3 Packers Whose Jobs are on the Line in Preseason Week 2

The Green Bay Packers started the preseason on the wrong note with a 26-7 loss to the Houston Texans. Fortunately, preseason games don't officially count and there's also the fact that most of Green Bay's starters weren't playing, so the loss isn't really indicative of what the rest of the season will look like.

Nevertheless, the Packers will trim down their roster size to 85 on Tuesday and will have to further trim things down 80 by August 24. That means that this week's matchup against the New York Jets will be a lot of players' last chance to prove why they deserve to remain on the Packers roster.

Here's a look at three Packers whose jobs are on the line in Week 2 of the 2021 NFL preseason.

3 Potential Packers Roster Cuts

1. Equanimeous St. Brown, Wide Receiver

Equanimeous St. Brown has spent the last three years with the Packers organization, however, he's had a tough time staying in the lineup. The 24-year-old wideout has missed 24 of a possible 48 games to begin his career and Green Bay may not have the patience anymore to see if he'll pan out. St. Brown had an impressive rookie campaign in 2018 as he had 328 receiving yards in 12 games (seven starts). However, after missing the entire 2019 season with an ankle injury, he put up just 117 receiving yards and a touchdown in 12 games (one start) last year. With a locker room full of wide receivers who've shown more promise and better health than St. Brown has, Saturday's preseason game could be his last opportunity to prove why he should stick around.

2. Josh Avery, Defensive Lineman

At the beginning of August, the Packers were hurting for some defensive linemen depth, which resulted in them bringing in Josh Avery. Unfortunately for the 2020 undrafted free agent, Avery might have to look elsewhere for a new job. Third-year DL Kingsley Keke is back from his injury and starting nose tackle Kenny Clark returned to practice on Monday. In other words, there isn't that much room for an unproven player like Avery and the fact that he only saw nine snaps against the Texans should tell you all you need to know about his future in Green Bay. If he plays against the Jets this weekend, Avery will need one helluva performance.

3. Carlo Kemp, Outside Linebacker

Outside linebacker Carlo Kemp had an impressive four-year collegiate career with the Michigan Wolverines, which landed him a spot with the Packers after going undrafted at the 2021 NFL Draft. However, Green Bay already has a slew of solid players who can play the inside, including Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith, with several proven depth options behind them. Considering how the Packers' linebacker room is relatively healthy and the former Wolverine only recorded a single tackle in Week 1 of the preseason, Kemp's spot in Green Bay's lineup could be on the line this week.

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