Few Surprises as Packers Trim to 53

Mike McCarthy says that today is his least favorite day of the year, the day in which the roster is cut down to 53 players. Veterans that have been with the club for years are shown the door, while the NFL dreams of undrafted rookies are cut short. On the other side of the token, 53 guys are rewarded for their hard work during the summer, and given the chance to participate in the quest for a Super Bowl ring.

There were no big surprises among those that were cut, but the biggest names have to be running backs Noah Herron and Vernand Morency. The two were cut basically after the emergence of Kregg Lumpkin, who is most likely having the best day of his life.

The rest of the cuts were WR Jake Allen, CB Scorpio Babers, DT Conrad Bolston, C Brennen Carvalho, S Tyrone Culver, LB Spencer Havner, TE Joey Haynos, G Ryan Keenan, LB Danny Lansanah, DT Alfred Malone, DT Daniel Muir, CB Joe Porter, WR Johnny Quinn, WR Taj Smith, WR Brett Swain, OT Orrin Thompson and FB Corey White.

I was really pulling for Orrin Thompson to make the team, as the Packers drafted his brother, defensive lineman Jeremy Thompson, in the 4th round of this year's draft. That has to be a tough situation for the family, as the younger brother makes the team for the first time, while the veteran brother is left to look for work elsewhere.

If you're wondering where LS J.J. Jansen, G Junius Coston, and DT Rodney Allen are, they were all placed on the injured reserve.

So the roster is set to 53, the Packers aren't done yet. From JS Online:

There weren't too many surprises among the cuts, although the Packers released three defensive linemen -- Daniel Muir, Conrad Bolston and Alfred Malone -- which means they are in the market for another tackle and could make a trade or pick one up on waivers in the next 24 hours. The only three defensive tackles on the 53 are Ryan Pickett, Colin Cole and Johnny Jolly.

Plenty of moves yet to be made, as the Packers will also need a long snapper, and may be tempted to pick up a veteran quarterback (Joey Harrington, Chris Simms, Quinn Gray, and Jared Lorenzen were all cut today).