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New Packers Receiver Kaden Prather ‘Finally Got a Win’

The Packers on Thursday signed receiver Kaden Prather, who was a seventh-round pick by the Bills last year. He talked to Packers On SI after his practice debut on Friday.
Bill Huber|
New Packers receiver Kaden Prather catches a pass at the Scouting Combine in 2025.
New Packers receiver Kaden Prather catches a pass at the Scouting Combine in 2025. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – You’ll have to forgive Kaden Prather if he didn’t know the day of the week. It’s been that type of week for the Green Bay Packers’ newest receiver.

“It’s been pretty busy,” he told Packers On SI after his first practice with the team. “I flew in – I’m losing track of the days – I flew in Wednesday, worked out Thursday. Today’s Friday, right?”

Yes, it was Friday.

“OK,” he continued. “Flew in Wednesday, worked out Thursday, waited around all day, got the great news from my agent, and fell asleep, woke up and came to practice today.”

As Tom Petty sang, the waiting is the hardest part. Prather was one of 10 players who worked out for the team on Thursday morning. With Brenden Rice banged up, the Packers brought in four receivers.

When the workout was complete, Prather waited. And waited some more.

“You just don’t know,” he said. “Like, you don’t know if they’re going to keep you or you don’t know if you’re going to get on a plane. But, honestly, this is my first workout, so I just take it one day at a time. I don’t try to think too far ahead; I don’t try to think behind me. I try to stay where my feet on.”

Finally, late in the afternoon, he got the good news. His NFL career, which had been on hold for almost a year, had been given new life.

“You know, I finally got a win,” he said of his reaction. “I’ve been to a couple different workouts and I didn’t make it. So, it was a relief, but wasn’t too happy because work’s not finished. I’ve still got to make the team.”

But at least he’s got another chance.

Prather was a seventh-round pick by the Bills last year. He strained a hamstring, rehabbed his way back onto the field, then “strained it even worse.” The Bills released him with an injury settlement. He spent most of the season rehabbing the injury, working toward an opportunity that he knew might never come.

“It’s very tough because it’s a lot of guys out there that aren’t getting opportunities that really deserve one,” he said. “So, I’m just thankful that I had one. You know, it’s hard to get up and work out every day and not know when the next opportunity is, but you never know when you’ll get that phone call.”

Prather got a couple workouts late in the season but wasn’t signed. He got his name back into the game this spring when he decided to play in the UFL. In nine regular-season games for the Louisville Kings, he caught nine passes for 148 yards and zero touchdowns. Including playoffs, he caught 10 passes in 11 games.

It wasn’t much production, but he showed he’s healthy again while providing a glimpse of the talent that allowed him to catch 98 passes for 1,290 yards and nine touchdowns at Maryland in 2023 and 2024. As a senior, he caught 56 passes with just one drop.

“One of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” he said of playing in the UFL. “I made some of my best friends that I’ll talk to probably for the rest of my life. I got better and it’s a good competition, too.”

At 6-foot-3 1/2 and with 4.46 speed in the 40, Prather fits the Green Bay mold of so many of its developmental receivers over the years. Big and fast, obviously, is a great starting point, though it’s one he downplayed. He knows there’s a playbook to learn, routes to run correctly and chemistry to be built.

“I feel like everybody at this level is pretty fast and pretty big,” he said. “But with this being my second year, I’m just trying to approach it differently mentally. You know, just take it one day at a time, don’t worry about any decisions later on.”

The best thing for a new player is to walk into a locker room with some familiar faces and former teammates. Prather knew only three players. Two were from the Shrine Bowl, fellow receiver Isaiah Neyor and quarterback Kyle McCord.

The third was running back MarShawn Lloyd. They played together at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md., when Prather was a sophomore.

“You know, he’s a dog,” Lloyd said. “When I first seen him here, I was coming from a workout, so I’m like, wait. It was good to be seeing a familiar face. I know what he can do. I know what type of player he can be, so it’s up to him to see exactly where he can fit in for the team.

“It’s exciting to have somebody very familiar with playing high school ball together. It was pretty cool seeing somebody come from the same place and then do their thing. It’ll be fun.”

And what can he do? 


“As you can see,” Lloyd said, “he’s a really big receiver. Speed. He has a really good catchability. He can make any catch. So, it’s going to be fun to see exactly what they do with them. But, like I said, you’ve got to earn everything. So, it just depends on what he does from here on until the end of the (pre)season.”

Lloyd will help show Prather the ropes, whether it’s showing him to the cafeteria or where to grab a bite to eat when he’s away from Lambeau.

“He texted me last night. He was like, if I need anything, I’m going to hit you up,” Lloyd said.

Joining a locker room (almost) filled with strangers is difficult. The same is true about jumping into a position battle in which everyone else knows the offense while he’ll be learning it on the fly.

“Yeah, it’s tough, but everything you want is on the other side of tough,” he said. “You know, no problem with that. I like it.”

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.