Packers to work out 5 on Tuesday

Just before the New England Patriots head to Green Bay for joint practices later this week, the Packers decided to work out five players on Monday, according to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson. Three of the five players are offensive linemen, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise considering the fact that tackles Luke Tenuta and Caleb Jones got injured in the team’s preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday night.

The names that the Packers brought in are offensive lineman Adrian Ealy, offensive lineman Trevor Reid, offensive lineman B.J. Wilson, cornerback Zane Lewis and receiver Keytaon Thompson.

Ealy is a 6’6” tackle who actually spent two weeks with the 2021 Packers on their practice squad. The two-year starter at Oklahoma was an undrafted free-agent rookie in the 2021 draft class and has spent time with five NFL teams in his career, most recently with the Pittsburgh Steelers in August of 2022.

Reid was a junior college All-American who transferred to Louisville for his final three seasons of his college career. Interestingly enough, he was recently worked out by the Patriots, the Packers’ sparring mate for this week. Reid was originally signed as an undrafted free agent earlier this offseason by the Philadelphia Eagles, who released him last week.

Wilson is a former All-Conference Division II lineman from Quincy University. When Wilson was signed by the Carolina Panthers this spring, he became the first Quincy player to ever make it to the NFL level. Originally, Wilson was a tight end for Quincy before growing into his tackle role.

Lewis is a former Air Force cornerback who entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He spent time with both the Arizona Cardinals and New York Jets during his career. He was waived from New York with a failed physical in 2022 after being placed on the injured reserve in 2021 for a tore patella tendon and sprained MCL.

Thompson might be the flashiest name of the group, as some of you might remember him being a former super recruit. As a prep, Thompson was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Louisiana as a quarterback, the position he played at Mississippi State, the first stop in his college career.

Thompson would later transfer to Virginia, where he switched to the receiver position. In his three years with the Cavaliers, Thompson caught 138 balls for 1,675 yards and five touchdowns while playing across from Dontayvion Wicks — the Packers’ fifth-round rookie draft choice.

Despite posting back-to-back All-ACC efforts, Thompson ran just a 4.66-second 40-yard dash during the pre-draft process, which led to him signing as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions, who released him in May. Recently, Thompson was drafted by the XFL’s Orlando Guardians.

At this point, there has not been a signing announced from this set of workouts, but the Packers are expected to have at least one open roster spot in the near future, as it’s expected that tight end Tyler Davis will be placed on the injured reserve with a torn ACL.

Update:

According to Sports Illustrated’s Bill Huber, these workouts will actually happen on Tuesday.