New Packers TE Drew Biber Goes From Agony to Freaking Out

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Drew Biber is an undrafted tight end from Minnesota and a native of Cedarburg, Wis. His childhood favorite team, the Green Bay Packers, brought him in for a workout before training camp on July 27.

He wasn’t signed.

“Yeah, obviously, it was tough when I was driving back home,” Biber said. “I'm like, dang, Green Bay would be obviously a dream to play for, but I talked to my family, girlfriend, agent, and they said, ‘Keep going. Whether it’s the Packers or another team, you’re going to get an opportunity in the month of August.’”

In the NFL, things change in a hurry. The Packers, already shorthanded at tight end, lost RJ Maryland and Luke Lachey to injuries. So, on Monday, his agent, Harold Lewis, called:

“The phone rang, I think it was around maybe 1 or 2 o’clock, and my agent called me and said, ‘Hey, you might be going to Green Bay tonight,’” Biber said. “I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is insane.’ He said he’d call me back in the next hour or two if it was confirmed, but he said it was basically like 90 percent confirmed.

“So, the next 2 hours, I was just like extremely anxious and I was just waiting for the call. And then he ended up calling me back and he said, ‘Do you want to hear the good news or bad news?’ And I was like, ‘I guess I have to do the bad news first.’ And he was like, ‘The bad news, you have to pack your bags up and drive up to Green Bay tonight.’ So, I just freaked out.”

Not a Prank

The first people he told were his parents, Julie and Joe.

“I told them separately, and they’re like, ‘This better not be a prank,’” Biber said. “So, it’s kind of funny. I’m like, ‘No, this is not a prank. Like, I have to drive up to Green Bay right now. So, it was just amazing.”

Having assured his parents that he really was signing with the Packers, he packed some clothes, hopped in the car and arrived in Green Bay on Monday night and made his practice debut on Tuesday.

Some childhood memories were left in the closet.

Drew Biber is shown during a game for Cedarburg High School in 2020. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

“Clay Matthews, I still have his jersey in my closet,” he said. “When I was actually packing to come up here last night, I literally had a Clay Matthews jersey in my closet. I’m like, this is a sign from God. It was amazing. …

“My mom told me to bring it, but I didn’t, but she can. I think they’re coming to Family Night on Friday, so I’ll tell them to bring it up.”

Biber went to some Packers games as a kid but he’d never been to training camp or participated in the traditional bike ride. So, that made Tuesday’s bike ride to practice even more special.

“It was just a surreal moment,” he said. “It was awesome. I got to ride a little girl’s bike, and she was really excited. …

“I enjoyed the moment, but then it started hitting me. I’m like, I have a practice. I’ve got to go perform right now. But, yeah, in the beginning, I just looked at everything, and I’m like, ‘Wow, I’m really here right now.’”

Biber spent four seasons at Purdue and finished his career at Minnesota in 2025, with career highs of 18 catches for 136 yards in 2025. With modest production – 33 career catches and one career touchdowns – he wasn’t drafted. He wasn’t signed. He had opportunities at the rookie camps of the Vikings and Titans but didn’t get a contract.

The Long Wait And Happy Ending

May became June. June became July. July rolled into August.

But Biber kept working toward an opportunity that he might never get.

What kept him going?

“Football has always been a dream, and there’s always just been hope,” he said. “My family, my girlfriend, my agent telling me, like, just keep going. Obviously, me, I want it so bad. So, it was just one of those things where I was like, obviously praying to God and stuff like that, and I knew an opportunity was going to come. So, I just was like, let’s keep going.”

He felt “starstruck” when that opportunity was with the Packers.

“Any team’s obviously a dream,” he said, “but the Packers, it hits different.”

Biber has his opportunity, and it could hardly be a better one. Yes, he’s with the team he rooted for when he was a kid. More than that, the Packers have an unsettled depth chart. Tucker Kraft will be the starter and Josh Whyle will be a key backup. But Luke Musgrave is dealing with a neck injury, and Messiah Swinson and Drake Dabney have almost trivial NFL track records.

There is an honest-to-goodness opportunity for Biber. With so many injuries and with no real experience beyond Kraft, Musgrave and Whyle, Biber has a chance to make some noise.

“Me being from Wisconsin, this is really cool to have local guys come in and play for the Packers,” offensive coordinator and Marshfield native Adam Stenavich said. “I can only imagine how excited he is to be here. I’m excited to see what he’s going to bring for us over this next week. I know his head’s spinning right now just trying to learn the playbook and the formations and all that stuff, so we’ll kind of see as we progress what happens.”

His head definitely is spinning. About 12 hours after arriving in Green Bay, he was thrown into the deep end, taking reps alongside Tyrod Taylor and the backups on offense.

“At the end of the day, it’s football,” he said. “Just block out all the lights and go in and work because, at the end of the day, it’s a job. I have so much fun with it but I know it’s the NFL and I’m here to like earn a spot, so I’m excited.”

With a full week of Packers training camp in the rear-view mirror, @JacobWestendorf has a 53-man roster projection. ⬇️https://t.co/IrF4aybaxS
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 5, 2026

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