Since we were too busy getting drunk all weekend and didn’t do it earlier, we thought we’d take a quick look at the Green Bay Packers practice squad.
All of the players were with the team during training camp.
Diondre Borel, receiver, undrafted in 2011 — Borel was a quarterback at Utah State, but has the athleticism to play receiver. With a little seasoning, he may have a shot at an NFL roster.
Ray Dominguez, offensive lineman, undrafted in 2011 — Dominguez can play guard and tackle. The Arkansas product wasn’t bad during the preseason and could become a backup for the Packers in time.
Sampson Genus, center, undrafted in 2011 — The South Florida product has some long-term potential. He was a first-team All Big East selection in 2010. The Packers also probably needed to keep him around. After cutting [intlink id=”1071″ type=”category”]Nick McDonald[/intlink], Evan Dietrich-Smith is the Packers’ only other option at center and he’s a converted tackle.
Tori Gurley, receiver, undrafted in 2011 — Although his release wasn’t totally unexpected, a lot of people would tell you Gurley played well enough to make the team. His height (6′ 4″) gives him an advantage as a receiver and he blocked several punts during training camp. We’d be surprised not to see Gurley on the active roster at some point.
Graham Harrell, quarterback, street free agent in 2009 — The Packers were expected to keep Harrell on the active roster, but he got caught in a numbers game. They were lucky to get him back on the practice squad after a mostly solid preseason.
Brandian Ross, cornerback, undrafted in 2011 — Ross wasn’t going to beat out [intlink id=”88″ type=”category”]Jarrett Bush[/intlink] or [intlink id=”1622″ type=”category”]Davon House[/intlink] to make the active roster. [intlink id=”157″ type=”category”]Pat Lee[/intlink] played his way onto the team in the final weeks of the preseason and likely cost Ross any shot.
Brandon Saine, running back, undrafted in 2011 — Saine didn’t do anything in training camp to illicit comparisons to [intlink id=”584″ type=”category”]Ahman Green[/intlink], but he does have one thing you can’t teach — speed. He’s been clocked at 4.2 in the 40.
Chastin West, receiver, undrafted in 2010 — West was probably the 54th man on the roster. He made great strides after spending last season on the practice squad and looked good enough to be the Packers sixth receiver. Unfortunately, they decided to go with only five.
Wahooooo! Don’t worry about it!!! I’m still drunk!!!!!
We have good emergency players.
do you think any of these guys will get picked up by other teams during the year
Much like Brian Brohm did a couple years ago, Harrell could get a shot if some team is out of it and their quarterbacks suck. The thing with guys like West and Harrell is, they’ve shown improvement because they’ve been in the system for two years. If they go somewhere else, they have to learn a new system and probably won’t look as good. If the Packers have injuries, particularly at outside linebacker or tight end where they have too many players, and need to put someone on IR, expect Harrell, West or maybe even Gurley to get brought up.
I agree totally. Im not high on West at all. Yeah youve shown improvement but only one standout play on the 4th string for 97 yards has everyone talking. Not athletic enough to make the team this year or next. Gurley has size and I feel the sky is the limit, he can be a real stud. I would rather lose West any day over Gurley. But I feel that other teams would grab west over gurley off our squad off his hype which I think is great for us to hold onto Gurley, you dont see that size and skill year in and out. We gotta figure out how to keep Gurley. Thoughts?
I also like Gurley. Its always possible a receiver on active roster will finish season on IR. Hopefully Gurley is the one that would be brought up as 5th receiver.
Resign Nelson this year. Release JJ and DD at end of season. I don’t see them having productive years. I expect Nelson and Cobb to have standout seasons and would be surprised if DD broke 50 receptions.
Saine was NEVER clocked at 4.2, but this is a terrific practice squad
Your right Chris, Saine is more a 4.4…very few in the NFL run a 4.2 That was quite a stretch.
Saine lettered in track and currently still holds the Ohio Division I record in the 100-meter dash, with a time of 10.38, which he set in 2006. He had four state track titles and a national championship in the 60-meter dash. His official time in the 40 is 4.2