Packers work out 5 on Monday, including RB James Robinson

While the Green Bay Packers are reportedly out of the Jonathan Taylor sweepstakes, the team apparently isn’t done looking at the running back market. According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, the Packers worked out five players on Monday — including former 1,000-yard rusher James Robinson.

Robinson, an undrafted player out of Illinois State, broke out as a rookie with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020. Unfortunately, a 2021 Achilles tear has since limited his opportunities on the field. Last season, Robinson split time between the Jaguars and the New York Jets — who traded a conditional sixth-round pick for him near the trade deadline. Robinson only played four games for the Jets, recording 29 carries for 85 yards.

This past offseason, Robinson signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the New England Patriots, but lingering issues from his Achilles injury led to his release after just a month with the squad. He later signed with the New York Giants, where he spent the preseason, before being released at cutdowns. Since his release, Robinson has had multiple workouts with NFL teams this season. It’s uncertain if Robinson was brought in for a look as a potential 53-man roster addition or as a practice squadder.

The other four players that the Packers worked out were fullback Clint Ratkovich, inside linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi, cornerback Thakarius Keyes and safety Christian Young.

Some might remember Ratkovich as a player who tore his ACL during Green Bay’s local pro day back in 2022. At the time, Ratkovich was the top fullback prospect in his class. During the preseason this year with the Atlanta Falcons, he was graded as one of Pro Football Focus’ top players at his position.

Fatkusai, the younger brother of Jaguars defensive lineman Folorunso Fatukasi, has signed with four different NFL teams since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2022. Most recently, he spent two weeks with the Kansas City Chiefs in training camp before reaching an injury settlement with the club. Last year, he played 13 games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, playing 150 special teams snaps and one defensive snap for the team.

Keyes, who goes by “BoPete”, has bounced around the league since being drafted in the seventh round out of Tulane in 2020. He’s been a member of eight NFL squads, including two stints with the Houston Texans. This offseason, he was a Cleveland Brown for about a month. Keyes played 13 regular season games for the Chiefs, Bears and Colts over the 2020 and 2021 seasons, recording one start on defense. In total, he played 92 special teams snaps and 87 defensive snaps.

Young was a hybrid linebacker-safety for the University of Arizona before he signed an undrafted free-agent contract with the Seattle Seahawks last April. The 6’3”, 225-pounder was waived by the team at cutdowns.

At the moment, the Packers have not announced the signings of any of their five visits from Monday’s workouts.