Packers sign RB Ellis Merriweather to practice squad

The Green Bay Packers announced on Monday that they had swapped practice squad running backs, replacing the released James Robinson with the signed Ellis Merriweather. Robinson, a former 1,000-yard rusher at the NFL level, spent less than a month on the team’s practice squad.

Merriweather seems to be a pretty popular player in NFL circles. He was originally retained by the New Orleans Saints after cutdowns as a practice squad player. Since he was let go, he’s worked out with the Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. Merriweather’s workout with the Packers came back on September 18th, which means that the team has had their eyes on him for a while.

At the moment, Merriweather is the only true running back on the Packers’ 17-man practice squad, as the only other back in consideration is fullback Henry Pearson. The active roster, which still has one open roster spot, holds three running backs: Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon and Emanuel Wilson.

According to his college bio, Merriweather was a receiver, running back, quarterback and safety as a Georgia prep, who also starred on his high school’s basketball team. He began his college career at Garden City Community College, a JuCo powerhouse in Kansas. From there, Merriweather transferred to UMass, where he was a three-year starter. During his college career, he managed to carry the ball 410 times for 1,828 yards and eight touchdowns and also caught 31 passes. In the preseason with the Saints, Ellis turned 22 carries into 73 yards while also catching 8 passes for 48 yards and a touchdown.