It took Micah Abernathy all of two weeks to put himself into a position to win a roster spot at safety for the Green Bay Packers.
Abernathy, an undrafted free agent who played in the XFL and USFL, made two splash plays during the Packers’ preseason win over the New Orleans Saints and now has a legitimate opportunity to make the first 53-man roster.
If nothing else, the door is open.
Much remains unsettled for the Packers at safety. Gone is Vernon Scott, who was waived injured on Tuesday after hurting his shoulder against the Saints. Darnell Savage is still recovering from a hamstring injury. Dallin Leavitt is dealing with what could be a serious shoulder injury. Innis Gaines and rookie Tariq Carpenter missed a big chunk of training camp with injuries and only just returned.
Shawn Davis has a roster spot all but locked up as the No. 3 option. But the Packers will keep four or five safeties, and Abernathy’s case to be one of them is as strong as anyone else’s on the depth chart.
Through two preseason games, Abernathy is the Packers’ highest-graded defensive player at Pro Football Focus. He’s produced four tackles (one stop) without a missed tackle, plus an interception (watch here). The lone completion he’s allowed in coverage was a five-yard loss on a screen play he blew up.
The Packers have played him in the box (15 snaps), in the slot (13) and deep as a free safety (32 snaps).
Abernathy’s 17 special teams snaps rank sixth on the team. He doesn’t have a tackle on teams, but he also hasn’t made a glaring mistake. As always, the third phase determines who makes up the fringes of the 53-man roster.
There’s no reason why he can’t be an impact player for Rich Bisaccia.
While mostly unheralded coming out of Tennessee in 2019, Abernathy has an impressive athletic profile. At 6-0 and just over 200 pounds, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds, finished the three-cone drill in 6.69 seconds, hit 38.5″ in the vertical leap and covered 10-10 in the broad jump. By any measure, he’s an elite athlete with legitimate explosiveness at the safety position. His Relative Athletic Score? 9.38 out of 10.
On-field production plus the potential granted by top-level athleticism creates the look of a young player with developmental intrigue.
Desperate for safety depth, the Packers signed Abernathy on Aug. 10. Nine days later, he made two huge plays against the Saints. Now, with the preseason finale tomorrow and final roster cuts six days away, Abernathy should have a legitimate shot to make the team.
