Packers sign Darrius Shepherd & Evan Baylis onto practice squad after release

Darrius Shepherd and Evan Baylis may no longer be on the Green Bay Packers’ 53-man roster, but they are staying in the organization. The Packers released the two young players on Tuesday, shaking up the back end of the depth chart.

But on Thursday, a day after the two players cleared waivers, both are back in the building and in uniform. The Packers announced that they signed the two players to the practice squad, keeping them in the organization for the immediate future.

To make room for the signings, the Packers released wide receiver Keon Hatcher from the practice squad. That ten-man unit sat at nine players prior to Thursday because the team elevated return specialist Tremon Smith from the squad on Tuesday amid Shepherd’s and Baylis’ releases, meaning they needed to free up just one spot to bring these two players back.

While Shepherd has struggled in games this season, he still has shown enough ability to warrant keeping him on the practice squad to develop. Baylis, meanwhile, has provided valuable depth at the tight end position amid injuries to Robert Tonyan and Jace Sternberger. His release and subsequent signing to the practice squad suggests that Sternberger is ready to be activated off injured reserve before the Packers’ week nine game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Stay tuned for more updates heading into Sunday’s game.