The NFL's trading deadline arrived Tuesday afternoon and Green Bay Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst stuck to his guns and stayed on the sidelines.
There was plenty of speculation he would try and add either another wide receiver to the mix with Davante Adams still mending from a turf toe injury that has forced him to miss the last four games or bring in another inside linebacker to shore up that position alongside the league's leading tackler in Blake Martinez.
Neither happened as Gutekunst expects Adams to get cleared sooner rather than later and he still hasn't seen what former Redskin Ryan Grant can do after he was signed two weeks ago but has yet to be active for a game. At inside backer, the Packers are hoping Oren Burks can be more productive than he's shown since returning from a pectoral injury in training camp. B.J. Goodson has shown flashes in the run defense but has been a liability in coverage.
The GM still made some roster moves on Tuesday however, releasing the feel good story of camp. Wide receiver and kick returner Darrius Shepherd earned a roster spot with some exciting play in August but the North Dakota State free agent could not make the same plays when the season began. Given the opportunity to return kicks after Trevor Davis was dealt to Oakland, Shepherd has not been able to do it. He had a costly fumble against the Eagles in Green Bay's only loss and averaged just 16.3 yards on 9 kickoff returns. On punt returns, Shepherd had 11 fair catches and just two returns, losing 9 yards.
Tremon Smith, a former Kansas City Chiefs returner was signed in September and then released. Brought back to the practice squad two weeks ago, Smith was promoted onto the active roster again and he'll take over the return role.
The Packers also waived tight end Evan Baylis. That leaves open a roster spot for one of two players eligible to return from injured lists. Rookie tight end Jace Sternberger can be actived from the injured reserve list and safety Ibraheim Campbell is ready to come off the physically unable to perform list.
After a couple of days off, the Packers return to the practice field Wednesday to start preparing for the Los Angeles Chargers. It will be a bit of a condensed week for Head Coach Matt LaFleur who will take the team to the west coast on Friday evening after practice to get acclimated to the two hour time difference before kickoff Sunday afternoon.
