Packers Add Barnes, Two Others to Roster for Sunday

Linebacker Krys Barnes, an undrafted free agent from UCLA, was added to the 53-man roster.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Taking advantage of the NFL’s new rule that allows a 55-man roster for game days, the Green Bay Packers promoted linebacker Krys Barnes, tight end John Lovett and outside linebacker Tipa Galeai, the team announced on Saturday.

The Packers started the day with a 52-man roster. Barnes was promoted from the practice squad to fill that role, a source told Packer Central earlier in the day. Lovett and Galeai were elevated from the practice squad. Once the game is over, they will revert back to the practice squad.

Barnes started for most of his final three seasons at UCLA and finished with a career tally of 212 tackles, five sacks, 21 tackles for losses, 15 passes defensed and two interceptions. He saved his best for last. After recording a career-high 85 tackles with 10 for losses as a junior, Barnes posted 74 tackles, four sacks, 10 TFLs, eight passes defensed and one interception as a senior. He went undrafted and signed with the Packers, collecting a $7,000 bonus.

At Liberty High School in Bakersfield, Calif., Barnes was teammates with the Packers’ first-round pick, Jordan Love.

With Barnes on the roster, a long streak will continue. Green Bay has had at least one undrafted free agent on the Week 1 roster every year since 2015.

Galeai spent his first two seasons at TCU before being kicked off the team and transferring to Utah State. After sitting out the 2017 season, Galeai recorded 10.5 sacks, 14 tackles for losses and three forced fumbles as a junior and five sacks and nine tackles for losses as a senior. After starting camp at inside linebacker, the undersized Galeai impressed when moved back to his natural spot on the edge.

Lovett, who was claimed off waivers from Kansas City just before the start of camp, was a do-it-all quarterback at Princeton who quickly impressed as an H-back with the Chiefs last summer before a season-ending injury in training camp. Lovett was listed as a fullback by the Packers but he spent drills with the tight ends. The Packers reclassified him upon adding him to the practice squad.

“Coming into my pro day, I actually did everything,” Lovett said during training camp. “I threw at my pro day. I also ran routes from the tight end position, from the backfield. So, I was going in with an open mind. My coach from college was telling me that a lot of teams expressed interest as that H-back position. My goal from when I was a little kid was to have a good NFL career. So, whatever the coaches were asking me to do, I was ready to go full-bore.”