The Green Bay Packers waived undrafted edge rusher Nyjalik Kelly on Aug. 30 as they trimmed their roster to 53 players, ending a summer that had quietly turned into one of the more compelling late-camp stories in Green Bay.
Kelly, a 6-foot-5, 263-pound former UCF standout who transferred from Miami, signed after the 2026 draft as the prize of Green Bay’s undrafted class.
The Packers attached more than $260,000 in guarantees — a franchise-high for a UDFA and more than some late-round draft picks received — after hosting him on a pre-draft visit. At 21, he arrived with 12.5 career sacks, 22.5 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles across 41 games.
Early camp was uneven. Reports described a quiet start in OTAs and the first weeks of practices. Then the tape started to change.
Kelly generated a team-high eight pressures over the final two preseason games, forced a fumble, and recorded a sack in both the Denver and Arizona contests.
In the preseason finale against the Cardinals he was everywhere: six tackles, a sack, three tackles for loss and an interception that set up a tying score. Coach Matt LaFleur praised the “tremendous progress” and the extra snaps Kelly received as injuries thinned the room.
The numbers game still won. Green Bay kept four edge rushers on the initial 53 — Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, Brenton Cox Jr. and fourth-round pick Dani Dennis-Sutton — while placing Micah Parsons on reserve/PUP and Collin Oliver on injured reserve.
Arron Mosby and Arden Walker were also released.
Kelly’s length, 35-plus-inch arms and late production made him an obvious practice-squad target if he cleared waivers, and subsequent reports indicated Green Bay moved quickly to bring him back in that role.
Roster cuts are rarely a referendum on talent alone. Kelly showed he belongs in an NFL building: the burst off the edge, the ability to stack and shed against the run, and the closing speed that produced splash plays when the lights were on.
For a 21-year-old who was never supposed to be a lock, that is a successful first summer even if the 53-man roster did not include his name.
The next chapter — practice-squad elevation, another team’s claim, or a midseason call-up — will determine whether the investment the Packers made in April pays off later in 2026.
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