Official Practice Squad Thread

[Joemailman]

Practice squad:

TE Messiah Swinson
DL James Ester
QB Sean Clifford
RB Ellis Merriweather
CB Robert Rochell
OL Donovan Jennings
G/C Lecitus Smith

Royce Newman, Grant DuBose, and Anthony Johnson Jr were all claimed by teams and will not be back.

Packers put in claim on K Brayden Narveson. Looks like no one else claimed him.

Samori Toure has signed with the Bears.
Michael Pratt signing with Tampa Bay

[MadtownPacker]

Oh good, my Clifford rookie cards are still in play. :lol:

[run pMc]

Sean Clifford makes sense. They can elevate him from PS for a few weeks while Willis learns the offense.
Hopefully they bring back Kalen King or Rochelle. I know Bullard can play some in the slot but five corners feels light.

[Joemailman]

Practice squad:

TE Messiah Swinson
DL James Ester
QB Sean Clifford
RB Ellis Merriweather
CB Robert Rochell
OL Donovan Jennings
G/C Lecitus Smith
CB Kalen King

Royce Newman, Grant DuBose, and Anthony Johnson Jr were all claimed by teams and will not be back.

Packers put in claim on K Brayden Narveson. Looks like no one else claimed him.

Samori Toure has signed with the Bears.
Michael Pratt signing with Tampa Bay

[Patler]

I suspect that DuBose and Johnson are guys they would like to have had on their PS.

[run pMc]

M. Swinson
Lecitus Smith
R. Rochelle
E. Merriweather
N. McCrary
Kalen King
D. Jennings
J.Hicks
A. Hale
J.Ester
S. Clifford
D. Alexandre

Greg Joseph released!

[Joemailman]

M. Swinson
Lecitus Smith
R. Rochelle
E. Merriweather
N. McCrary
Kalen King
D. Jennings
J.Hicks
A. Hale
J.Ester
S. Clifford
D. Alexandre

Greg Joseph released!

They can add 5 more eventually.

[run pMc]

I suspect that DuBose and Johnson are guys they would like to have had on their PS.

Agree. Surprised they released Johnson, would have thought they could have snuck Zayne Anderson back onto the squad more easily.

Dubose would've been nice to get back.
Toure I'm not surprsed signed elsewhere, after a few years if these guys can't beat out the top 4-5 they might as well try elsewhere. Toure is in year 3 now and was the WR8 on the GB pecking order... so he needed to find better odds at making a team.

I also suspect they would have liked to have brought Newman back on the PS under one of those vet exceptions. Having a guy with his experience to call up as a depth piece if the OL gets hit hard would have had some value. He's no AllPro, but he's more ready to play than Travis Glover.

[Patler]

I agree about Toure. I figured the only way he would be back in GB would be if he had no other practice squad offers.

Not sure they would have used a practice squad spot for Newman. I think the Packers are four deep at guard anyway. It seems they are quietly very pleased with how Monk has come along. Might as well use ps lineman spots for development type guys who won't have to do much to be the equal of Newman. His experience hasn't seemed to give him much of an advantage. If things get bad on the injury front, there always seems to be some 8-10 year o-line vets available who have been fringe starters for years. They bounce from team to team getting a handful of starts every year.

[Fritz]

I suspect that DuBose and Johnson are guys they would like to have had on their PS.

Lots of Packers - well, now former Packers - claimed and going to other teams or their practice squads. Dubose, Johnson, Kristian Welch (It paid off that he played so well against the Ravens, as they signed him), Rolled Royce Newman, Toure of course to da Bears, and Pratt to the Tampax Bay practice squad.

I am, as some have said, surprised that they didn't cut Zayne Anderson in the hopes they could sneak him back onto the team later, in order to keep Johnson or Dubose.

AND THE PACKERS HAVE A NEW KICKER!

[Anti-Polar Bear]

Glad Messiah Swinson is back. That TE room was whiter than the snow of Greenland and more vanilla than Ice Ice Baby.

[Fritz]

I think I read that the Packers still have two or three open practice squad spots. I wonder if they're waiting to see if any of the guys who got picked up this week make the game rosters in the next week or so? Or if there just aren't enough guys out there they're interested in? Or if they're negotiating PS pay with some agents (they can do that now, right?). I don't know. No big deal. I just thought it might be odd to have a few open spots on the PS, but maybe it's not.

[bobblehead]

Agree. Surprised they released Johnson, would have thought they could have snuck Zayne Anderson back onto the squad more easily.

Dubose would've been nice to get back.
Toure I'm not surprsed signed elsewhere, after a few years if these guys can't beat out the top 4-5 they might as well try elsewhere. Toure is in year 3 now and was the WR8 on the GB pecking order... so he needed to find better odds at making a team.

I also suspect they would have liked to have brought Newman back on the PS under one of those vet exceptions. Having a guy with his experience to call up as a depth piece if the OL gets hit hard would have had some value. He's no AllPro, but he's more ready to play than Travis Glover.

I'm going to play devil's advocate here....actually I'm not, I'm just going to say no he isn't. He has been terrible. He flashed as a rookie and hasn't been even below average since. He was bad against guys who won't make rosters in the pre season.

[Fritz]

I wonder if sometimes if a guy like Rolled Royce plays out of his head for one year and knows it, and later thinks, “Man, I lucked out. I made some good coin for a few years there when I wasn’t really very good.”

Like a hooker who has a good rookie year.

[Bretsky]

Did we ever hear anything about Christian Welch ? MLF and Gutey indicated he played well enough for a roster spot but they just didn't have one available with the numbers. MLF noted in a pressor he was glad he caught on with the Ravens but I didn't hear that. I was most shocked by Johnson. Hoping we don't regret that one but still at best he was our 4th safety I think.

[texaspackerbacker]

Welch went to Denver.

Our late pick ups included a Corner who the Chiefs drafted this year and an RB named Perine.

[CaptainKickass]

Packers lose rookie TE Messiah Swinson to Panthers

From here: https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2024/09/03/packers-lose-rookie-te-messiah-swinson-to-panthers/


If this guy ever makes it back to the Packers it would literally be the second coming of the messiah!

[MadScientist]

From here: https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2024/09/03/packers-lose-rookie-te-messiah-swinson-to-panthers/


If this guy ever makes it back to the Packers it would literally be the second coming of the messiah!

But if the Packers had any faith in the Messiah, they wouldn't have cut him in the first place.

[CaptainKickass]

But if the Packers had any faith in the Messiah, they wouldn't have cut him in the first place.

What's the plural for Judas anyway? Judai? Judasees? :-D

[Joemailman]

To replace the Messiah, Packers signed RB Chris Brooks to the practice squad.

Brooks went undrafted in 2023 out of BYU and latched on with the Miami Dolphins. In nine games, he carried 19 times for 106 yards (5.6 average). The bulk of that production came in Week 3 against Denver, a 70-20 blowout in which Brooks carried nine times for 66 yards during the fourth quarter. He broke five tackles, gained 65 yards after contact and had a long of 52 yards.

Of his 19 attempts, he had 107 yards after contact and nine broken tackles, according to Pro Football Focus.

“I feel like not getting drafted, I really wouldn’t look at it as a low, I’d say it’s an opportunity,” Brooks said after making the roster last year. “It’s an opportunity that not too many guys have and I can either take advantage of the opportunity or I could just let it go to waste. I chose to take advantage.”


This preseason, Brooks suffered a concussion. With the Dolphins featuring a loaded backfield, he was released with an injury settlement on Monday.

Brooks spent his first four collegiate seasons at California, highlighted by his 914 rushing yards, 22 receptions and 12 total touchdowns as a sophomore.

[Anti-Polar Bear]

From here: https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2024/09/03/packers-lose-rookie-te-messiah-swinson-to-panthers/


If this guy ever makes it back to the Packers it would literally be the second coming of the messiah!

Dammit. Now the TE room is back to being paler than a Tony O’Day family reunion, more homogeneous than the NHL, lighter than a white dwarf star, purer in the caucasoid blood than the late, great Michael Jackson.

[smuggler]

God bless all the illiterate mothers out there.

[Fritz]

The running back they signed to the PS out of Miami, Chris Brooks, I think is his name, is in the mold of AJ Dillon as far as build. I think he's listed at 6'-2" and 235.

And I'm running off of my crummy senior citizen memory, so I could be wrong, but I thought I read somewhere the last couple days that the Packers also had a fullback on the PS - Andy Beck?

So it seems to me the Packers are looking for someone to be that bruising, fullback-type back, who can block the big boys and maybe gain a couple yards in a short yardage situation.

[Patler]

To replace the Messiah, Packers signed RB Chris Brooks to the practice squad.

Brooks went undrafted in 2023 out of BYU and latched on with the Miami Dolphins. In nine games, he carried 19 times for 106 yards (5.6 average). The bulk of that production came in Week 3 against Denver, a 70-20 blowout in which Brooks carried nine times for 66 yards during the fourth quarter. He broke five tackles, gained 65 yards after contact and had a long of 52 yards.

Of his 19 attempts, he had 107 yards after contact and nine broken tackles, according to Pro Football Focus.

So...before contact in his 19 carries he had -1 yard?
Blocking must have been atrocious!

[smuggler]

Almost as bad. According to PFR, he had two broken tackles last season and 80 yards after contact.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BrooCh00.htm

[Fritz]

The anti-AJ Dillon?

If Wilson can’t go, could this kid block well enough, know the plays well enough, to be active? Somebody we’ve barely heard of is going to be active for this game.

[Joemailman]

The anti-AJ Dillon?

If Wilson can’t go, could this kid block well enough, know the plays well enough, to be active? Somebody we’ve barely heard of is going to be active for this game.

Probably Ellis Merriweather. He's been a PS guy for the Packers since early last November. Should know the offense better than Lloyd actually. Had an excellent game the last preseason game vs. Ravens.

[Fritz]

It's kinda weird - or seems that way - that in the first game the Packers could be calling up one or two guys from the PS for the game. Clifford, perhaps, and Beck?

[Joemailman]

Packers have signed former Michigan and Chargers WR Cornelius Johnson to the practice squad. He was drafted by the Chargers in the 7th round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He is a typical Packer WR prospect. 6-3, 212, ran a 4.44 40.

Overview
Johnson was a three-year starter, with all three seasons including action in the College Football Playoff. He's a big, tough target who displayed improvement making the difficult catch in 2023. He has decent speed but is encumbered by ragged route running that fails to hit the mark with footwork or timing. Johnson's play strength and competitiveness can become a problem for smaller cornerbacks when the action heads down the field. He's a chippy run blocker with the potential to become a weapon as a perimeter blocker. Johnson's size and traits will be lauded, but he might need a simpler route tree to be at his best as a pro backup.

Strengths
Very good size with plus athletic traits.
Explosive leaper able to climb the ladder and grab tall throws.
Brought in almost every contested catch in 2023.
Catches into traffic and is a tough runner after the catch.
LOVES to mix it up with defensive backs as chippy run blocker.
Creates opportunities for explosive runs in his direction.

Weaknesses
Routes are disheveled and lacking technique.
Struggles to find the footwork for beating coverage leverage.
Very rounded and gradual getting out of his turns.
Needs to locate the football sooner out of his breaks.
Average hands with a few too many focus drops.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GHsS0HFXIAAvPtS.jpg:medium

[run pMc]

Packers have signed former Michigan and Chargers WR Cornelius Johnson to the practice squad. He was drafted by the Chargers in the 7th round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He is a typical Packer WR prospect. 6-3, 212, ran a 4.44 40.

Yep. Tall, leggy guy. Looks willing to run block and play ST. Route-running needs a LOT of work.

PS WR T.J. Luther has an injury?