Getty Dominique Dafney #23 of the Iowa Hawkeyes blocks the punt of Blake Gillikin #93 of the Penn State Nittany Lions on October 27, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.
The Green Bay Packers are making a few changes at the tight end spot with yet another young talent at the position currently out of the picture.
The Packers promoted rookie tight end Dominique Dafney from the practice squad to their 53-man roster on Saturday afternoon and signed another tight end — former Detroit Lions seventh-round pick Isaac Nauta — to fill his leftover practice-squad slot.
The #Packers are signing TE Dominique Dafney to the active roster from the practice squad, source said. An opportunity for the former Indiana St WR.
The positional boost comes just one day after the Packers ruled out Jace Sternberger with a concussion for Sunday’s road game against the Lions, whittling down their active-roster depth to Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis prior to the roster moves. The Packers have also lost third-round rookie Josiah Deguara and John Lovett to season-ending injuries.
Dafney provides the Packers with an intriguing third option for their rotation on Sunday in Detroit and could even get some gadget usage given his college resume. He played both wide receiver and fullback/H-back during the 2019 season at Indiana State, gaining more yards on the ground (439 yards) than through the air (196 yards) and scoring seven total touchdowns.
The Packers also activated running back AJ Dillon from the exempt/COVID-19 list, clearing the way for the second-round rookie to play his first snaps since the start of November. No corresponding moves were necessary for either him or Dafney to join the 53-man roster after three others were shipped to injured reserve earlier this week.
Lastly, both offensive guard Ben Braden and wide receiver Juwann Winfree were elevated from the practice squad to the game-day roster against the Lions.
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Nauta Fizzled Out in Detroit Fast
The Lions took Nauta in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL draft following his modest career at Georgia (68 receptions for 905 yards and eight touchdowns over 33 games) and got him action in six games as a rookie, primarily as a blocker or on special teams. Unfortunately, the chips were stacked against him from the start with the Lions also drafting stud T.J. Hockenson with their first-round pick in the same year.
Nauta spent the preseason battling for a backup role in the Lions offense, but he saw just 60 more offensive snaps over seven games this season before getting cut loose. He also spent some time on the reserve/COVID-19 list that caused him to miss prove-it time.
With the Packers, Nauta may not be more than an emergency option if their current blocking tight end, Lewis, is forced to miss time for any reason. The 36-year-old veteran does regularly take veteran rest days and has also been nursing a knee injury. There are worse positions to reinforce, especially given their other injuries.
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