After Playing ‘Footy’ in Australia, Thomas Yassmin Relishes Chance With Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – For a while, Thomas Yassmin had basically conceded that his football dreams would not extend from Sydney, Australia, to an NFL city like Green Bay, Wisconsin.

“By the time I was 22, I was pretty close to calling quits with the sport I’ve been in for four years,” Yassmin said on Sunday, two days after making his training camp debut at Family Night. “Yeah, it was a tough time, but I’m glad I stuck in it. Four years later, I’m still here, so very fortunate.”

Yassmin, a tight end, played rugby growing up. Sydney hosted college games between Hawaii and Cal in 2016 and Stanford and Rice in 2017. He was a senior in high school in 2017 and was playing “footy” – rugby – at the time. Hawaii’s offensive line coach in 2017 was former NFL player Chris Naeole. They struck up a conversation that ended in Yassmin getting a scholarship offer.

More scholarship offers followed, and he wound up going to Utah.

“I didn’t think too much of it at the time because I just had no experience or didn’t know anyone that did that. So, yeah, just went out on a limb,” he said of focusing on football.

A Discouraging Start

Yassmin redshirted in 2018. In 2019, 2020 and 2021, he caught a total of one pass for 6 yards.

“I had some down times in college – definitely discouraging, for sure,” Yassmin said. “I thought it was going to be a lot easier. I mean, just a bit naive, didn’t know much about the sport. And then kind of stuck through it. I was lucky I had a very good supporting base with my family and friends back home, and kind of kept me in it. I was lucky I stuck it out and just pushed through.

“And the last couple years of college, when I really started to get into light and start making some plays in college and kind of get noticed on the national scale, that was really motivating and kind of really kept me in it.”

Yassmin caught 13 passes for 301 yards and six touchdowns in 2022. In 2023, he caught eight passes for 89 yards in five games before a season-ending injury.

“It was a long road,” he said. “It was longer than I thought it was going to be. If I’m going to be honest, if I knew, I might not have made that decision, but I’m glad I did. It took me a good few years in college. I was able to get out and fill special teams pretty early on, but to play offense and at tight end, which most offenses, next to quarterback, you’ve got to know the most in the offense, so it was a steep learning curve.”

What clicked? What changed when he thought about giving up the sport?

“I was fortunate enough to finally start getting some runs on the field,” he said. “Call it divine timing, it was literally when I was about to throw the hat in, I got the call up and my first game I got to start, made some big plays. I had 100 yards in that game, my first game. I started to realize maybe I could make some plays there and kind of took off from there.”

Before the 2024 draft, Yassmin measured 6-foot-4 3/4 and 245 pounds and ran his 40 in 4.58 seconds. He went undrafted, though, and spent training camp with the Broncos in 2024 and the Chargers in 2025.

The Chargers released him in May – meaning he lost his work visa – and the Packers signed him just before the start of training camp. He couldn’t join the team until he got a new visa, though. In between, he stayed in Buffalo with his former Utah teammate, Bills star Dalton Kincaid.

“He’s one of my very close friends from college, probably my best mate,” he said. “Without him, it probably wouldn’t be possible. He was really, really supportive, letting me come stay with him and happy to help me out while I was looking for a place.”

What a Debut

Yassmin arrived at Packers training camp on Thursday, watching practice from the sideline. He made his practice debut at Family Night following what he called a “crash course” in the offense.

“It was pretty awesome,” he said of practicing in Lambeau. “You can talk about it and I’ve heard a lot about it, but nothing compares to when you actually go there and see it. They’ll tell me, ‘They’re going to pack out the stadium.’ I’ve never heard of it, I didn’t know about it, so I didn’t think of anything.

“Then you walk out there and it looks like gameday. It was pretty awesome. Hadn’t put pads on since January, so it was pretty nerve-wracking the first play. But once you get that first play done, you’re good. My tight end coach, J.D. (John Dunn), and Connor (Lewis), the assistant, they’ve been really, really helpful putting me in positions where I can succeed. Not just chucking me in, throwing me into the fire knowing I’m pretty new to the playbook. They’ve been really, really helpful in making this transition well.”

Yassmin is the team’s International Player Pathway participant, which means he doesn’t count on the 90-man roster now and won’t count on the 16-man practice squad once the season begins.

Some IPP players are projects. The player he replaced, Dante Barnett, didn’t play Division I football and joined the IPP program after working at a car plant in his native England.

After five seasons at Utah, this is Yassmin’s third year in the NFL. He might actually be able to help the team.

“That’s the goal,” he said. “I’ve spoken to my agent. I’ve spoken to my family. That’s sometimes the unfortunate reality of being an international player, you kind of get that [project] label, but I’ve been playing this sport for eight years. I’ve played in college. I’ve made big plays on big stages.

“I’m just hoping they can recognize that here. They’ve given me ample opportunities to show that. At the end of the day, it’s going to be up to me to make plays. I’m hoping I can do what I can to help the team succeed and make some plays out there and try to push for a spot.”

What happened today at Packers training camp?

Plenty, including big plays and big injury updates.

Here is what you need to know from Practice 9 of Packers training camp. ⬇️https://t.co/YKwQc8jBww
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 9, 2026

The daily Player and Play of the Day from Packers training camp includes a huge, unexpected move in the starting lineup. ⬇️https://t.co/fCTz5I1b7e
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 9, 2026

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