Tag: Raven Greene

We've signed S Raven Greene and LB Joseph Jones.#GoBucshttps://t.co/KZsoV7VloY

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) May 5, 2021

One of the Green Bay Packers’ top remaining free agents has finally found a new home.

The Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced the signing of defensive back Raven Greene on Wednesday.

Signed as an undrafted free agent out of James Madison in 2018, Greene played in 20 games for the Packers over three seasons. He produced 56 tackles, 2.5 sacks, seven pass breakups, one interception and two forced fumbles.

The Packers played Greene as a backup safety and dime linebacker. He was also a key part of the special teams.

Injuries defined his time in Green Bay. He never played in more than 10 games in a single season due to significant injuries during each of his three seasons. In 2019, he played in two games but missed the rest of the season with an ankle injury.

Overall, Greene played 437 snaps on defense and 264 snaps on special teams during his time with the Packers.

It’s possible another undrafted free agent – Christian Uphoff – will get a chance to replace Greene on the roster during training camp.

Other unsigned free agents for the Packers include Tyler Ervin, Tavon Austin and Snacks Harrison.

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Raven Greene’s 2019 season lasted all of six quarters. The Green Bay Packers defensive back, pegged for an important role as a hybrid safety/linebacker within Mike Pettine’s defense, injured his ankle early in the second half of the Packers’ Week 2 win over the Minnesota Vikings and never returned.

Pettine lamented losing Greene so early in 2019, but the Packers defensive coordinator is understandably excited to have his versatile safety back in 2020.

“Yeah, it was tough,” Pettine said Friday. “He’s a versatile player that was able to do some good things for us in ’18 and it was unfortunate, second game, went down with injury when he was going to be a big part of what we were doing as a hybrid linebacker safety type. His versatility, his explosiveness was something that we missed and we’re looking forward to being able to take advantage of it this year.”

Greene played 55 snaps – or 77 percent of the defense’s total – during the Packers’ Week 1 win over the Chicago Bears. He made five tackles and defended a pass during the defense’s dominant overall performance.

Greene’s second season ended early in the third quarter of Week 2. He left Lambeau Field on a cart after injuring his ankle and eventually landed on injured reserve.

Pettine is confident he can build on what he started last season.

“He looks good. He’s smart, he’s tough, he’s able to pick up stuff quickly,” Pettine said. “We’re certainly expecting big things from Raven this year.”

Pettine’s defense will always have a role for a player who can play the run like a linebacker and cover like a safety. The hybrid role is growing around the league as teams attempt to put more resources into defending the pass while also not sacrificing in a major way against the run.

In Greene, the Packers believe they have a player who can take on a block in the trenches on one play and still get out into space and cover a running back or tight end on the next.

New defensive backs coach Jerry Gray said he was impressed with how Greene looked in the hybrid role during Week 1 of last year.

“I thought he did an excellent job of covering a really, really good running back (Tarik Cohen). It was unfortunate that he got hurt,” Gray said.

The Packers might be holding an open competition at the inside linebacker spot next to Christian Kirksey, but the hybrid role sure looks ticketed for Greene, a player the Packers struggled to replace over the final 14 games of 2019.

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Green Bay Packers defensive back Raven Greene should get a second shot at a breakout season in 2020.

The undrafted free agent from James Madison had his 2019 season ended after just six quarters, the result of a significant ankle injury suffered early during the second half of the Packers’ win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2.

Backup quarterback Tim Boyle told Jimmy Christensen of Packer Report that he thinks Greene will be the defense’s breakout player in 2020.

“I said this last year and unfortunately he got hurt, but Raven Greene,” Boyle said. “He is a talented player, super smart, knows where to be, and is just one of those guys that has a knack for the ball. He is very instinctual. Hopefully, he is back and ready to go. I think he’s going to have a big year on the defensive side.”

Greene played 70 snaps on defense the first two weeks, mostly as Mike Pettine’s top hybrid safety-linebacker. He produced seven tackles and broke up a pass while giving the Packers defense a smart and capable player in the box against the run and an athletic defender of running backs and tight ends in the passing game.

The subpackage role, an increasingly important one for Pettine, remains wide open as training camp nears. Greene, who actually returned from injured reserve but wasn’t active for the NFC title game, should be fully healthy and ready to compete for playing time.

While the Packers didn’t make a major addition on defense, returning Greene is like returning a de facto starter.

Boyle’s mentioning of Greene’s understanding and instincts in the defense help provide the reasoning for why Greene will likely be the favorite to win the job. Versatile players must be smart players, and making plays from the linebacker spot requires the right blend of toughness and instincts.

If he wins the job as the go-to hybrid defender, Greene could easily play 500 or more snaps on defense in 2020, creating an opportunity for Boyle’s prediction to come true.

The Green Bay Packers are officially back to 53 players.

The team activated defensive back Raven Greene from injured reserve on Saturday, filling the roster in the hours before Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco’s 49ers.

It’s unclear how much Greene will play Sunday. He hasn’t been on a field in a game since Week 2. Early in the second half of the Packers’ win over the Minnesota Vikings, Greene suffered a significant ankle injury and required a cart to exit the field.

However, Greene has been with the team practicing for the last two weeks, and it’s probably unlikely that the Packers would activate him now to simply make him inactive Sunday.

Greene could play special teams and give the Packers defense another option at dime linebacker, a pivotal position for Mike Pettine’s subpackage-heavy defense.

Greene opened the season as the starter there, and he was a big part of Pettine’s plan to stop the Chicago Bears in the Week 1 road win.

Pettine may want as many versatile defensive backs on the field as possible against the 49ers offense Sunday.

Another potential ripple effect of the Greene move: The Packers clearly feel fine at punter.

JK Scott was listed as questionable with an illness on Saturday. If the Packers felt Scott was in danger of missing the game, they likely would have kept the roster spot open and had their top available punting option on standby.

Raven Greene will need the Green Bay Packers to beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday to have a chance at getting back on the field this season.

His return from injured reserve isn’t happening this weekend.

According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, the Packers did not activate Greene to the 53-man roster on Saturday, the deadline for the team adding Greene before Sunday’s NFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Seahawks.

The Packers designated Greene, who injured his ankle in Week 2, for return from injured reserve on Jan. 2. He’s practiced for the last week and a half but clearly wasn’t ready to participate on Sunday.

The Packers will likely continue to use veteran Ibraheim Campbell in the dime linebacker role against the Seahawks.

During the first two weeks, Greene was Mike Pettine’s go-to player at the dime linebacker spot. He produced six tackles and a pass breakup over 55 snaps during the Packers’ Week 1 win over the Chicago Bears but went down with a significant ankle injury after 13 snaps in Week 2.

The Packers roster remains at 52 players. It’s possible Greene could be ready to return by next week, but that would only matter if the Packers beat the Seahawks and advance to the NFC Championship Game.

Green Bay Packers defensive back Raven Greene returned to practice on Thursday and could be available for Mike Pettine’s defense when the Packers begin the postseason on Sunday, Jan. 12.

Coach Matt LaFleur said Greene, who was designated for return from injured reserve, could “potentially” be back for the NFC Divisional Round, based on evaluations from the training staff over the next week and a half.

The Packers lost Greene, Pettine’s go-to hybrid safety, to an injured ankle in Week 2. They will use their second return designation on the versatile safety after previously using one on rookie tight end Jace Sternberger.

While not a starter, Greene played 70 snaps during the first two weeks as a dime linebacker and backup safety for the Packers. He and veteran Ibraheim Campbell could give Pettine several different options in the role during the postseason, and Greene has vast experience on special teams.

In Week 1, Greene played 55 defensive snaps and produced six tackles and a pass breakup as the Packers held the Chicago Bears to just three points.