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After Missing Three Seasons, Packers Add Winn to Roster

Veteran defensive lineman Billy Winn hasn't played since the 2016 finale due to major injuries.
Bill Huber|
After Missing Three Seasons, Packers Add Winn to Roster
After Missing Three Seasons, Packers Add Winn to Roster

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In an incredible story, the Green Bay Packers have elevated defensive lineman Billy Winn from the practice squad to the gameday roster for Sunday night at New Orleans.

Winn is in his eighth season and is making a major comeback after missing the last three seasons. He missed all of 2017 with a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus sustained in the preseason opener.

“I felt all three pops,” he told the Denver Post of the knee injury. “It was one of those moments where it’s, ‘Oh, (bleep).’ I just knew something wasn’t right.”

The injury kept Winn out of a camp in 2018 and he re-signed with Denver in April 2019 in hopes of restarting his career.

“It’s definitely going to be tough, but anybody who knows me knows I’m a competitor and will do anything and everything to get where I want to be,” Winn told the Denver Post. “If it doesn’t happen, there are 31 other teams I’m building a resume for.”

Instead, he suffered a torn triceps during the preseason opener and wound up back on injured reserve. The Broncos released him in March.

Green Bay signed him to the practice squad on Sept. 16.

A sixth-round pick by Cleveland in 2012 out of Boise State, Winn has played in 68 games with 23 starts, including two starts with Denver when he last played in 2016. At 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds, he has three sacks, two forced fumbles and two interceptions in his career.

Winn hasn’t played since Jan. 1, 2017, when he started for Denver, played 12 snaps and recorded one assisted tackle against Oakland. On Sunday, it will be 1,365 days since his last game.

Standout starting defensive lineman Kenny Clark, who was inactive last week with a groin injury, is questionable for Sunday night.

The Packers made two other roster moves on Saturday, promoting receiver Darrius Shepherd and tight end John Lovett to the 53-man roster.

Countdown to Kickoff

Five Days: Five Keys to the Game

Four Days: Four Items Inside Saints

Three Days: Three Reasons to Worry

Two Days: Two X-Factors

One Day: One Giant Game Preview

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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.

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