Packers Expected to Sign Ahmed to Finalize Practice Squad

Ramiz Ahmed took a unique path to the Packers’ practice squad and potentially being the team’s kicker of the future.

Note: This transaction became official on Monday.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers are expected to sign kicker Ramiz Ahmed to their practice squad on Sunday.

Once official, the 16-man unit will be filled.

The Packers released struggling (and injured) Gabe Brkic after the first preseason game at San Francisco and signed Ahmed, whose claim to fame was a 61-yard field goal in the USFL. Ahmed turned out to be much more than just a camp leg with a strong leg to get through training camp as Mason Crosby recovered from knee surgery.

Ahmed missed only two kicks on the practice field and didn’t miss any in his two preseason appearances.

The Packers activated Crosby from the physically unable to perform list as part of Tuesday’s roster moves.

“We’re very hopeful Mason’s going to be back in time,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said in looking ahead to next Sunday’s season-opening game at the Minnesota Vikings. “We still have a little ways to go, so the plan is to bring Ramiz back to the practice squad and have him there in case we don’t get there. But he’s progressing very nicely and we expect him to kick Game 1. But we’ll be prepared if he doesn’t.”

With a spot on the practice squad, Ahmed might not be just insurance for Week 1. He could position himself as the Packers’ kicker of the future. Crosby, who turned 38 on Saturday, will be a free agent at the end of the season.

“Every week — until you’re maybe at Mason’s point — you’re being judged, criticized and your job is never necessarily safe,” Ahmed said recently. “Proving myself in this league, I guess it’s something I want to do, but I don’t want to think about it like that. I want to go out and make kicks, and let other people make their judgments. I’ve always known I could kick in the NFL and that I would kick in the NFL. So, right now, I’m just focused on making kicks, and whatever anybody wants to say, they can say.”

Ahmed’s story is unique, even by kicker standards. As a senior at Las Vegas powerhouse Bishop Gorman High School in 2013, he helped the school win the Nevada state championship. He enrolled at UNLV but wasn’t part of the football team. He continued to kick on his own, though, thinking he was good enough to get to the NFL.

“I was always training,” Ahmed said. “I was kind of a young, dumb kid. I was like, ‘Listen, I’m going to the NFL’ when I was 18 or 19 and not kicking for a college. ‘I’m still going to kick in the NFL.’”

An encounter with a former UNLV kicker directed him to longtime NFL kicker John Carney, who would become Ahmed’s mentor. After enrolling at the University of Nevada, Ahmed took part in a student tryout to land a spot on the roster.

Ahmed went undrafted in 2019, got a shot with the Bears in 2020, then opened eyes with his long kick in the USFL.

“Like many specialists, the next step often takes a few years and some growing and some maturity,” Carney told Packer Central recently. “He has put a lot of time and effort and education into his kicking and into his craft. He is an NFL kicker. It’s just a matter of what team and when it’s going to happen. He has dialed in his game and dialed in his mental process. He showed that in the USFL. I’m excited for him. He’s got a future in the NFL. I think his future is bright.”

Crosby’s 58-yard field goal in 2011 is the longest in franchise history. Ahmed’s 61-yarder off a bad hold would have been good from 64. How far could he make one?

“If I’m on sticks, the farthest kick I’ve ever hit was 73,” he said. “I used to train that a lot more and chase the big balls but it’s not necessarily something that I do anymore. It’s not something that keeps you in the NFL. Maybe it gets your some looks but, once you’re in the door, you’ve got to make kicks. That’s what I’m focused on right now.”

The Packers have the weekend off. They will practice again on Monday.

Here is the Packers’ Practice Squad

The Green Bay Packers have their 16-man practice squad headed into Week 1 of the regular season.

Quarterback: Danny Etling

Etling, who was drafted by the Patriots in 2018, had a strong preseason as Green Bay’s third quarterback. Had he thrown enough passes to quality, he would have ranked first in completion percentage and second in passer rating. He added a 51-yard touchdown run.

Running backs: Tyler Goodson, Patrick Taylor

In three preseason games, Goodson led the Packers with 107 rushing yards. His eight receptions were one off the team lead. He had a 24-yard touchdown run and a 23-yard reception on his resume. He played exactly to his resume coming out of Iowa.

“It’s very exciting to be able to make those guys in miss in space,” Goodson said of the touchdown run that he punctuated with a spin move. “The fact that I put in the work and it shows up on gameday is a great feeling and is exciting for me to see.”

From Hurricane Katrina to his battle with a major foot injury to his breakout performance vs. Detroit, Taylor was worthy of his own story before training camp.

“I think they’re both guys that are definitely important that could potentially be up and suited up for us on game day,” coach Matt LaFleur said.

Receivers: Juwann Winfree, Travis Fulgham

A sixth-round pick by Denver in 2019, Winfree caught the first eight passes of his career last season, including four at Arizona to help upset the undefeated Cardinals. He entered training camp running with the No. 1 offense and has a "big fan" in Aaron Rodgers.

"There’s a good chance he’d be activated on the 48 in the first game," Rodgers said.

On Aug. 10, 2020, the Packers claimed Fulgham off waivers. On Aug. 17, 2022, they did it again. In 2020, he landed with Philadelphia and caught 37 passes for 539 yards (14.2 average) and four touchdowns in 13 games. During one four-game stretch, he caught 27 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns.

Tight end: Shaun Beyer

Beyer caught 18 passes for 275 yards (15.3 average) and one touchdown in 35 career games at Iowa. While he didn’t catch many passes, he was a reliable blocker. That comes from his high school wrestling background.

Offensive line: OT Caleb Jones

An undrafted free agent, the 6-foot-9 Jones got his weight under control and had an excellent training camp.

“I thought Caleb had a great camp and deserved to be on the 53,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “Lucky to get him back on the p-squad. Looks like he has a bright future in this league. You can’t teach that kind of size. But, take the 6-9, 340 out of the way, the way that he worked from spring to fall camp and then throughout fall camp, he has what it takes to be a player in this league. I told him that a couple weeks ago.”

Defensive line: Jack Heflin, Chris Slayton

Heflin made it last year as an undrafted free agent, and he had put himself in a strong position with three high-quality preseason performances even with the additions of veteran Jarran Reed, first-round pick Devonte Wyatt and seventh-round pick Jonathan Ford.

Slayton, a 2019 seventh-round draft pick who has never played in a regular-season game, had an excellent camp, too. He had 13 tackles in the three games, second on the team and 12 more than the first-rounder Wyatt.

Ultimately, both players lost out to Ford for the final spot. “Big upside with Jonathan,” Gutekunst said. “We’re excited about developing him, along with the other guys. Those guys have been in the league for a couple years. We’re excited about our defensive line group. I think it’s very deep. If we have to dig into that depth this year, we feel pretty good about it.”

Outside linebackers: La’Darius Hamilton, Kobe Jones

Hamilton and Jones were part of the wide-open derby at outside linebacker.

An undrafted free agent in 2020, the Packers added Hamilton early last season. He played 64 snaps on defense in six games and contributed three tackles (all against the Rams), two quarterback hits and three pressures in 36 rushes.

“I just come in every day, put my head down, and go to work,” he said. “I’ve never been the frontrunner, never been the top dog. I’ve always been the underdog, so it’s nothing new to me. I just come in and go to work like always.”

Jones had seven sacks and 22 tackles for losses in four seasons at Mississippi State. He went undrafted in 2021 and won a spot on the 90-man roster as a tryout player at rookie camp following the 2022 draft.

“Right now, I’m just trying to continue to clean my game up, detail it out one thing at a time and keep pressing on the gas and showing these guys I could be somebody who can help them win,” he said.

Inside linebacker: Ray Wilborn

An undrafted free agent in 2020, Wilborn signed a futures deal with the Packers in January 2021. With size and speed (4.56 in the 40-yard dash) and a bit of a background at safety he remains an intriguing developmental prospect.

Cornerbacks: Kiondre Thomas, Benjie Franklin

Thomas had a strong preseason to put himself in position to make the roster. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed just 1-of-7 passing and provided strong run support. Thomas spent training camp with the No. 3 defense while Rico Gafford was with the second unit. However, it's Thomas who is the last man standing on the practice squad.

“We’ll see,” Thomas said if his hard work had been paying off. “I can’t really tell you right now. If I don’t make the 53, then I don’t think it paid off.”

At Tarleton State, Franklin intercepted eight passes with two pick-sixes in three seasons. He went undrafted and spent training camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars. At 5-foot-11 1/2, he ran his 40 in 4.32 seconds.

“That guy is really twitchy and when he breaks, he is going to break on that ball and he is going to get there and close fast,” Jaguars cornerback Shaq Griffin said. “I love the way Benjie has been attacking this field. The way he has been practicing. He is definitely a sponge.”

Safety: Micah Abernathy

A starter for the Houston Gamblers of the USFL, Abernathy was signed midway through training camp after one injury after another wiped out the depth at safety. He wound up being a lot more than a fresh set of legs to take some of the strain off Adrian Amos. He had one interception against the Saints and probably would have had another against Kansas City had he not been grabbed by a Chiefs receiver.

“It meant a lot. It was another opportunity to showcase what I can do on the field,” Abernathy said of his season in the USFL. “Special teams-wise, I was in a leadership role. It felt really good to be one of those guys on the team and to be a starter for the whole season. I hadn’t started since college, so it was pretty cool to get some more experience. And I got my wind back, and that’s going to help me. While I’m coming into training camp late, I already played a season. Although a lot of people might say that’s hindering some of the USFL players, I feel like it’s helping us because we’ve got 10 games that we played a little over a month ago so we’ve got our wind.”

He made the 53-man roster on Tuesday, only to be released a day later so the team could sign veteran Rudy Ford.

“Talk about a guy that took advantage of his opportunities,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said

Kicker: Ramiz Ahmed

Ahmed, who made a 61-yard field goal in the USFL, was signed for the final two weeks of training camp. He was exceptional, making all his kicks in the two games and only missing a couple at practice.

“We’re very hopeful Mason’s going to be back in time,” Gutekunst said of veteran kicker Mason Crosby, who spent training camp on PUP. “We still have a little ways to go, so the plan is to bring Ramiz back to the practice squad and have him there in case we don’t get there. But he’s progressing very nicely and we expect him to kick Game 1. But we’ll be prepared if he doesn’t.”

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