Nick Niemann on injured reserve, signed linebacker Kristian Welch from the practice squad and elevated defensive lineman Arron Mosby from the practice squad to the gameday roster.

A quick breakdown of the three moves:

Niemann to IR

Niemann, who leads the NFL with 10 solo tackles on special teams, injured his pectoral muscle against the Pittsburgh Steelers and is now going on injured reserve. He’ll miss four games and likely more. Coach Matt LaFleur said the Packers were “concerned” about the injury to start the week, and Niemann didn’t practice. The Packers acquired Niemann off waivers from the Texans before the start of the regular season. He’s been on the field for 60 percent of Green Bay’s special teams snaps through seven games.

Sign Welch from practice squad

The obvious replacement plan for Niemann, a core special teamer, was signing Welch, a Wisconsin native who is a veteran special teams player and has experience both at linebacker and in Rich Bisaccia’s scheme. He played in 14 games and saw action on 210 special teams for the Packers in 2023. Last season, Welch played 285 special teams snaps over 15 games split between the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos. He returned to Green Bay in March, spent all of training camp with the Packers and then signed to the practice squad after being released at final cuts.

Elevate Mosby to gameday roster

With Lukas Van Ness out for a third straight game and the special teams down a key player in Niemann, the Packers elevated Mosby to the gameday roster for the third straight game. He played 38 special teams snaps for Bisaccia over the last two weeks. A converted off-ball linebacker, Mosby has the body type and experience to play a variety of roles for the Packers on special teams while also providing depth at edge rusher, where he’ll operate as the emergency No. 5 defensive end behind Micah Parsons, Rashan Gary, Kingsley Enagbare and Barryn Sorrell.