Getty De'Vante Cross #15 of the Virginia Cavaliers tackles Dyami Brown #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of their game at Kenan Stadium on November 02, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The Green Bay Packers are injecting some necessary depth into their depleted safety room as injuries continue to leave them shorthanded.
According to Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated, the Packers are signing rookie safety De’Vante Cross to their 85-man roster after hosting him and three other defensive backs for tryouts on August 16. The workout players also included second-year safety Marcus Murphy and a pair of rookies: Josh Saunders and Kendall Karcz.
In five seasons at Virginia, Cross played multiple positions but did his best work as either a safety or nickel back for the Cavaliers’ defense. He recorded 114 total tackles, six tackles for loss, 15 pass deflections and five interceptions over his final three seasons and saw some action in punt returns’ although, he struggled in coverage throughout his career and will most likely offer the most value as a special teams player/camp body.
The Packers are currently practicing without half of the safeties on their roster as Darnell Savage, Dallin Leavitt, Innis Gaines and seventh-round rookie Tariq Carpenter are all missing time with injuries. Unless one of them returns faster than expected, Cross should get some immediate reps in the backup rotation with Shawn Davis and Micah Abernathy, who was signed just last week for the same injury-compensating reasons.
The Packers have not yet officially announced Cross’ signing, but it will bring them to the 85-player limit for their roster when they do. They trimmed their numbers down to 84 on Tuesday ahead of the NFL’s cutdown deadline, waiving outside linebacker Randy Ramsey, tight end Dominique Dafney, running back B.J. Baylor, inside linebacker Ellis Brooks and offensive lineman George Moore.
The latest Packers news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Packers newsletter here!
Packers Indicate Leavitt Sustained Serious Injury
The Packers have stayed mostly quiet about the injuries to their safeties, but they have talked a little bit about Leavitt’s injury … and it doesn’t sound good.
Leavitt was knocked out of the Packers’ preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers last Friday with a shoulder injury after forcing a fumble near the end of the first half. He stayed down on the field for some time clutching his shoulder before trainers helped him away, and he was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game. The next day, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters that Leavitt would be “out for a while,” suggesting he was dealing with something severe.
Leavitt — who had previously played for Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia during his previous stop in Las Vegas — had been brought in for his value in the third phase, but he was also projecting as the fourth or fifth safety in the rotation through the first few weeks of camp practices. Now, the team will have to decide if he is worth giving one of their 53-man roster spots in hopes he could return later in the year. The alternatives would be waiving him with an injury designation or stashing him on injured reserve, which would mean his 2022 season is over.