3 Potential Cut Candidates for Green Bay Packers Amid 2025 OTAs

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Packers defensive end Colby Wooden.

The Green Bay Packers are now partway through their OTA schedule of spring workouts at Lambeau Field and have begun the process of evaluating the 90 players on their roster with eyes on who might stick around for the new season.

The Packers will hold three more OTA practices next week on June 2, 3 and 5 and then will follow up their voluntary workouts with a three-day mandatory veteran minicamp from June 10-12 before breaking for roughly six weeks until the start of training camp.

While the roster competitions are only just beginning to play out, here is a look at three potential cut candidates — including a free-agent signing — for the Packers in 2025.

WR Mecole Hardman Jr.

GettyPackers wide receiver Mecole Hardman Jr.

The Packers have a logjam at wide receiver right now. Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, first-round rookie Matthew Golden and third-round rookie Savion Williams are locks to make the 53-man roster unless an unexpected trade offer pries away one of the two older guys. Christian Watson will also likely stick around, though he might begin the year on the PUP list as he recovers from his January ACL injury.

That leaves Bo Melton, Malik Heath and veteran free-agent signing Mecole Hardman Jr. vying for what is likely the sixth and final roster spot in the rotation. The Packers signed Hardman to a one-year contract in free agency, but that was before they added two draft picks to the mix. Hardman could solidify his spot on the roster if he can win the Packers’ return specialist job in camp, but the team could just as easily cut him if they have other returner options and feel the upside is stronger with Heath or Melton.

DE Colby Wooden

GettyPackers edge rusher Colby Wooden attempts to tackle Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard.

The Packers added two new edge rushers to their defensive line rotation in the 2025 draft, picking up Barryn Sorrell in the fourth round and Collin Oliver in the fifth round. They also return former first-round picks Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness along with contributor Kingsley Enagbare to the mix, leaving them with a tight competition for the sixth spot — if the Packers even keep six — between Colby Wooden and Brenton Cox Jr.

Wooden, a 2023 fourth-round pick, has played 30 games over his first two seasons with the Packers, but he struggled to achieve much production in 2024 with just two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits. Cox also outproduced him despite playing fewer total defensive snaps, tallying four sacks and five tackles for loss as a rotational pass rusher.

Wooden isn’t out of the race yet, but he has some catching up to do to keep his spot.

CB Micah Robinson

Micah Robinson, the only rookie on the list, is still very much an unknown for the team. The Packers sunk a seventh-round selection into him based on his athletic profile and attack-hard mentality as a run defender, but he is a smaller-framed cornerback than the team traditionally targets at just 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds. He also played most of his college ball at small-school Furman before spending his final season at Tulane in 2024.

Now, that does not mean Robinson cannot prove the Packers right and carve out a spot in the rotation, but there is much uncertainty about the cornerback room in OTAs with the future of All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander still up in the air. If he comes back, the team will have fewer spots available at cornerback on its 53-man roster. If the Packers move on from Alexander, they could also add another veteran free agent to the mix.

Either way, Robinson must bring his A-game to training camp to give himself a shot.

Jordan J. Wilson is a sports reporter who covers the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. He has previously covered all levels of sports — high school, college and pro — for a variety of publications including The Indianapolis Star, The News-Gazette, Springfield State-Journal Register and Peoria Journal Star. More about Jordan J. Wilson