It was a tough day for an NFL player, including the players in Green Bay.

Teams had to reduce their rosters to 53 players, meaning nearly 1,200 players were released across the league.

Many will sign with other teams or join a 16-man practice squad, but their dreams of making a 53-man roster have been dashed – at least for now.

The Packers have made several notable moves, including releasing kicker Anders Carlson just one day after signing new No. 2 quarterback Malik Willis. Green Bay has also made moves, releasing quarterbacks Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt, both of whom were draft picks the past two years.

Somewhat surprisingly, linebacker Kristian Welch, cornerback Kalen King and safety Anthony Johnson Jr. were also released.

In total, the Packers released the following players to reach 53:

Quarterbacks — Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt.

Running backs — Nate McCrary and Ellis Merriweather.

Wide receivers — Samori Toure, Grant DuBose, Julian Hicks, Jalen Wayne and Dimitri Stanley.

Tight Ends — Henry Pearson, Joel Wilson and Messiah Swinson.

Offensive Linemen — Royce Newman, Caleb Jones, Luke Tenuta, Lecitus Smith and Donavan Jennings.

Defensive Linemen — Keshawn Banks, Deslin Alexandre, James Ester, Brevin Allen, Zach Morton, Keonte Schad and Spencer Waege.

Linebackers — Kristian Welch, Chris Russell and Christian Young.

Cornerbacks — Kalen King, Robert Rochell and Gemon Green.

Collateral — Anthony Johnson Jr. and Benny Sapp III.

Kickers — Unlike Carlson and Alex Hale.

The Packers also placed tight end Tyler Davis and running back AJ Dillon on the injured list, placed defensive lineman Jonathan Ford on the injured list/designated for return and released cornerback LJ Davis and linebacker Ralen Goforth on waivers/injury.

Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from Cutdown Day in Green Bay.

THE GOOD

DROP CARLSON: The Packers took a risk with Carlson as their kicker in 2023, believing they would be in a rebuilding year. They couldn’t risk another season with him, considering themselves a potential Super Bowl team.

Carlson has missed more extra points (six) and total kicks (13) than any other football player in 2023. He has also missed at least one kick in his last five games and 10 of his last 12 contests.

Carlson finished his freshman season making 29 of 36 field goals (80.6%) and 41 of 47 extra points (87.2%). Then, after a mediocre summer on the practice field (60 of 73, 82.2%), he missed a 32-yard field goal in the final preseason game last Saturday.

Carlson was drafted in the sixth round, which usually gets you more than one season in Green Bay, but these Packers believe they’re headed for a big year and can’t let one kicker discourage their ambitions.

So you have to give Green Bay credit for ending the Carlson experiment after just one season.

MALIK WILLIS: Much like with the kicker, the Packers couldn’t continue with the status quo at such an important position on the roster, so they sent a seventh-round draft pick to Tennessee for Willis on Monday afternoon and released both Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt on Tuesday.

Willis, a third-round draft pick of the Titans in 2022, has a brutal 49.4 passer rating and is 0-3 as a starter in two NFL seasons. However, he has a strong arm and is an excellent runner.

Clifford impressed in training camp as a rookie last summer, but he took a step back this year, finishing the preseason 22 of 43 passing for 207 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a 62.8 passer rating.

Pratt completed 23 of 35 passes for 178 yards with one touchdown and one interception and a rating of 75.7.

Either Clifford or Pratt could land on the practice squad, but the Packers felt that neither player deserved a spot on the 53-man roster.

Willis may be in the bottom half of NFL backup quarterbacks, but he probably gives the Packers a better chance than Clifford or Pratt to win a game if Jordan Love is out.

DOMINANT FRONT: The Packers retained 11 defensive linemen, including defensive ends Brenton Cox Jr. and Arron Mosby.

Green Bay’s switch to a 4-3 defense meant they needed a surplus of defensive linemen, but that they kept 11 players was a surprise. However, the group is loaded with talent and depth and has a chance to be dominant.

THE BAD

KRISTIAN WELCH: The Packers finished the game with 29^th in the special teams rankings a year ago and did those units no favors by kicking Welch out.

Welch was one of the best players on the Green Bay Packers’ special teams last season and then had an impressive summer in which he recorded three turnovers in three preseason games.

So, of course, the Packers released the reserve linebacker.

Granted, Green Bay has more players at the linebacker position than last year after signing Edgerrin Cooper and Ty’Ron Hopper, but cutting Welch could certainly hurt the Packers’ already questionable special teams unit.

“I have limited control over those decisions,” Welch said Saturday when asked about the roster’s construction. “I love playing special teams. I love the system. I love (special teams coordinator) Rich (Bisaccia). And obviously I would be more than happy to play special teams for this team.”

That won’t be the case, however, and it’s a move the Packers could regret.

SWING TACKLE: If one of Green Bay’s starting tackles is out, it will be interesting to see how the Packers handle it.

Green Bay kept tackles Andre Dillard and Kadeem Telfort – for now. Both were given a chance at the third tackle job in camp, and neither was convincing.

Green Bay’s best move might be to use first-round offensive lineman Jordan Morgan as a tackle if Zach Tom or Rasheed Walker are injured. Morgan has worked exclusively at right guard this summer, though, so he’ll need to get up to speed quickly.

The experienced Elgton Jenkins also has some experience at both tackle positions.

Right now, however, the Packers seem to be worse off than they were a year ago when Yosh Nijman was their swing tackle.

SAMORI TOUR: Toure was selected in the seventh round of the 2022 draft and is probably good enough to be on anyone’s roster. He was just buried in Green Bay, where wide receiver may be the hardest position to fill on the team.

Toure caught 13 balls for 160 yards (12.3 average) and scored one touchdown in 22 games over the last two seasons and should have a good chance to continue his career elsewhere.

THIS AND THAT: Royce Newman played more snaps than any other Green Bay offensive lineman in 2021. His career never really took off, however, and he was released Tuesday. … Johnson, who started four times last season, is extremely intelligent and has a feel for the ball. He got some work with the No. 1 defense early in camp but couldn’t break through from a deep safety spot. … Kalen King got some work with the No. 1 defense midway through camp, and the seventh-round draft pick seemed in good shape to stay. But he struggled down the stretch, particularly in the second preseason game at Denver.

THE UGLY

FOOTBALL: For now, it looks like the Packers will use experienced Greg Joseph as their kicker. And while Joseph might provide a little more stability than Anders Carlson, he’s certainly no Justin Tucker.

Joseph commuted during his first years in the NFL. Then he finished 16th^th in 2021, 27^th in 2022 and 27^th in 2023 in field goal accuracy among kickers with at least 20 attempts.

Joseph also posted those mediocre numbers while playing at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota. Life at Lambeau Field will be much tougher.

Additionally, Joseph only completed 78.1% of his kicks during practice this summer, 4.1% less than Carlson.

The Packers deserve credit for not repeating last year’s mistake and bringing Carlson back for year two, but betting on Joseph also seems like a risky move.