Getty Daniel Crawford #88 of the Northern Illinois Huskies is chased by Dimitri Moore #7 of the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Vanderbilt Stadium on September 28, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Another young player is abruptly retiring from the Green Bay Packers before getting his first real NFL opportunity, but the organization is wasting no time finding a new talent to fill his spot on their active roster.
The Packers signed rookie tight end and former Northern Illinois standout Daniel Crawford on Tuesday, adding another competitor to a banged-up position group on the same day that fellow undrafted rookie Bailey Gaither chose to retire from the NFL.
Bailey Gaither retired, per #Packers spokesperson. Daniel Crawford, a TE from Northern Illinois, is wearing the No. 80 jersey now.
Gaither, who played six seasons at San Jose State before signing with the Packers in May, was one of the only wide receivers that Green Bay had under contract beyond the 2021 season with the other two being third-round rookie Amari Rodgers and veteran Randall Cobb. He had projected to contend for a possible practice-squad spot against a deep group that also includes Equanimeous St. Brown, Juwann Winfree, DeAndre Thompkins, Chris Blair and Reggie Begelton.
Instead, Gaither’s roster spot — and No. 80 jersey number — will belong to Crawford as he looks to carve out a role with the Packers for his first season in the league. The 6-foot-2, 245-pound rookie functioned in both the tight end and H-Back roles during his four seasons with the Huskies, catching 65 passes for 691 yards and three touchdowns.
At the very least, Crawford offers the Packers another body to a tight end room that currently has both 2020 third-rounder Josiah Deguara (ACL) and Dominique Dafney (knee). He was practicing on Tuesday with the other healthy tight ends, including Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis, Jace Sternberger, Isaac Nauta and Bronson Kaufusi.
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Packers’ TE Depth Remains Unresolved
Even with a few injuries, the Packers shouldn’t have much trouble fielding a formidable tight end group when the 2021 season opens. Tonyan was the most efficient pass-catcher on the Packers’ roster last season, hauling in 52 of the 59 passes thrown his way (88.1% catch rate) and tying Travis Kelce for the most touchdowns among tight ends (11). The Packers also re-upped with veteran Marcedes Lewis with a two-year extension back in March, keeping “Big Dog” in place as their primary blocking tight end.
The rest of the group will require further examination, though.
Jace Sternberger, a 2019 third-round pick, could have his work cut out for him staying off the roster bubble this summer. He spent nearly all of his rookie season on injured reserve with a concussion and an ankle injury, then saw himself essentially forgotten on the depth chart after Tonyan’s breakout in 2020. He caught 12 of 15 passes thrown his way, but he wasn’t targetted again after Week 12’s win over Chicago, spending the final six games (including both in the postseason) as a healthy scratch.
Part of the reason for Sternberger getting buried on the depth chart seemed related to the emergence of Dafney, who signed last October to the Packers’ practice squad and earned his first elevation opportunity in Week 13. He was signed to the active roster a week later and ended up catching a 13-yard pass in each of the Packers’ final two regular-season games, the second of which resulted in a touchdown against the Bears.
If Dafney continues his development, he could have a legitimate, seasonlong place on the Packers’ roster in 2021 as a block-first tight end; however, both he and Deguara will need to get healthy and back on the practice field before Green Bay can still taking their respective upsides seriously. A prolonged absence for either of them could also pave the way for Sternberger to avoid losing his roster spot.