Kamal Hadden enters Packers camp with a tougher climb than he had a year ago, and it starts with the simple reality that he’s not even fully on the field yet.
Hadden is beginning training camp on the physically unable to perform list because of the lingering effects of the ankle injury he suffered in Week 17 against the Baltimore Ravens. That injury came one play into the second half of what was only the second game of 2025 in which his name appeared in the defensive lineup. Most of his work last season came on special teams.
Even so, Hadden still has a case to make. The 2024 Kansas City Chiefs sixth-rounder has shown enough to stay in the conversation for a roster spot, and Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said Friday that Hadden is nearing a return.
The problem is the numbers game around him has gotten a lot tighter. Green Bay used a five-man cornerback rotation last year, and Hadden now sits behind five players on the 2026 depth chart: Keisean Nixon, Brandon Cisse, Benjamin St-Juste, Carrington Valentine, and rookie sixth-round pick Domani Jackson.
That leaves Hadden in a familiar but more difficult lane. If the Packers keep six corners instead of five, he can still carve out a role. Even if he doesn’t crack the defensive rotation, he could continue to help on special teams, where he’s already had a role.
The catch is roster math. Green Bay would prefer not to expose him to waivers or risk losing him to another team’s practice squad. For that to matter, though, Hadden first has to get healthy, get back on the field, and make his case in training camp and the preseason.
He’s unlikely to jump anyone ahead of him on the depth chart, which means the route is pretty clear: prove he’s worth keeping as a sixth corner and special-teams piece, even if the defensive snaps stay limited. The upside is there, and the Packers know it.
One detail makes this especially interesting: Hadden was set to replace Valentine as a starter in that game against Baltimore before the injury ended the chance right away. Nixon’s long-term future in Green Bay is uncertain, too, which gives the Packers one more reason to keep Hadden in the picture if he can show enough.
At 25, he still has time. But in a cornerback room that’s deeper now than it was last season, Hadden’s path to a roster spot is a lot more crowded than it used to be.
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