According to Packers.com, the Green Bay Packers have re-signed TE/LB Spencer Havner and placed RT Mark Tauscher on I.R. My apologizes to FanPosts by White92 and TrevorR, but I wanted to consolidate the conversation. Tauscher marks the 11th player placed on I.R. this year. Where might Havner play? Well the Packers website called him a tight end for what it's worth.
It was a surprise when Havner was released at the end of training camp. He was claimed by Lions shortly thereafter but then released a few weeks ago after he injured his hamstring and the Lions got caught in a roster crunch at linebacker. He played exclusively at linebacker for most of training camp, and he played only at linebacker for the Lions (as far as I know). Like the recent trade for S Anthony Smith, and the recent signing of veteran LB Matt Wilhelm, I expect Havner was signed to help out on special teams. I've been a little suspicious of the report that he was going to brought back, but I was obviously wrong. As long as he's healthy, he'll help out on special teams while providing depth at linebacker and tight end. Having too much depth has been a necessity this injury plagued season.
I had been hoping Tauscher could return, and replace RT Bryan Bulaga (who appears to be struggling at right tackle). It's been a few weeks since he injured his shoulder, and it's been a while since I last heard anything about how it was going with his shoulder harness. His slow recovery should have been a sign that it was a bigger problem. They still have two former starters (OL T.J. Lang and OL Jason Spitz) in reserve, so they don't need to sign another offensive lineman for depth. Unfortunately I think we've seen Tauscher play his last game as a Packer.