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The Green Bay Packers opened up their practice to the public today, and in doing so there was an oddity on the field. A player was on the field working with the linebackers and wearing number 54, though he was not on the team's roster.
Our Aron Yohannes spotted him, while the Green Bay Press-Gazette's Wes Hodkiewicz suggested that the player might be linebacker Shaun Lewis from Oklahoma State, who participated in the Packers' rookie tryout camp back in May.
As it turns out, Wes nailed it. The team announced this afternoon that they have officially made Shaun Lewis a Packer.
According to NFL Draft Scout, Lewis measured in at 5-feet, 11-1/8 inches tall and 226 pounds. At that size, there's little doubt that Lewis would play inside linebacker in the Packers' 3-4 defense. He also is reported to have run a 4.90-second 40-yard dash at the Cowboys' Pro Day, to go with 21 reps on the bench press.
Despite less-than-ideal size and speed, production in college was not an issue for Lewis, as CheeseheadTV's Brian Carriveau notes:
I'd love it if the #Packers signed Shaun Lewis. Very productive player for Oklahoma State: 33 career TFLs, 8 INTs, 7 FF
— Brian Carriveau (@BrianCarriveau) June 10, 2014
Those are pretty solid numbers, even for a four-year starter like Lewis. He joins an inside linebacker group that consists of A.J. Hawk, Brad Jones, Jamari Lattimore, and Sam Barrington, along with fellow rookie free agents Joe Thomas and Jake Doughty.