Packers Make Decisions on Chase Claypool, Isaiah Jacobs, Tryout Players

Chase Claypool and Isaiah Jacobs were among the tryout players who participated in the Packers’ rookie camp.

The Packers did not sign former Steelers receiver Chase Claypool. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Headlined by former second-round pick Chase Claypool, the Green Bay Packers brought in nine players for tryouts at this weekend’s rookie camp.

None of them were signed, a source said.

Claypool was the big name. The other eight were undrafted and unsigned free agents. Claypool was a fifth-year pro trying to rekindle what had been a promising career.

“You guys saw him, right?” coach Matt LaFleur said after practice on Friday. “Certainly, he had great film out there. He’s been productive, and he looks like he’s in great shape. He’s big. So, we’ll see how it goes.”

During Friday’s practice that was open to reporters, the 11-on-11 work was conducted at half-speed. Quarterbacks didn’t even throw the ball to the receivers. So, it was hard for anyone to really break through to grab one of the vacant roster spots.

“For the majority of the guys – the draft picks, the UDFAs – it’s really more of an onboarding process, get them acclimated to how we do things, give them a little bit of a taste of what’s to come in Phase 2 when they get here with the vets in a week,” LaFleur said.

“For the majority of these guys, that’s the purpose behind this. We’re not doing any full-speed reps, whether it was drill work in our 11-on-11, the team setting, it was all jog-through. But for some of these guys, the tryout guys, yeah, we take them through the same stuff as everybody else, but then we had a workout after that.”

Claypool, the former Notre Dame star, was drafted by the Steelers and looked like a future star when he caught 62 passes for 873 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie. He had a solid second season, as well, with 59 catches for 860 yards and two touchdowns.

However, he was traded at the deadline in 2022 and never found his footing. In 2023, he played 12 games – three with Chicago and nine with Miami – and caught eight passes for 77 yards.

He hasn’t played in a game the last two seasons. After not playing in 2024, Claypool announced in July 2025 that he was healthy and ready to go.

“I am back to being the strongest and fastest I’ve ever been, and couldn’t be more excited to step back out on the field and let my actions speak for themselves,” Claypool wrote on Instagram. “I deeply and truly believe that the pieces will align, and I will work my way into the position to show off what’s been suppressed these last two years.”

If nothing else, Claypool got his name out there this week to potentially get himself another opportunity.

Of the other eight tryout players, it seemed most of them were in Green Bay simply to help the team get through a practice. There were two long snappers – including West De Pere product Brett Welsing – a punter and a quarterback, positions where the Packers are solid.

Isaiah Jacobs, the brother of Packers star Josh Jacobs, spent the predraft process hoping to get a shot at fullback. He joined Damian Martinez, a seventh-round pick by Seattle last year, and Jaden Nixon, an undrafted free agent from UCF, in the backfield.

Jacobs will get a shot next weekend with the Dolphins.

“Man, I’m extremely optimistic,” he told Packers On SI before the draft in light of a challenging college career. “I believe that with enough time and opportunity that I’m going to get exactly where I need to be and I’m going to achieve whatever it is. And as long as I have that timetable and as long as I get that opportunity, I think that that’s all I need.”

Another of the tryout players was UW-La Crosse’s Dain Walter, a Division III All-American.

The Packers’ rookie class will head home for the week before returning to Green Bay and rejoining the veterans. It will be on them to work at home so they are ready to hit the ground running when they return.

“I think it’s unrealistic to expect that they’re going to know a tenth of what the vets know at this stage of the game,” LaFleur said, “But you set aside extra meeting time with the rooks when they get back here. And I think what’s cool is we had a lot of meeting time with them yesterday and today, and that will continue tomorrow.

“It’s going to be upon themselves to make sure you study when you’re away from here, so you give yourself the best chance possible when you get back with all the vets.”

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