Joe Robbins/Getty Images Kurt Benkert as a member of the Atlanta Falcons on August 1, 2019.
When former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kurt Benkert first heard from Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot back in February, he wasn’t expecting the call to go the way it went.
“My first time talking to him was getting cut,” began Benkert, while meeting with the Green Bay media on Thursday. “So, I was like ‘Hey, nice to meet you,’ and he said ‘Hey, yeah, this isn’t that type of call,’” finishing a story that evoked hearty laughter from the assembled members of the press.
“It was what it was,” he continued. “I wasn’t too discouraged because I knew another opportunity would come up and I’d be ready for it.”
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Benkert Eventually Received a Tryout with the Packers
It took a few months but ultimately Benkert received a call from his agent, who told him he just got off the phone with the Packers.
“And I was like ‘Okay, cool, I’m going to get signed,’” he said, relating his reaction to the news. Not so fast. His agent informed him Green Bay simply wanted him to try out, which he did.
Benkert went on to sign with the Packers on May 15th after he beat out Chad Kelly, a 2017 seventh-round pick of the Denver Broncos. Then he drove 23 hours from his former home in Cape Coral, Florida, to Green Bay, with “me, my wife, a baby, and two dogs in a Kia Telluride. It was a hell of a trip,” he recalls.
Now he says he’s really enjoying being a part of Green Bay’s quarterback room, which also includes perennial Pro Bowler Aaron Rodgers and former first-round pick Jordan Love.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s honestly the most fun room I’ve been a part of, just a good mixture of guys that have done it a long time and some fresh faces…. It’s a really collaborative room. It’s not just [a] top-down relaying of information….”
Asked about already being a fan favorite in Green Bay, he said, “It’s been crazy. I haven’t taken a snap here and haven’t played in preseason. I throw some balls in the nets and people love it….
“I think it’s a testament to what Green Bay is all about and what Packers fans are all about,” he added. “It doesn’t matter who you are—if you’re the most important player or a guy who is on the bottom just trying to make it—they are open arms to you. If you love Green Bay and love the Packers they love you too, so it’s pretty cool to be a part of.”
Packers Blogger: Kurt Benkert is ‘Easy to Root For’
Never mind that Benkert has done much to endear himself to Packers fans, largely via social media.
Consider that he attended the Fourth of July barbeque of a Packers fan after he solicited invites via Twitter.
So it’s hardly a surprise that one Packers blogger called him “easy to root for” and a “breath of fresh air”—a nice counterpoint to the “stressful offseason” that Green Bay fans have endured, thanks to the ongoing Aaron Rodgers drama.
Consider the following TikTok video, which chronicles his wife buying her husband’s jersey at the Packers Pro Shop—and the cashier’s reaction when he looks up and sees Benkert in front of him.
One expects that Benkert will get his first opportunity to see game action with the Packers a week from today (Aug. 14) when Green Bay hosts the Houston Texans at Lambeau Field.
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