Packers Undrafted Free Agents: Best Group (Little) Money Can Buy

Here is a look at the undrafted free agents reportedly signed by the Green Bay Packers.

Author:
Bill Huber
Updated:
May 1, 2023 2:23 PM EDT
Original:
Apr 30, 2023

In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – After drafting 13 players, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst saw plenty of intriguing players available in undrafted free agency.

“We’ve got all kinds of names up there,” Gutekunst said of his draft boards.

The Packers have agreed to sign at least 12 players, according to PackersNews.com, NFL insider Aaron Wilson and the schools. It will be the best team a little bit of money can buy.

According to the NFLPA, the Packers’ average signing bonus last year for their undrafted free agents was $6,250. The Packers have never paid a premium for college free agents, and their cap difficulties have meant an additional tightening of the fiscal belt.

Financially, the Packers just can’t compete in signing the best remaining players. Immediately after the draft on Saturday night, the New England Patriots gave quarterback Malik Cunningham a $30,000 bonus. The Dallas Cowboys handed North Dakota State fullback Hunter Luepke a $20,000 bonus.

Moreover, Green Bay was one of only five teams in 2022 that didn’t guarantee a single dollar of base salary to entice anyone to sign.

As one agent said of making decisions, “The most important thing is opportunity. Does my client have a legitimate chance to contend for a spot on the 53 or even the practice squad? For Green Bay, they’ve got a strong history of giving undrafted guys a fair shake. That matters. But if one team is offering $15,000 guaranteed and the Packers are offering $5,000, that’s hard to ignore. Generally, money talks and money means opportunity.”

Here are Green Bay’s 12 undrafted free agents.

WR Malik Heath, Mississippi

Heath was invited to the Scouting Combine. He measured 6-2 3/8 and 213 pounds and ran his 40 in 4.64 seconds. After two seasons of junior-college ball and two seasons at rival Mississippi State, Heath transferred for his final collegiate season and caught 60 passes for 971 yards and five touchdowns. He was an All-American in high school.

“Malik, he reminds me a lot like (former Ole Miss receiver) Braylon (Sanders),” fellow Ole Miss receiver Jonathan Mingo, a second-round pick by the Panthers on Friday, said in August. “Always has good energy. There’s never a negative day when Malik’s around. So, he brings good energy to the receiving room, and he brings a dog mentality.”

At MSU, he was involved in a brawl.

WR Duece Watts, Tulane

Watts (6-1 1/4, 196 pounds, 4.55 40) caught 33 passes for 657 yards (19.9 average) and eight touchdowns. In three seasons, he caught 85 passes for 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns.

The Packers are Watts’ favorite team.

TE Camren McDonald, Florida State

McDonald (6-4 1/4, 237 pounds, 4.98 40) closed his career with three consecutive seasons of 23, 24 and 21 receptions. A three-year starter, he caught 21 balls for 312 yards (14.9 average) and one touchdown in 2022. He had a predraft visit with the Packers.

“I just have dynamic play-making ability at the tight end position,” McDonald told SI before the draft. “I mean that humbly. …

“I’m a master of second-level blocking and even blocking in line or perimeter. I can kind of push DBs around. I’m a big, longer guy so it’s hard for linebackers to get around me.”

TE Henry Pearson, Appalachian State

Pearson (6-2 3/8, 249 pounds, 4.79 40, 30 reps on 225-pound bench press) set career highs with 25 receptions for 329 yards (13.2 average) and five touchdowns in 2022. He was a three-year starter and second-team all-Sun Belt in 2022. He was a standout in lacrosse in high school.

OT Kadeem Telfort, UAB

Telfort had a predraft visit with the Packers. Here’s his story.

G Chuck Filiaga, Minnesota

Filiaga (6-5 5/8, 321 pounds, 5.32 40) started 11 games in five seasons at Michigan before transferring to Minnesota, where he started 13 games at right guard to earn third-team all-Big Ten as a senior.

DL Jason Lewan, Illinois State

Lewan (6-6 1/4, 293 pounds, 5.07 40) has prototypical physical tools. He had 27 tackles and one sack as a sixth-year senior in 2022 and five sacks, 10 tackles for losses and eight passes defensed in five seasons.

OLB Keshawn Banks, San Diego State

Banks (6-3 1/4, 251 pounds, DNP 40-yard dash) was a four-time all-Mountain West selection. He started his final 47 games and ranks sixth in school history with 42 tackles for losses. In 2022, he had 3.5 sacks and 11.5 TFLs.

“I have talked to a good amount of teams, double-digit amount of teams, and there is definitely some teams and organizations that are interested,” Banks told KRQE. “If I do get picked, I think it will be late, but either way I think I will have a shot to showcase my talent and feel like that’s all that I need.”

OLB Brenton Cox, Florida

Cox was kicked off two teams but is getting a shot in the NFL.

LB Jimmy Phillips Jr., SMU

Phillips (6-1 1/4, 232 pounds, 4.67 40) was a two-year starter. In 2022, he was third-team all-conference with a team-high 85 tackles, which included 7.5 tackles for losses, plus five passes defensed.

“You’ve got a great one,” the school said on Twitter.

S Christian Morgan, Baylor

Morgan (6-0 1/2, 200 pounds, 4.51 40, 40.5 vertical) was a part-time starter in 2022 after making 10 starts in 2021. During his final season, he had three interceptions and four passes defensed. In five seasons, he picked off seven passes.

S Benny Sapp, Northern Iowa

Sapp’s father is former NFL defensive back Benny Sapp, who played in 110 games over eight NFL seasons.

Sapp (5-11, 200 pounds, 4.62 40) was a second-team FCS All-American in 2022 with four interceptions. It was his second consecutive season with four picks, giving him three-year totals of nine interceptions and 16 passes defensed. He opened his career with two years at Minnesota.

“I really wanted to show them that I am not just a safety,” Sapp, who was drafted by the USFL, said at pro day. “I can play nickel or corner…This is something I have been doing since I was 11 years old, out there with my dad while he was practicing in the NFL.”

With 63 players under contract, 13 draft picks and 12 undrafted free agents, the Packers have 88 of their 90 roster spots filled. They could, if they wish, sign two of the tryout players who will participate in this weekend’s rookie minicamp.