Packers Add Former Chiefs 3rd-Round Pick to Practice Squad

The Green Bay Packers signed cornerback KeiVarae Russell, a 2016 third-round pick for the Kansas City Chiefs, to their practice squad Wednesday after they hosted him for a workout last week.

Russell didn’t end up spending much time with the Chiefs, getting released in mid-September of his rookie season despite being the No. 74 overall selection in the 2016 NFL draft. He did, however, land with the Cincinnati Bengals and ended up intercepting a pass on his first defensive snap in Week 17 against Baltimore.

Russell played another 15 games for the Bengals over the next two seasons, but he had limited production (21 tackles, one pass deflection) as a deep rotational backup and was eventually demoted to the practice squad. He was waived at the 2019 roster cutdown and has since spent time on the practice squads of the Los Angles Chargers and New York Giants.

The Packers also brought back offensive guard Ben Braden after releasing him two days ago from the active roster. He was added to the practice squad initially on Oct. 21 before getting signed up ahead of last Sunday’s trip to Houston, but he was the only active player who did not play against the Texans.

Following Wednesday’s moves, the Packers still officially have one spot available on their practice squad, but the final opening is expected to go to former Carolina Panthers veteran wide receiver Seth Roberts — who ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported earlier this week is signing with the team. Roberts could also potentially be placed on the exempt/commissioner permission list for the upcoming week.

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Russell & Samuels Offers Extra CB Depth

The Packers adding a second cornerback to their practice squad makes sense with starter Kevin King still unable to suit up with a quad injury. Head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters King suffered an injury setback earlier this week, and the Packers ruled him out for Week 8’s game against the Minnesota Vikings in Friday’s final injury report.

If needed, either Russell or Stanford Samuels III — who impressed in training camp as an undrafted rookie — could be considered for elevation to the game-day roster to help pad cornerback depth, but the Packers might not even need to go that far. Jaire Alexander is thriving as a shutdown No. 1, while the combination of Josh Jackson, Chandon Sullivan and Ka’dar Hollman offers a few different looks against the Vikings.

The Packers could also eventually have two more cornerbacks coming off of injured reserve. Kabion Ento is currently eligible to be designated for return, but his timetable for getting back on the field hasn’t been specified since he underwent surgery to repair a broken foot bone in early September. The other corner, Parry Nickerson, went on IR with a hamstring issue last week and won’t return for at least another week.

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