SATURDAY, 8:55am: The move is official, according to the team’s website.
FRIDAY, 4:07pm: The Packers have parted ways with a player who started 10 games for them last season, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who tweets that the team has cut inside linebacker Nate Palmer. Because he has less than four years of service time, Palmer will have to pass through waivers before he becomes a free agent.
Palmer, a sixth-round pick in 2013, saw a little playing time during his rookie season before spending the entire 2014 campaign on the injured reserve list. In 2015, he earned a starting job at inside linebacker, but ultimately ceded playing time to rookie Jake Ryan before the year was over. In 16 games (10 starts) last season, Palmer compiled 64 tackles, a sacks, and a pair of passes defended.
In spite of their willingness to let go of Palmer, the Packers aren’t particularly deep at inside linebacker, having frequently used Clay Matthews there, rather than at his natural outside linebacker spot, in recent years. Although Ryan, Sam Barrington, Joe Thomas Jr., and others will be in the mix for playing time at ILB for the Packers, the team figures to address the position at some point in the draft.
By cutting Palmer, Green Bay will reduce his cap number from about $700K to just $25K in dead money.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.