clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Packers host visits for RB Christine Michael & OL Byron Bell

A pair of free agents on offense spent the day at the Packers’ facility on Wednesday, one of whom might be able to compete for the right guard job.

Chicago Bears v Carolina Panthers Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

The Green Bay Packers are nowhere near finished in free agency, even though most of the high-profile names are off the board.

On Wednesday, the Packers hosted a pair of unrestricted free agents for visits, according to Field Yates of ESPN. One of those players, running back Christine Michael, spent the end of the 2016 season with the Packers and was a modest contributor down the stretch after being claimed on waivers from the Seattle Seahawks in November.

Michael played six games for the Packers in the regular season and three more in the playoffs; he totaled 47 carries and 172 rushing yards and a touchdown over that span, which did include a 42-yard scoring burst against the Chicago Bears. With Eddie Lacy headed to Seattle for 2017, it makes sense for the Packers to pursue bringing Michael back to play as Ty Montgomery’s backup next season.

The second player whom the Packers hosted is offensive lineman Byron Bell. Bell spent the first four years of his career with the Carolina Panthers from 2011 to 2014, starting all but seven games in that span at both right and left tackle. In 2015 and 2016, he signed back-to-back one-year contracts with the Tennessee Titans; he started all 16 games in 2015, with seven starts at left guard, but he missed all of 2016 with an ankle injury that he suffered in OTAs.

Bell is almost certainly viewed as a veteran option to compete for the open right guard job vacated by T.J. Lang’s departure. He was listed at 6-foot-5 and 340 pounds in 2016.