Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Packers: no contract for Beaver

To the disappointment of many pulling for the small town, small college, small in stature RB, Justin Beaver, the Packers have not offered him a contract following what was -- even by head coach Mike McCarthy's own words -- an "impressive" tryout weekend.

It came down to a numbers game, at least at this point. There is a possibility things might change in a couple weeks when the NFL owners consider increasing the roster limit from 80 to 86 players. At present, the Packers have 78 players under contract, not including nine draft picks and unsigned RB Ryan Grant.

Whether the move to 86 players would be enough to get Beaver a spot or not remains to be seen. But, again, from all indications McCarthy would really like to give Beaver an opportunity in some capacity. Where might that roster spot come from? Well, the Packers currently have two long snappers in the fold; that won't happen long-term, obviously. There will be a lot of trimming to do as the months unfold before the start of the regular season. Perhaps at some point -- hopefully sooner rather than later or not at all -- the Pack will give Beaver a call.

You can read a bit more about this situation here.