Getty Mike Weber #40 of the Dallas Cowboys during a NFL preseason game at AT&T Stadium on August 24, 2019 in Arlington, Texas.
A former Dallas Cowboys draft pick is looking for a shot in Green Bay.
According to the NFL’s workouts/visits list, the Packers hosted three players for workouts Friday following their Week 9 win over the San Francisco 49ers. Among them was running back Mike Weber, who was a 2019 seventh-round pick for the Cowboys.
Weber was unable to crack the Cowboys’ running back rotation coming into the 2019 season with Tony Pollard and veteran Alfred Morris prevailing over him in training camp. After being waived at the cutdown deadline, the Ohio State product was re-signed to the practice squad and remained there all season until his contract expired on Jan. 6.
Once Weber became a free agent, the Kansas City Chiefs swooped in two days later and signed him to their practice squad for the duration of their Super Bowl championship run, but he didn’t stick around long after the Chiefs took Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft. He has since floated around the league for workouts and just last month put his Super Bowl ring up for auction.
Weber wasn’t the only ex-Cowboys players to audition for a spot with the Packers. They also hosted former offensive tackle Wyatt Miller, who was waived/injured ahead of the 2020 roster cutdown deadline. The Cowboys had plucked him from the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice squad last December as an injury replacement on their active roster, but he did not play in their regular-season finale.
The final player in the Packers’ Friday workouts was another running back, Mark Thompson, who came out of Florida as an undrafted rookie in 2019 and has since spent time on the offseason or preseason rosters of Baltimore, Detroit and Las Vegas.
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Packers May Add Another Practice-Squad RB
While the workouts would have been scheduled ahead of time, the Packers could end up needing another practice-squad running back with their only current one — Dexter Williams — expected to miss time with an MCL injury.
Williams, a 2019 sixth-round pick, was called up to the active roster in Week 9 for emergency depth with running backs Jamaal Williams and AJ Dillon both on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but he went down in the second quarter and is now expected to miss at least three weeks. Now, the Packers are without an emergency backfield option on their practice squad after having just been given a good reason to keep one.
Signing someone like Weber would fill a temporary need for the Packers; though, they could also take a look at someone more familiar with the team. Fourth-year rusher Tra Carson is currently a free agent and has played eight games for the Packers since 2017, but he is more likely to be considered as a short-notice addition to the active roster.
The Packers may also not feel pressured to quickly find a replacement for Williams during his time away. Aaron Jones made his return Thursday after missing two games with a calf injury, while Dillon and the more experienced Williams should both have a good shot at returning in time for Week 10’s game against Jacksonville. Little reason to panic with those three along with return specialist Tyler Ervin and gadget back John Lovett.
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