New Packers Lineman Has Strong Debut

The Green Bay Packers added a center who started 41 games at BYU and earned Freshman All-American honors in 2017.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jul 31, 2023 4:55 PM EDT

In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers added center James Empey off waivers, with the former Duke standout participating in Monday’s practice at training camp.

The Packers had an open roster spot after releasing 2020 seventh-round pick Jonathan Garvin last week.

At Monday’s practice, he won both of his one-on-one reps against rookie defensive tackle Antonio Moultrie. He did not participate in team drills.

Empey started 41 games during his career at BYU. Big things were expected during his final season, with Empey being named a Preseason All-American entering the 2021 campaign. A broken foot limited him to six games, though he was named a semifinalist for several off-the-field honors including the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year and the Campbell Trophy (aka the Academic Heisman).

Did the injury keep him from being drafted in 2022?

“It is probably a totally normal response to have those feelings,” he told Deseret.com if the injury kept him from being drafted. “But I have tried really hard to control what I can control, and there are things you can’t control and things you can. It is about what I can do in the moment, and nothing else.”

After going undrafted, Empey competed in training camp for the Dallas Cowboys and spent the season on the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad. In 2023, he’s spent time with the Tennessee Titans.

While at BYU, he was a Freshman All-American in 2017. Then, he took a Latter-day Saint mission in Portugal.

Empey was set to play at Utah coming out of high school. However, while on his mission, his father, Mike – a former BYU offensive lineman – was hired as the Cougars’ offensive line coach. Two sisters played soccer for the school.

Before the 2022 draft, he measured 6-foot-3 1/2 and 297 pounds with a 5.43 in the 40 and 23 reps on the 225-pound bench press. He’s trained with O-line guru Duke Manyweather.

“It’s really cool because it’s O-Line focused, so I get a lot of position specific work,” Empey told The Universe. “All day we’re just trying to work out really hard and keep our bodies healthy enough so that we can work out really hard again.”