Packers Don’t Sign Short Cornerbacks, But They Just Did to Practice Squad

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have definite height requirements that they haven’t veered from in decades.

However, they did make a noteworthy addition to the practice squad by signing cornerback Elijah Culp following a Monday workout, a source confirmed what originally was reported by Easton Butler.

Culp ended his college career at James Madison. At pro day, he measured only 5-foot-9 3/4. That’s just fractionally taller than Ahmad Carroll, the Packers’ first-round pick in 2004. He was 5-foot-9 5/8. Carroll was a bust and the Packers haven’t taken another corner shorter than 5-foot-10 since.

What Culp lacks in height, he makes up for in speed with a 4.39-second time in the 40-yard dash and other physical attributes.

“I knew I had to run fast, man,” Culp said after pro day.

Short corners usually find a home as a nickel, and that is how Green Bay views him.

Four Schools for Culp

Culp is well-traveled. He opened his college career at Austin Peay in 2020 before transferring to Troy for 2021 and 2022. He transferred to Charlotte, where he redshirted in 2023 and started nine games in 2024.

At James Madison in 2025, he was third-team all-Sun Belt Conference with one interception and eight pass breakups in 13 starts. The interception came against Oregon in the College Football Playoffs.

PFF charged him with a 44.4 percent completion rate and only 9.9 yards per catch in 2025. That includes 1-of-2 for just 5 yards against Oregon and 1-of-5 for 7 yards in the opener against Louisville.

“I really like, honestly, his growth off the field at this point in time, even better than his growth on,” Dukes coach Bob Chesney said last season. “We knew what he could do on the field, but what he's doing off the field now and how he's growing into it, just a really good young man that's going to make a lot of people proud later in life when football is done.”

Culp, who was the No. 44 cornerback prospect in this year’s draft, according to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, went undrafted and signed with the Cardinals, where he competed for a job in training camp. He recently served a stint on the Colts’ practice squad.

“My whole career I’ve been the underdog,” he told The Touchdown before the draft. “Even at high school, some of my coaches didn’t think I could make it – I was 5’7” back then, and so getting on the field was tough. But when I did get on, I brought that dog mentality, and they couldn’t take me off.

“So, really, I only started playing varsity in the 11th grade. And then by my junior year, I started to see the hard work pay off. It took some time to get there, but I reached the top. As a senior, I had 26 pass breakups. You just don’t see that. But my body grew as my game got better.”

That underdog mentality powered him through the draft process.

“That's my number one motivation,” Culp said at pro day. “Two is just like God gave me this blessing. I don't want to let him down. I'm grateful and I'm blessed for the opportunity. So that's why I wake up every day, even the days I don't want to.”

Banged Up In Secondary

On the active roster, the Packers have starters Keisean Nixon and Brandon Cisse along with Carrington Valentine, Benjamin St-Juste and Kamal Hadden. St-Juste dropped out of Sunday’s game against Chicago with a hamstring injury, meaning the team could be a man down at corner for this week’s game at Dallas. The only player on the practice squad is Domani Jackson, a sixth-round pick this year.

The Packers had a full practice squad so another move will have to be made before the team makes the signing official. That could be releasing a player from the practice squad or moving up someone from the practice squad when they place Javon Hargrave on injured reserve.

“Man, it would mean a lot,” to make it in the NFL, Culp told The Touchdown. “My family has been very supportive of me, helped me chase my dreams through four different schools. And reaching the NFL would change a lot of people’s lives, and it would definitely change ours.

“So I feel like everybody – me, my mom, pops, brothers – would all be very emotional when that call comes. They obviously know how much I’ve invested in this and I know what they’ve put in too. It would be a dream come true.”

Time to turn the page. Here are @JacobWestendorf's look at the Packers-Cowboys matchups. ⬇️https://t.co/MTPVrzgE4I
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 13, 2026

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