Green Bay Packers Drive
Packers sign 12 undrafted free agents
The Green Bay Packers Friday signed 12 rookie free agents prior to their first mini-camp practice. All of the rookies agreed to contracts earlier in the week, then passed physicals administered by the team Thursday and today in time for the opening of this weekend's mini-camp.
Here is a list of the undrafted free agents signed by the Packers:
No Name Pos Ht Wt College Hometown
6 Calvin Russell WR 6-0 190 Tuskegee Fairburn, Ga.
13 Chris Francies WR 6-1 193 Texas-El Paso Houston, Texas
24 Tra Boger S 5-11 210 Tulane Decatur, Ga.
32 Arliss Beach RB 5-10 219 Kentucky Ashland, Ky.
40 A.J. Cooper FB 6-1 240 North Dakota State Phoenix, Ariz.
43 Shermar Bracey RB 6-2 234 Arkansas State Rison, Ark.
46 Tim Goodwell LB 6-0 243 Memphis Tucker, Ga.
49 Zac Alcorn TE 6-4 260 Black Hills State Chadron, Neb.
53 Byron Santiago LB 6-1 242 Louisiana Tech St. Bernard, La.
57 Jason Hunter DE 6-4 243 Appalachian State Fayetteville, N.C.
64 Montez Murphy DE 6-6 256 Baylor East St. Louis, Ill.
67 Josh Bourke T 6-7 314 Grand Valley State Orchard Lake, Mich.
Alcorn, 25, started the past two seasons at NAIA Black Hills State in Spearfish, S.D., where he caught 43 passes for 689 yards and seven touchdowns in 2005.
Beach, 22, lettered four seasons as a part-time starter at Kentucky, where he rushed 65 times for 288 yards and six touchdowns in 2005.
Boger, 22, rebounded from a medical redshirt to intercept three passes, including a 69-yard touchdown, last year for Tulane. A four-year letterman, he started for all or parts of every season, including his 2001 freshman campaign and 2004, when a knee injury prematurely ended his year. Boger finished his Tulane career with nine interceptions. His father, Jerome, is an NFL official.
Bourke, 23, started at offensive tackle from 2003-05 at Division II Grand Valley State (Mich.), which ranked No. 1 in the final 2005 Division II poll, compiled by the American Football Coaches Association. A native Canadian who went to high school in the Detroit area, Bourke lettered in basketball and baseball as a prep.
Bracey, 23, follows defensive lineman Corey Williams from Arkansas State to Green Bay. Bracey, who played only one season of high school football, competed against Williams in basketball at the prep level in Arkansas. Before transferring to ASU, Bracey launched his college career at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College, a program with ties to several NFL players, including Cincinnati’s first-round selection in the 2006 draft, Johnathan Joseph.
Cooper, 22, played tight end at North Dakota State, where he lettered four seasons and caught 24 passes for 473 yards and four TDs in 2005. A three-sport athlete at Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix, Ariz., Cooper majored in criminal justice at NDSU.
Francies, 23, lettered four years and started the past three seasons in UTEP’s ‘Run ‘n’ Shoot’ offense. A Houston product, Francies last season caught 44 passes for 774 yards and five TDs to earn third-team All-Conference USA honors.
Goodwell, 22, was a four-year letterman and two-year starter who led the University of Memphis in tackles each of the past two seasons. An inside linebacker from Tucker, Ga., Goodwell finished with 102 stops (54 solo), 13 tackles for loss, one sack and one interception in 2005.
Hunter, 22, also played just one season of high school football but continued to improve each year at Appalachian State and exploded in 2005 for 101 tackles (51 solo), 13 sacks, 24½ tackles for loss, one interception (returned 57 yards for a TD) and three fumble recoveries, earning All-America recognition. In the 2005 Division I-AA national championship, he returned a fumble 15 yards for a touchdown in a 21-16 win over Northern Iowa.
Murphy, 23, started two years at Baylor after transferring from Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College, where he did not play due to rules limiting the number of out-of-state players on a team’s roster. Nontheless, he earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors during each of his only two years (2004-05) as a college player. In 2005, he registered 52 tackles (32 solo), 11 for loss and 3½ sacks.
Russell, 22, lettered three seasons at Division II Tuskegee, helping the school to an 11-1 record and a No. 11 ranking in the final 2005 AFCA poll. A speedy receiver and kick returner with good size, Russell missed the 2003 season with a broken collarbone. He also competed on the Tuskegee track team, running in the 4x100-meter relay and the 200.
Santiago, 23, started the past three campaigns at Louisiana Tech, earning All-Western Athletic Conference honors each season. In 2005, he collected 79 tackles (49 solo), seven stops for loss and one sack to earn a second straight first-team all-conference selection. He first made his name in 2003, when he garnered second-team honors.
Texans considering Packers’ McKenzie for GM
Reggie McKenzie, the director of pro personnel for the Green Bay Packers, has emerged as a candidate to head up the Houston Texans football operations, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The Texans are seeking a replacement for general manager Charley Casserly, who stepped down on Wednesday. Indications are that McKenzie is a serious candidate, but Packers general manager Ted Thompson said on Thursday the Texans have not called to ask permission to interview McKenzie, who is under contract with the Packers through the end of this month.
McKenzie, 43, joined the Packers as a pro personnel assistant in 1994 and was promoted to his current position in 1997.
Packers Turn Down Offer of Two First-Round Picks
The Rocky Mountain News reports the Green Bay Packers turned down the Denver Broncos' offer of two first-round draft picks for the Packers' selection at number five.
Denver traded away its lower picks for the two from San Francisco on Wednesday, and tried to continue its leap-frogging up the NFL Draft chart with the offer to Green Bay.
The Rocky Mountain News reports the Packers appear to be settled on linebacker A.J. Hawk with that fifth pick. But then again, the Packers have more than a week to change their minds.
A person with knowledge of the decision, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no formal announcement had been made, confirmed the change.
Favre's agent Bus Cook said Friday that the due date was pushed back, without giving a date. Cook did not immediately return a telephone message from the AP seeking comment.
Since the team ended its season with a 4-12 record, Favre has repeatedly said he has not decided whether to return for a 15th season with the Packers. He gave the same message at his charity golf tournament in Mississippi last weekend.
Favre has questioned whether the team has been improved significantly and would be better next season.
"I guess, ultimately, it comes down to just whether or not you want to play and run the risk of being 4-12 again," Favre said last weekend.
Packers general manager Ted Thompson said Thursday that the bonus due date - which already had been moved back three times, most recently to Saturday - was a non-issue.
"There really is no deadline," he said.
Favre would have to be on the Packers' roster on the due date to qualify for the bonus.
Thompson and new Packers coach Mike McCarthy said previously that they'd like a decision from Favre as soon as possible but have not criticized him for taking so long to make up his mind.
"He's been honest throughout the whole process, and Ted and I both are comfortable," McCarthy said Thursday.
Green Bay Packers Season Schedule
The Green Bay Packers will have a national audience three times this year. The NFL released the season schedules Thursday afternoon, which gives the Packers three primetime matchups.
The season debut of Coach Mike McCarthy is a home game against the Chicago Bears on September 10. One hopeful coincidence for Packers fans is that Vince Lombardi was the last Packers coach to make their season coaching debut against the Bears on Green Bay soil.
The schedule will also have fans thinking about the Super Bowl when the Packers host the New England Patriots, the team Green Bay defeated ten years ago in Super Bowl XXXI for the national championship.
But unlike past years, this schedule is not set in stone. This marks the first NFL season with flexible scheduling toward the end of the season. The NFL can change the time of the games if teams are doing particularly well and may attract a larger TV audience -- or if teams are doing poorly and may lose audience.
Flex-schedule times are indicated with an asterisk (*)
| Date | Time (Central) | Opponent (home games are in ALL CAPS) |
|
Preseason |
||
| August 10-14 | TBA | at San Diego Chargers |
| August 17-21 | TBA | ATLANTA FALCONS (Gold Pkg.) |
| August 28 | 7 p.m. | at Cincinnati Bengals |
| Aug. 31-Sept. 1 | TBA | TENNESSEE TITANS |
|
Regular Season |
||
| September 10 | 3:15 p.m. | CHICAGO BEARS |
| September 17 | Noon | NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (Gold Pkg.) |
| September 24 | Noon | at Detroit Lions |
| October 2 | 7:30 p.m. | at Philadelphia Eagles |
| October 8 | Noon | ST. LOUIS RAMS |
| October 15 | Bye Week | |
| October 22 | Noon | at Miami Dolphins |
| October 29 | Noon | ARIZONA CARDINALS |
| November 5 | Noon | at Buffalo Bills |
| November 12 | Noon* | at Minnesota Vikings |
| November 19 | Noon* | NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (Gold Pkg.) |
| November 27 | 7:30 p.m. | at Seattle Seahawks |
| December 3 | Noon* | NEW YORK JETS |
| December 10 | 3:05 p.m.* | at San Francisco 49ers |
| December 17 | Noon* | DETROIT LIONS |
| December 21 | 7 p.m. | MINNESOTA VIKINGS |
| December 31 | Noon* | at Chicago Bears |
|
Postseason |
||
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