Big Payoff For Thompson's Calculated Risk

Packers' GM Ted Thompson plays it safe. That's his M.O. But even the most cautious of GM's must take risks in the NFL. Thompson took a calculated risk, but a risk nonetheless, in releasing 3rd string QB Graham Harrell during the league-mandated roster cut from 80 to 53 players. His hope was that Harrell would pass through the waiver wire untouched, and that he'd be able to once again sign the young QB to the practice squad. I'm on record as saying I did not expect Harrell to emerge unclaimed. For every Payton Manning, there are 5 Todd Collins out there. What I mean is there are many teams that are in need of not only depth at QB, but also possible growth. Clearly, that's why Ted Thompson is a General Manager and I am not. The Packers are now free to continue grooming Graham Harrell to replace current backup QB Matt Flynn, who will likely be offered a starting position somewhere else when his contract expires at the end of this season. At the end of the day, it was a high risk/high reward transaction for Thompson and the Packers, and it looks to have paid off.

In all, the Packers signed 8 players to the practice squad today. They are as follows:

WR Diondre Borel,
T/G Ray Dominguez,
C Sampson Genus,
WR Tori Gurley,
QB Graham Harrell,
CB Brandian Ross,
RB Brandon Saine,
WR Chastin West

Most fans, myself included, were happy to see WR's Chastin West and Tori Gurley pass through waivers and make it to the practice squad. They both showed flashes of brilliance during training camp and will hopefully blossom and create more competition at the wide receiver position, which any coach will tell you is a good thing.

It was also curious to see the Packers leave their offensive line so thin with their final cuts, so it makes a lot of sense that the team has reclaimed T/G Ray Dominguez and C Samson Genus.

Now that the front office paperwork has been filed, we can concentrate on the task at hand: Thursday night's NFL season opener against the Superbowl 44 champion New Orleans Saints.