Packers Rising Star Cut From Final 53-Man Roster After Refusing to Be a Backup to a Rookie!
Green Bay, WI — August 30, 2025
The NFL is always unforgiving in late August, but this twist left the Lambeau locker room stunned. Colby Wooden — a third-year defensive lineman who earned rotational work (including a spot start) in 2024 and became a quiet favorite for his motor and versatility — has been released from the Packers’ final 53 after a week of internal friction.
Wooden’s rise once read like a grit-and-grind tale: a young interior/edge tweener who flashed early effort plays and positional flexibility, proving he could slide between interior gaps and 5-tech in sub-packages.
But things shifted when the staff informed him he would take a backup role behind rookie Nazir Stackhouse, who impressed with knock-back power and leverage through the preseason — and made the 2025 53-man roster as part of a deeper, heavier defensive line group.
“He said he would never be a backup to a rookie who had just walked into the building — on the strength of only a few eye-catching preseason snaps. When we pushed back, he skipped a practice in protest. In Green Bay, that kinda crap just doesn’t fly.” — Matt LaFleur
From that moment, the decision was nearly irreversible. The Packers parted ways with Wooden — a shock to many who had penciled him in as rotational depth in a newly streamlined defensive line room.
The move clears the runway for Nazir Stackhouse to jump straight into a larger early-down role, while sub-package usage keeps Green Bay’s “speed + pursuit” identity intact. In a pressure-tilted front that forces early QB decisions, a rookie who can control first contact, anchor, and finish tackles is the kind of bet worth tracking.
The open question: is this the end of Wooden’s Titletown chapter, or merely the start of another elsewhere? At 23–24 years old, with NFL snaps and flashes on tape, he’s unlikely to linger on the market — provided he’s willing to embrace a role that fits and compete his way back up.
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