What Packers’ Roster Moves Mean

With Jace Sternberger out with a concussion and the tight end group hit hard by injuries, the Packers have signed Dominique Dafney to the 53-man roster.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Dec 12, 2020 4:38 PM EST

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers signed tight end Dominique Dafney to the 53-man roster on Saturday, a source told Packer Central.

The team made that transaction official on Saturday afternoon among its usual list of roster moves to get ready for Sunday’s game at the Detroit Lions.

Activated from COVID-19 List

RB AJ Dillon: After a more than one-month absence, the Packers activated Dillon from the COVID-19 reserve list. He missed the last five games, returned to practice on Thursday and could play on Sunday.

“It gives us a little bit more flexibility, and then his contributions not only on the offensive side of the ball but also special teams is big for us,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Friday. “It allows us to put maybe a few more of those back sets out there. We’ll see. He had a good week of practice. We’ll see how he’s feeling, the tolls of the week on him and we’ll see if he’s ready to go or not.”

In seven games, the second-round pick has carried the ball 23 times for 97 yards (4.2 average) and caught one pass for 16 yards.

Elevated

WR Juwann Winfree: Winfree played seven snaps on offense and 10 more on special teams when he was elevated for the game against Jacksonville. Fellow receiver Malik Taylor (hamstring) is questionable on the injury report.

G Ben Braden: Braden was elevated for the third time this season and second consecutive week. He’s played four snaps on offense and eight on special teams in those two games. He will provide the eighth lineman, joining Jon Runyan and Yosh Nijman as backups.

Signed

TE Dominique Dafney: An undrafted free agent from Indiana State – the same school that produced fellow tight end Robert Tonyan – Dafney went undrafted in April, signed with the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 26 and was released on Sept. 8. He joined the Packers’ practice squad on Oct. 12 and made his NFL debut last week against Philadelphia. Among his six snaps on offense was the deep completion to Davante Adams on first down from the 1.

Dafney will provide depth at tight end behind Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis. Josiah Deguara (ACL) and John Lovett (ACL) are on injured reserve and Jace Sternberger (concussion) will be inactive.

The well-traveled Dafney started his career at Iowa Western Community College in 2016 and played special teams at Iowa in 2017 and 2018 before finishing his career at Indiana State in 2019.

A receiver at Indiana State, Dafney ranked No. 2 on the team with 439 rushing yards after carrying the ball during the final four games of the season out of the wildcat package. For the season, he scored seven touchdowns (six rushing and one receiving) and had 635 all-purpose yards (439 rushing yards plus 196 receiving on 15 catches). Dafney was named second-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference at fullback as well as to the MVFC all-newcomer team and the MVFC academic honor roll.

Dafney closed his collegiate career in style by rushing for 244 yards and scoring five touchdowns at Missouri State to end the season. It was the fourth-most rushing yards in program history.

The Packers list Dafney at 6-foot-2 and 243 pounds; the Colts listed him at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds. He had a strong pro day with a 4.61 in the 40 and a 35-inch vertical jump.

Practice Squad Addition

TE Isaac Nauta: With Nauta having navigated the COVID protocols, the Packers made the addition official. He was a seventh-round pick by the Lions last year. Interim Lions coach Darrell Bevell was concerned.

News Out of Detroit

The Lions placed defensive end Everson Griffen on the COVID-19 reserve list. In 20 career games against the Packers while with Minnesota, he had 11.5 sacks.

Acquired in a midseason trade with Dallas, Griffen had 2.5 sacks and seven quarterback hits in his last four games with the Lions.

It’s another blow to a defense with end Trey Flowers, tackle Danny Shelton and cornerback Desmond Trufant on injured reserve and rookie cornerback Jeff Okudah ruled out and headed to injured reserve. The Lions are 31st in the NFL in points allowed. That includes a heinous 34.2 points per game in five home games.