Final cuts are in, but Brian Gutekunst’s work has only just begun

GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 28: Kyle McCord #18 of the Green Bay Packers passes during the first quarter of a preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals at Lambeau Field on August 28, 2026 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Brian Gutekunst and the Green Bay Packers' front office have their work cut out for them on cutdown day. It's a tough 48 hours or so between the final preseason game and the deadline to trim a roster down to 53 players, and they were plenty busy on Sunday.

Gutekunst and company made three trades, a remarkably high number for the Packers in a single day, plus they signed a player as a free agent before finalizing their initial roster. But despite all of that work on Sunday, Monday will probably be just as crazy.

After all, waivers clear today at 12 noon Eastern. That means that Gutey and his team need to determine if there are any players who were waived on Sunday by another team that they'd like to put in a claim for, and then once claims are processed, they'll get to work assembling the practice squad.

We'll have all of the news that's fit to print on those topics this afternoon, but until then, let's look back at Sunday's craziness. It all started out with the Packers turning Kyle McCord - who signed with the team on a futures deal in January - into a future 6th-round draft pick, and then it got even wackier from there with the acquisitions of running back Kaleb Johnson and tight end Mark Redman.

Here's a look at some of the interesting items from Sunday.

Packers smartly solve offensive questions with three cutdown day trades | Packers Wire
The Packers effectively flipped a surplus quarterback (McCord) for a body to help at running back (Johnson), with both trades sending 2028 6th-round picks to and from Green Bay. Then the team bolstered the tight ends, surprisingly keeping 4 on the opening roster.

2026 NFL offseason trade grades: Kaleb Johnson, Gervon Dexter | ESPN
Overall, the trade for Johnson seems like a solid one, and with the Packers seemingly moving back towards an outside zone scheme, the fit should be a bit better for his skill set.

5 things to know about new Packers TE Jonnu Smith | Packers.com
Another player who was in Pittsburgh last year, Smith has experience playing in a Matt LaFleur offense from their time together in Tennessee.

Undrafted free-agent streak on way to 22 years with J. Michael Sturdivant | Packersnews.com ($)
Unless something truly shocking happens, J-Mike will be yet another undrafted rookie to make the week 1 roster.

Four NFL teams keep four QBs on initial 53-man rosters | NFL.com
The Vikings are among them. Seriously. They kept all of Kyler Murray, J.J. McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Max Brosmer.

This play and an earlier touchdown on offense on Friday weren't enough to earn Sheppard a roster spot. Surely the Packers would love to get him back on the practice squad, but you could understand if he'd rather move on to opportunities elsewhere.

Argument over green chile enchiladas ends in deadly shooting | KRQE News
Look, I've had some good enchiladas in my day, but I don't know that I'd be willing to resort to violence over them.

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