Packers Releasing DL Kingsley Keke
Surprising announcement from the Packers today...
By JerseyAl
In what can only be described as surprising and a bit puzzling, Tom Silverstein is reporting that the Packers are releasing Kingsley Keke, just days ahead of their Divisional playoff game against the 49ers.
#Packers have released DL Kingsley Keke, according to an NFL source with access to the NFL wire. He did not play in the last three games, one because of COVID but was inactive for "personal" reasons before that. LaFleur wouldn't say much else when asked about what those were.
— Tom Silverstein (@TomSilverstein) January 19, 2022
Personally, I believed there was potential for him to be inactive again for this game, but more because of matchup concerns against the run-heavy 49ers. Abdullah Anderson, who has been active the last three weeks, is more of a run stopper. However, there is obviously more than just matchup considerations going on if the team is releasing him outright. Stay tuned...
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"Jersey Al" Bracco is the Editor-In-Chief, part owner and wearer of many hats for CheeseheadTV.com and PackersTalk.com. He is also a recovering Mason Crosby truther. Follow Al on twitter at @JerseyalGBP.
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Comments (49)
Lphill
January 19, 2022 at 05:08 pm
More snaps for Slaton maybe Heflin gets a few , Keke was just a guy nothing more .
jannesbjornson
January 19, 2022 at 05:34 pm
Four months too late. Abdullah Anderson will take his snaps.
Coldworld
January 21, 2022 at 08:40 am
Anderson, on a limited sample, is stout in the run game, so I wasn’t surprised to see him protected. Keke was weak in the run game, but that was known to be an area he needed work on coming in. He was the one DL who could make things happen in the rush game without Clark relatively often.
dblbogey
January 19, 2022 at 06:00 pm
Another disappointing draft pick from Texas A&M. Jace Sternberger was A&M. My daughter graduated from there. I blame her.
Slim11
January 19, 2022 at 07:22 pm
Understand…I am related to three Aggies by birth and marriage.
I was surprised the Packers used a third round pick on Sternberger. His one season at TX A&M was preceded by two mediocre seasons…one playing JC football.
jannesbjornson
January 20, 2022 at 07:46 pm
When Mc Laurin was the next pick. I wanted him as the speed WR as we went through the draft day blog with Silverstein. Too many whiffs in 2019, but the Jaire pick and swap with NOLA was Wolf-like. Now Savage has to make the deal seem worthwhile.
packer132
January 19, 2022 at 07:26 pm
Keke was a 5th round pick, and he could find his way on another team. There is more to the story, either personal issues or attitude. Ryan Wood asked Barry about it today, and Joe said he won't discuss personnel matters. LaFleur dodged the question too.
jannesbjornson
January 19, 2022 at 08:02 pm
He was not very good.
nygary
January 21, 2022 at 06:05 am
dblbogey I read your post and you made my day. That was great.
PeteK
January 19, 2022 at 05:15 pm
He had some potential at least as a pass rusher for an interior lineman. As a sub he did have 6.5 sacks. Release usually hints of an attitude problem.
stockholder
January 19, 2022 at 05:21 pm
Lost weight. No motivation. A tweener. The draft profile I saw was correct. I believe this may move Clark around.
Packerlifer
January 19, 2022 at 09:30 pm
Attitude and durability/availability issues could be present here. But I'd like to know if the Packers didn't use him to his strengths.
He was projected for inside on a 4 man front so what was the sense in a 3-4 team taking him and trying to make him an end?
He was 40 lbs below his college weight, apparently dropped to play in the Green Bay scheme.
Time will tell but if he catches on somewhere else, plays dt in a 4 man line and bulks back up to 300 and becomes a force, especially in the Division, there are some coaches in Green Bay who'll have some 'splainin' to do, Lucy.
WestCoastPackerBacker
January 19, 2022 at 11:35 pm
If, if, if, if, then blame somebody. I just don't understand this kind of post. They liked something about him and thought he was worth a 5th round pick and he didn't work out. Not sure where you get the 40 lbs from. He was projected for either system with a chance to grow from a backup to a starter. I think we'll find out more why this happened, but to project that someone is going to have to explain their use of him is silly.
Packerlifer
January 21, 2022 at 02:02 pm
JosephR in his article elsewhere on the site relates his following of Keke as a college player once at 320 lbs. In checking on his college stats and pre-draft analyses the heaviest I found was 305-310. Still, well above his pro weight of 280-88.
He was never going to be an Aaron Donald but the last 2 years the Packers were almost raving about his potential and now pfffft.
Remembering the cases of Micah Hyde and Casey Heywood who went elsewhere and became better players in different systems and with different coaching, yeah it is legit to include questioning of how the Packers played him and whether that was part of his problem in Green Bay.
jannesbjornson
January 22, 2022 at 02:08 pm
They were proven Starters.
croatpackfan
January 20, 2022 at 03:37 am
I'm stunned. Another scout/coaching talent here on this page. Wow...
Al, you should deep into establishing new franchise for NFL. Just pick all experts here and you'll have personnel and coaching staff solved. As new franchise you'll get some players by choice from 32 others teams, so you may get (looking all those scouts and coaches here) SB team at your first season!
Lets go man, start the success.
splitpea1
January 19, 2022 at 05:41 pm
More or less something to worry about in the off-season since we have ready replacements waiting. And as usual, not an overly impressive DL class in the upcoming draft. Sigh....
jannesbjornson
January 19, 2022 at 08:03 pm
Desire, Determination and Dedication. Find the next Johnny Randall.
splitpea1
January 19, 2022 at 08:30 pm
Damn, that's good--even pinpointing the same university system.
Rossonero
January 19, 2022 at 06:23 pm
What was weird was they didn't make another roster move to go along with releasing him.
On PackersNews they said that Kenny Clark previously had a "long talk" with Keke, so it sounds like there must've been some personal or attitude stuff going on, esp. since he was a healthy scratch vs. the Browns. Bummer, he seemed like a nice rotational player.
mrj007
January 19, 2022 at 06:49 pm
My guess is the activateCobb
packer132
January 19, 2022 at 07:32 pm
Yes, I saw that about Clark having a long talk with Keke. I agree it was an attitude or problem with the position coach. Team will activate Cobb on Thursday, as thats the last day they can do that. LaFleur said today that he will play Saturday. Also, they protected Anderson on the practice squad. I think he will be brought up and see some snaps. He looked good in a couple of games recently.
4thand10
January 21, 2022 at 10:28 am
Not surprising and I never seen him having as much upside as Slayton or Heflin. I was halfway expecting Lancaster also, but that didn’t happen. They activated Cobb and Turner. In this home stretch you need more than one DL to collapse a pocket. It will be interesting to watch the DL rotations the next 2 games.
BAMABADGER
January 19, 2022 at 07:26 pm
A good journalist would dig to find the reason for cutting Keke. Are there any aggressive journalists reporting on the Packers?
PackerAaron
January 19, 2022 at 07:39 pm
If only the journalists covering the Packers were as aggressive and brave as an anon Internet commenter. Alas...
Starrbrite
January 19, 2022 at 07:50 pm
Lol—-witty Nags—-very witty.
Bitternotsour
January 19, 2022 at 11:11 pm
we can also speculate, which is nice.
jannesbjornson
January 19, 2022 at 08:07 pm
Where's McGinn?
LeotisHarris
January 19, 2022 at 10:03 pm
You know damn well where he is jb. He's slithering through the ductwork at 1265, headlamp on his sweaty head, clutching a mini-notepad, #2 pencil clamped between his teeth. Did Bob have to give a couple of security guards a knuckle sandwich to get in? You bet he did, but that's what aggressive journalists do to get the story!
jannesbjornson
January 20, 2022 at 07:50 pm
Hilarious. Boing!
WestCoastPackerBacker
January 19, 2022 at 11:38 pm
If the coaches ain't sayin and the player ain't sayin, then how you gonna find it out?
EricTorkelson
January 19, 2022 at 08:33 pm
Huge news, about Keke... especially 4 days before a divisional playoff game...?
My first thought was repeated concussion Issues, but alas I guess it would be a distracting attitude?
If that's the case well done ML/GB.... as opposed to what or what is happening in Tampa Bay
Def Tackle depth may be an Issue with TJ Slayton ..no splash plays, T Lancaster.. to slow cannot chase down plays
Jack Heflin... to green to weak, I like Abdullah Anderson ... has quickness but is so unknown
Green Bay absolutely cannot loose a D Tackle starter before the superbowl.....
Look for Za Darius Smith to be used exclusively as an interior pass rusher!!!!
My opinion remember
"WINNERS NEVER QUIT AND QUITERS NEVER WIN"
LeotisHarris
January 19, 2022 at 09:54 pm
...::scribbling furiously::... "to green...to weak...to slow...cannot loose a D Tackle..."
Got it, thanks!
Spock
January 20, 2022 at 07:58 am
That was "too" good. I hope I don't "lose" this comment. :)
EricTorkelson
January 20, 2022 at 05:40 pm
Glad your scribbling rather than making GM decision's .......
LeotisHarris
January 21, 2022 at 04:41 pm
Me to
Packers0808
January 19, 2022 at 08:53 pm
Pretty harsh in a way, the guy will not get a Super Bowl ring that the Packers are gonna win!
Thegreatreynoldo
January 20, 2022 at 03:20 am
My first thought is that he is concerned about CTE given his multiple concussions and long recovery time from one of them. OTOH, he was practicing with the team, though I don't suppose current practices involve much contact.
flackcatcher
January 20, 2022 at 04:19 pm
I wonder if this relates to the 2.85 million rollover. The timing fits...
Coldworld
January 21, 2022 at 08:47 am
I would not be at all surprised to find out that it’s his concerns with CTE or the Packers having doubts. There were some here who have expressed the fear that might catch up with him before. He’s had a few and troubles getting out of the protocol. He got picked up on waivers (for next year), but that means nothing at this point as it’s done without medical consideration. Perhaps an exit in the off season might shed some light. Otherwise we may never know unless he tells us.
marpag1
January 20, 2022 at 04:22 am
I dunno... is this a big surprise? Don't the Packers need to clear roster spots to bring back guys from injured reserve?
Meanwhile Keke has not been healthy - he was listed first as "non-covid related illness," and then was out for covid, and when he was a healthy scratch against the Browns MLF said something ominous like it was for "a personal issue," then Clark said he had a long talk with Keke about "issues" he wouldn't name. He's had very bad concussions in the past.
Plus he hasn't been a great football player. The tea leaves certainly seem to say that something has been wrong for a while now.
Straya
January 20, 2022 at 05:25 am
Wait can someone tell me whether another team can pick up KK at this juncture? Isn't it a risk that he turns up on the Bucs' roster in the next couple days?
flackcatcher
January 20, 2022 at 04:22 pm
Active roster goes to 46 for playoffs. I doubt Tampa or any other playoff team would bounce one of their own for what they have already on video.
Coldworld
January 21, 2022 at 08:53 am
He has been picked up on a waiver claim, however, since the playoffs have commenced, he could not practice or play for the new team (Texans) until next season after the rule changes this off season. Waiver claims are made without medical or other due diligence, so the fact he was picked up doesn’t tell us anything.
Houndog
January 20, 2022 at 06:52 am
Kinda' seem obvious, with Clark having a 'long talk' with him and him being a healthy scratch or inactive on a couple recent occasions that there could be more problems here than just football performance.
It's too bad, I had high hopes when they drafted him. Good luck kid!
jeremyjjbrown
January 20, 2022 at 09:15 am
Amazing how guys like this will vacate a $600k+ salary because they won't show up at practice. Just crazy.
flackcatcher
January 20, 2022 at 04:38 pm
If KK was cleared to play by the medical staff that's one thing. But the Packers have had 'issues' with their coaching staff under Lafleur. There have been two known cases when Gutekunst has slapped down Lafleur, and his offensive coaches over HIPAA violations, and trying to overrule the medical staff on a defensive player this year. When a team starts to play fast and loose with player health, players will not play if they can't trust their coaches. Whatever the issue, as GM Gute is between a rock and hard place with this. As others commentors have said, there is far more to this story than we know.
JerseyAl
January 20, 2022 at 04:42 pm
"There have been two known cases when Gutekunst has slapped down Lafleur, and his offensive coaches over HIPAA violations..."
Huh?
jannesbjornson
January 20, 2022 at 07:58 pm
Is HIPAA a sexually transmitted disease or an organization scamming retired folks?