A deep-threat wide receiver stashed on Green Bay’s practice squad has been stolen away by the Washington Football Team.
According to Matt Zenitz of AL.com, Washington is expected to sign Robert Foster from the Packers’ practice squad to their 53-man roster. The 26-year old wideout spent two seasons with the Buffalo Bills and caught 30 passes for 605 yards and three touchdowns, but he has not yet been on an active roster in 2020.
Source: The Washington Football Team is expected to sign former Alabama wide receiver Robert Foster.
Will be signed to the team’s active roster. He’d spent the beginning part of this season on the Packers practice squad after two seasons with the Bills.
Foster was one of the few outside players the Packers acquired for their initial practice squad after training camp and possessed the most NFL experience among the current bunch, but his departure will leave Green Bay with just two practice-squad receivers: Reggie Begelton and Juwann Winfree, a 2019 sixth-round pick for Denver.
The Packers’ receiving room has been slowly returning to full strength after seeing three of the five wideouts on their active roster miss games with injuries. Davante Adams and Equanimeous St. Brown returned for Week 6’s loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while Allen Lazard is eligible to be activated from injured reserve starting next week.
Once he returns, the Packers will have six wide receivers for their 53-man roster with Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Malik Taylor and Darrius Shepherd also in the mix; though, either of the latter two would be considered candidates for demotion to the practice squad with just four combined catches for 57 yards between them.
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Will Begelton or Winfree Get Opportunities?
Foster may be the first player sniped off the Packers’ practice squad this season, but he is the third wide receiver to shuffle in and out of their reserves with Caleb Scott (Sept. 30 to Oct. 6) and Kalija Lipscomb (Oct. 13 to 20) each lasting about a week.
While it isn’t uncommon to see frequent changes to the practice squad, it does speak well of both Begelton and Winfree to be among the last two true wideouts in development for the Packers. They already tested Beggelton out once on the active roster — though, he received no targets on two snaps — but both pass-catchers are still eligible for two game-day elevations this season, should the Packers chose to call upon them.
The window for Begelton or Winfree to get call-up opportunities could soon be closing, though, with Lazard’s return on the horizon. The Packers would then have six receivers on their active roster (assuming none were demoted) and seemingly little value in elevating another true wideout for a game with more versatile weapons available, such as tight ends Nakia Griffin-Stewart or Dominique Dafney.
Foster Set up for Success in Washington
Aside from Terry McLaurin and Dontrelle Inman, Washington doesn’t have much in the way of genuine wide receivers at the moment.
Steven Sims Jr. is on injured reserve. Fourth-round rookie Antonio Gandy-Golden, Isaiah Wright and Kelvin Harmon are also battling injuries. Even tight end Logan Thomas isn’t certain to play in Week 7, which could create a massive opening for Foster against a struggling Dallas Cowboys defense in his Washington debut.
Foster was a firecracker for the Bills down the stretch of the 2018 season, catching 25 passes for 511 yards in the final seven games and putting up three 100-yard games. The former Alabama standout also hauled in a 42-yard touchdown pass from Josh Allen that helped seal the Bills’ win over the Detroit Lions in Week 14.
If Kyle Allen can make us of his deep-ball speed, Washington could see an immediate return on signing Foster this week.
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Washington Steals Deep-Threat WR From Packers’ Practice Squad: Report