After signing 12 members of their season-ending practice squad to futures contracts, the Green Bay Packers signed seven more players.
Center Trey Hill was a sixth-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021. He started three games and played in 211 snaps on offense as a rookie. In total, he played in 25 games for the Bengals, but zero in 2023 and one in 2024. Since his rookie season, he’s played seven snaps on offense.
Hill was second-team all-SEC in 2019, when he started 14 games at guard. He started eight games at center in 2020 but missed the end of the season due to knee surgeries.
At 6-foot-3 3/4 and 319 pounds, his 40 time was 5.46 and his Relative Athletic Score was just 2.02.
Defensive tackle Nesta Jade Silvera was a seventh-round pick by the Raiders in 2023. He played in two games as a rookie and seven games this season, when he had eight tackles. The Raiders released him at midseason, and he spent the rest of the year on the 49ers’ practice squad.
At 6-foot-2 and 304 pounds, his 40 time was 5.18 and his RAS was 6.56.
The Packers re-signed tight end Johnny Lumpkin. The Packers signed Lumpkin to the practice squad after Messiah Swinson was poached by the Panthers. When Swinson became available again, the Packers brought him back and released Lumpkin.
An undrafted free agent in 2023, Lumpkin caught 36 passes for 408 yards (11.3 average) and six touchdowns in four seasons at Louisiana. As a senior in 2022, he caught 16 passes for 143 yards (8.9 average) and four touchdowns.
Before the 2023 NFL Draft, he measured 6-foot-5 3/8 and 264 pounds. With 4.81 speed in the 40, his RAS was 6.46.
The Packers also signed a pair of cornerbacks, Kaleb Hayes and Isaiah Dunn, along with receiver Tulu Griffin and defensive tackle Keith Randolph.
Dunn went undrafted in 2021 out of Oregon State, where he had zero career interceptions (but 18 passes defensed) despite good size and excellent speed (5-11 1/2, 189 pounds; 4.38 in the 40 and 8.92 RAS). He played in 12 games with one start as a rookie with the Jets in 2021, when he broke up two passes, and made five appearances with the Seahawks in 2022.
Dunn spent about two weeks of training camp with the Steelers this year and was out of the league the rest of the season.
While Dunn is fast, Hayes is faster.
Hayes went undrafted in 2023 out of BYU, where he broke up 27 passes in his career, including 12 in 2021, but didn’t intercept any passes. He spent his rookie season on the Giants’ practice squad. This year, he spent training camp with the Giants and Broncos but failed to make a roster and was out of the league the rest of the season.
At 5-foot-11 3/8, he ran his 40 in 4.31 seconds with a 40-inch vertical, good for a RAS of 9.89.
Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin caught 126 passes for 1,490 yards and nine touchdowns in four seasons at Mississippi State. He caught 50 passes for 658 yards and four scores as a senior in 2023. He was a big-time kickoff returner with a 30.8-yard average – second-best in SEC history – including a touchdown in 2021 and another in 2022, when he earned some first-team All-American honors.
“I really love returning kicks,” he told The Draft Network’s Justin Melo. “You can see the entire field on kickoffs. I love having the ball in my hands in those situations. It’s important to have a great connection with your blockers on special teams. I invest in those relationships. …
“That’s what brings joy to the kickoff team. If I score a touchdown, the entire unit feels great joy. We’re all celebrating together. It’s not just about me. It’s about them, as well. I love playing on kickoffs. I pray I can keep returning kicks and punts at the next level.”
Griffin spent training camp with the Raiders, where he averaged 30.0 yards on three kickoff returns, and two weeks on the Browns’ practice squad.
Griffin is small-ish (5-foot-10, 181 pounds) but athletic (4.43 in the 40, 6.95 RAS).
Randolph was a two-time all-Big Ten performer at Illinois. In 2022, he had 4.5 sacks and 13 tackles for losses. Randolph declared himself draft-eligible but went undrafted. The Bears gave him $220,000 guaranteed – a big deal for an undrafted free agent – but he failed to make their roster and didn’t land on their practice squad.
“I’m going to rush the passer and stop the run,” he told The Draft Network before the draft. “I’m planning on being a dominant defensive lineman. I’m going to do my job at a high level while adding versatility to the line of scrimmage.”
At 6-foot-3 3/4 and 296 pounds, he ran his 40 in 5.15 seconds and had a RAS of 4.83.
