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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.

Father of Packers Rookie DT shocks everyone by declaring he will quit his job and live off his son — his words leave the room silent
Green Bay, WI — October 7, 2025. In the Lambeau Field press room, a man with work-hardened hands looked straight into the lens, his voice low but resolute:“Why should I keep working when I can live off my son? I just want to say one thing: ‘Thank you, son — from now on your father will live off you.’” He paused for half a beat and smiled. “I’m saying it half-jokingly. I’ve worked night shifts my whole life, some months counting every dollar to pay the power bill. Today, when my son sent 100% of his first month’s salary to our family, it felt like we finally rounded a long, hard bend. ‘Live off my son’ is my way of saying pride, and of setting down old burdens.”Beside him, the rookie nodded gently. Per a plan discussed with his advisors, starting next month 50% of his salary will go home on a regular schedule — the rest will be split among long-term savings, a small fund for his old school, and careful investments. “Careers can be short or long, but gratitude to our parents can’t wait,” he said, just loud enough for the room to hear. Outside, the “Titletown” signage shimmered in the morning haze. For a young defensive tackle fighting his way into the Packers’ rotation, everything moved fast: signing as a UDFA after the Draft, grinding through camp, and then making the 53-man roster right before the season — milestones most players only dare to dream about. (It also extends the franchise’s streak to 21 straight seasons with at least one UDFA on the Week 1 roster.) That’s why this story goes well beyond a bank transfer. It’s a message about discipline, gratitude, and grit. A team spokesperson put it simply: “We respect any decision that puts family first — as long as the player matches it with professionalism every day.” On the low risers of the press room, a few reporters nodded: it’s rare to see a rookie choose to “speak with his wallet” in his very first month. And then, at the heart of this story — like the moment a name finally gets inked onto the lineup — that rookie is Nazir Stackhouse: DT #93 of the Green Bay Packers, undrafted in 2025, who quite literally stitched his name onto a first-team jersey. Back at the podium, the father — still wearing a faded ball cap — spoke again, slower this time, clearer:“I’m not bragging. I’ve patched roads, hauled loads; some days my hands cracked and bled. We ate lean so our son could chase football. Today I say ‘live off my son’ because, for the first time, I feel I can breathe. Thank you, son, for not giving up.”Then he turned to his boy, a hint of mischief in his voice: “As for me… tomorrow I’ll still work half a day. The other half, I’ll be home grilling for the neighbors.” A quick hug closed the presser. Shutters clicked. The rookie smiled and tugged up the strap of his practice backpack: “On the field, this is only the beginning,” he said. In Green Bay — where the Lombardi name is heritage — a rookie’s anchor doesn’t always start in a thick playbook; sometimes it begins with an envelope sent home and a single sentence that makes a crowded room go quiet.