The Green Bay Packers had six players in for workouts on Monday, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky: RB Brenden Knox (Marshall), RB John Lovett (Penn State), TE Devin Asiasi (UCLA), TE Nick Eubanks (Michigan), TE Joel Wilson (Central Michigan), and QB Jarrett Guarantano (Washington State).
Here is what you need to know from the workouts.
Following the Packers decision to sign receiver Bo Melton and running back James Robinson from the practice squad to the active roster before last Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day matchup with Detroit, Green Bay now has two practice squad openings. Given the current situation at tight end, I would bet they make an addition at that position at some point in the not-so-distant future.
Luke Musgrave has to miss a minimum of three more games on IR, but even at that point, Matt LaFleur was unsure on Monday whether or not he would return this season. Josiah Deguara continues to battle a hip injury and missed Monday’s practice. Green Bay currently has only two healthy tight ends on the 53-man roster in Tucker Kraft and Ben Sims, with fullback Henry Pearson on the practice squad with two elevations remaining.
Asiasi was a former third-round pick by Cleveland in 2020. He has also spent time with New England and Cincinnati. Asiasi has played 424 career snaps on offense, 200 of which came last season with the Bengals. He has graded out okay as a blocker by PFF’s metrics, for what it’s worth, and has four career receptions on 11 targets for 44 yards and a touchdown.
Eubanks went undrafted in 2021, has no NFL snaps, and has bounced around with a number of teams. At Michigan, he was used both as an in-line blocker and in the passing game. In Lance Zierlein’s pre-draft scouting report, he said Eubanks could be a “developmental H-back” with his size and athleticism.
Wilson went undrafted this past spring and made the Buffalo practice squad out of training camp before being released a few weeks ago. Wilson was a big part of the Central Michigan passing game his final two seasons, totaling 105 targets while catching 73 percent of those passes. Nearly half of his snaps in 2022 came from the slot.
Along with three tight ends, the Packers brought in two running backs for workouts. After releasing James Robinson on Monday, Patrick Taylor is the only healthy running back on the active roster with both AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones missing Monday’s practice–although there doesn’t seem to be concern around Dillon’s status. Ellis Merriweather is the only running back on the practice squad at the moment.
Jones is still recovering from the MCL sprain he suffered against Los Angeles, and his availability for Week 13 against Kansas City is still very much an unknown and, right now, the Packers are still a ways off from that becoming a possibility.
“I think we’re a long way from that coming to fruition,” Matt LaFleur said on Monday about Jones playing this week.
If Jones can’t go on Sunday, whether it’s elevating Merriweather or bringing in an outside addition, Green Bay will need a third running back available, just in case.
Knox went undrafted in 2021 and spent time with Dallas and Kansas City. In college, Knox averaged 5.1 yards per carry over his career, and totaled nearly 1,400 rushing yards in 2019. He also had 27 receptions over three seasons.
Lovett – no, not that John Lovett from Princeton – has no NFL snaps after initially signing with Carolina as an undrafted rookie following the 2022 draft. He also spent time with Pittsburgh. After four seasons at Baylor, Lovett finished his college career at Penn State in 2021, averaging 3.4 yards per rush on 52 attempts. He was used sparingly throughout his career as a pass catcher but did have 351 career special teams snaps.
The final player brought in for a workout was quarerback Jarrett Guarantano, who was in for a workout with Green Bay back in August. My guess is that Guarantano was more so brought in to throw passes to the tight ends and to hand the ball off to the running backs. There hasn’t been anything to suggest that the Packers are looking to replace Alex McGough on the practice squad.