GREEN BAY, Wis. The Green Bay Packers will have a new third-string quarterback this season.On Friday afternoon, they announced the release of Kurt Benkert, who worked behind Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love last year.An undrafted free agent in 2018, Benkert spent his first three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. After the 2021 draft, Benkert and Chad Kelly were invited to the Packers rookie camp as tryout candidates at quarterback. Benkert won the audition and spent all of the season on the practice squad.With Love on the COVID list for a late-season game against the Chicago Bears, Benkert was elevated to the gameday roster. It was his first real game in 1,445 days.Preseason here Michael Brantley Jersey is unlike preseason in a lot of other places, so you get that home atmosphere and a sellout crowd, . But against the Bears, one of the oldest traditions in football, pretty cool way to come out.At the urging of Rodgers, Benkert closed out the game by taking a couple knees. Afterward, .Scroll to ContinueI didnt think it would take this long, he said of suiting up for a regular-season game. In 2019, I got injured in preseason so was out that entire year. That was the only year that I was in Atlanta that Matt Ryan mi sed any games at all. So, there was that, and then obviously Matt Schaub had been there for a while. So, just kind of what the role was. Never know, man. Just always got to stay ready, though.Benkert has a strong arm but is mistake-prone. In 48 preseason pa sing attempts last summer, he completed 68.8 percent of his pa ses (good) but to sed two interceptions and lost one fumble (bad). Off the field, he is known for his pa sion for gaming.For now, Danny Etling is the teams third quarterback. The team will keep three likely Rodgers and Love on the roster and one more on the practice squad. Etling, who will turn 28 before training camp, went undrafted out of LSU in 2018. As a rookie with New England, he had an 86-yard touchdown run. .I didnt know much about him up until the time I came back, quarterbacks coach Tom Clements said at the start of OTAs. Hes been here. I like him. Hes an athletic guy. He has talent. Im not sure why he hasnt been able to stick anywhere, but I think J.R. Richard Jersey hes intelligent, he works at it, he likes it. Hes been good to work with.The transaction leaves the Packers with an opening on their 90-man roster.Looking beyond the starters, here are the position groups that are strong and the units that could use a veteran addition. QuarterbacksStarter: Aaron RodgersBackups: Jordan Love and Danny EtlingGrade: B. Drafting Love was an enormous mistake. In Jake Marisnick Jersey 2020, the Packers were coming off a trip to the NFC Championship Game. Using a first-round selection on a quarterback was a waste of a draft pick, . Compounding matters, Love wasnt good enough to triumph in winnable road games against the Chiefs and Lions. Still, Love has talent and some experience. There are a lot worse backup situations than Green Bays. Running backs Starter: Aaron JonesBackups: AJ Dillon, Kylin Hill (injured), Patrick Taylor, B.J. Baylor (rookie), Tyler Goodson (rookie)Grade: A. What a luxury for coach Matt LaFleur and position coach Ben Sirmans to have Jones and Dillon leading the backfield. They are superb, do-it-all running backs and excellent examples for the rest of the depth chart. Last season, they combined for 2,306 total yards and 17 total touchdowns. Looking beyond their lightning and thunder, Hill impre sed last preseason and Taylor really flashed in the regular-season finale at Detroit. Receivers Starters: Allen Lazard, Sammy Watkins, Randall CobbBackups: Christian Watson (rookie), Amari Rodgers, Romeo Doubs (rookie), Juwann Winfree, Malik Taylor, Samori Toure (rookie), Danny Davis (rookie).Grade: C. Honestly, who knows? A suming the three veterans stay healthy and are the Week 1 starters, the seven players battling for snaps and spots behind them on the depth chart combined to catch 14 pa ses in the NFL last season. Rookie or veteran, the best of the bunch during the offseason practices was Winfree. That was true last year, too. Drafted in the sixth round by Denver in 2019, he had the first eight catches of his career but also the only two fumbles by a Packers receiver all season. Rodgers could challenge Cobb for snaps and all four of the rookies had their moments. Tight ends Starters: Marcedes Lewis, Robert Tonyan (injured)Backups: Tyler Davis, Josiah Deguara, Dominique Dafney, Alize Mack, Eli WolfGrade: C-plus. Davis was one of the stories of the spring. A sixth-round pick by Jacksonville in 2020, Davis landed in Green Bay early last season. He wound up catching only four pa ses in 14 games but showed some real potential as a receiver during the offseason practices. Definitely, I feel like Im Brian McCann Jersey scratching the surface. , he said last month. This will be a big training camp for Deguara, a third-round pick in 2020 who hasnt made much of an impact. Offensive line Starters: LT David Bakhtiari, LG Jon Runyan, C Josh Myers, RG Royce Newman, RT Yosh Nijman, Elgton Jenkins (injured)Backups: C/G Jake Hanson, G/T Cole Van Lanen, G/T Sean Rhyan (rookie), C/G Zach Tom (rookie), T Rasheed Walker (rookie), C/G Michal Menet, T Caleb Jones (rookie), G/T George Moore (rookie), C/G Cole Schneider (rookie)Grade: B-minus. This grade is based on the a sumption that Bakhtiari will be a season-long starter and Jenkins will return at some point, too. Based on how he played last season and his excellent series of offseason practices, Nijman could be the best swing tackle in the NFL. Hes so athletic and explosive. On the interior, will Rhyan or Tom step to the forefront when they put on the pads and have to block Kenny Clark or Devonte Wyatt? Whether its the rookies or Hanson or Van Lanen, someone is going to have fill the utility role manned by Lucas Patrick. In case disaster strikes and neither Bakhtiari nor Jenkins are available, the Packers laid the Gerrit Cole Jersey groundwork of having Newman step out to right tackle. Defensive line Starters: Kenny Clark, Dean Lowry, Jarran ReedBackups: TJ Slaton, Devonte Wyatt (rookie), Jack Heflin, Jonathan Ford (rookie), Chris Slayton, Akial Byers (rookie), Hauati Pututau (rookie)Grade: A. Theres some projection here because Slaton played a relatively quiet 255 defensive snaps as a rookie and Wyatt, a first-round pick, has to prove hes an NFL player, as well. But Clark, Lowry, Reed, Slaton and Wyatt looks like one heck of a five-man rotation. Clark, Lowry and Reed have proven they can handle heavy workloads but, as is the case with all big guys, sometimes a little le s means a lot more. Outside