Packers re-sign former draft pick Jonathan Ford to practice squad

The Green Bay Packers waived two former draft picks, inside linebacker Tariq Carpenter and defensive lineman Jonathan Ford, when the team claimed safety Zayne Anderson and tight end Ben Sims following initial cutdowns earlier this week. After going unclaimed on waivers, Carpenter would sign a practice squad deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers. On Friday, though, Ford reunited with the Packers — this time as a practice squad player.

Ford, originally a seventh-round draft choice in 2022, spent all of last season as a healthy scratch on the team’s active roster. At the moment, he’s currently just one of two true nose tackles that Green Bay has in practice, along with starting nose tackle T.J. Slaton. With that being said, Kenny Clark — who is set to be a starting 3-4 end for the team — would likely kick inside to the nose tackle position in the event of an injury to Slaton. The remaining four interior defensive linemen on the active roster and practice squad (Devonte Wyatt, Colby Wooden, Karl Brooks and Chris Slayton) are all true 3-4 defensive ends, though.

If there’s ever an injury to Slaton or Clark, expect Ford to get called up from the practice squad — as the team has no non-starting bodies to play in the middle of the defensive line beyond Ford.

In order to re-sign Ford, center James Empey was released from the practice squad. With Empey gone, Green Bay now only has five interior offensive linemen on its active roster and practice squad, compared to six tackles — not including Luke Tenuta, who is on the injured reserve.

As a reference for Green Bay’s depth, we’re going to end this article with a head count of how many players the Packers are keeping at each position between their 53-man roster and 17-man practice squad:

• Quarterback: 3
• Running Back: 4
• Receiver: 8
• Tight End/Fullback: 6
• Tackle: 6
• Interior Offensive Line: 5
• Interior Defensive Line: 7
• Outside Linebacker: 9
• Inside Linebacker: 5
• Cornerback: 7
• Safety: 7
• Kicker: 1
• Punter: 1
• Long Snapper: 1