Amari Rodgers‘ fumble against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday was one too many.
The Green Bay Packers released their second-year punt returner on Tuesday. Rodgers fumbled a third-quarter punt return against the Cowboy that Dallas recovered at Green Bay’s 45 yard-line. Four plays later, Tony Pollard scored a touchdown to give Dallas a 21-14 lead. The Cowboys eventually went ahead 28-14 before the Packers rallied for a 31-28 win. But the rally wasn’t enough to save Rodgers’ job.
Green Bay traded up in the third round of the 2021 draft to select Rodgers, a wide receiver out of Clemson. He worked as Green Bay’ primary punt returner since winning the job as a rookie.
He fumbled twice in 2021. His fumble against the Cowboys was his fifth in 2022. He also bobbled a punt in the first half against Dallas that he recovered. The Packers replaced him with cornerback Keisean Nixon on Sunday.
Rodgers averaged 7.3 yards on 40 returns for the Packers in 26 games. He tallied just eight catches for 95 yards as a receiver after tallying 77 catches for 1,020 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior at Clemson. He never broke into Green Bay’s receiving rotation on a team that’s struggled to find playmakers for quarterback Aaron Rodgers since the offseason trade of Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Packers also released 2021 seventh-round running back Kylin Hill on Tuesday. Hill suffered an ACL tear as a rookie. He played in just two games this season and carried the ball 11 times for 31 yards since joining the team. Green Bay designated receiver Randall Cobb to return to practice from injured reserve in a corresponding move. They have until Thursday to make a decision on activating him for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans.