Packers Re-Sign Kristian Welch, Who Hopes Third Time Will Be Charm

The Green Bay Packers have re-signed linebacker Kristian Welch, a source said on Monday night. It is a one-year deal to keep the native of Iola, Wis., in Green Bay.

Welch, who will turn 28 next month, entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Iowa in 2020. He spent his first three seasons with the Ravens, where he established himself as a top player on special teams.

The Ravens cut him at the end of camp in 2023, and the Packers signed him to their practice squad. He wound up playing in 14 games and recording six tackles.

Welch in six NFL seasons has played 1,473 snaps on special teams and 99 on defense.

“I played special teams in college and the coaching in college helped my transition into the NFL,” he said during training camp.

“You learn your own niche thing, right? There’s different parts of my game that have strengths and maybe some weaknesses, but within each phase it’s fun to dissect your opponent. What’s their weaknesses? What can I do on this phase to attack them? And within in each scheme, different teams I’ve been on have their differences as well. It’s very nuanced. There’s a lot of different areas I can go into, but it’s unique in its own way.”

In 2024, he was one of the stars of training camp and the preseason. But it wasn’t enough. The Packers, in a surprise, released him, and he wound up splitting the season with the Broncos and back in Baltimore. For the first time in his career, he started a game on defense – one for each team.

He signed with the Packers in free agency again last year and once again put himself in position to make the roster.

“It would mean a lot” to make the 53-man roster, he said at the end of training camp. “I worked really hard. It’s a business, at the end of the day, and I’ve been in it long enough to understand that part of it. Yeah, it would mean a lot. That’s certainly been the goal. To achieve it would be a good feeling.”

He did not. Instead of keeping Welch or Isaiah Simmons, the Packers released both and signed Nick Niemann. With Niemann out with a torn pectoral, Welch wound up playing in eight games, though, and tallying three tackles.

“It can be frustrating but, like I said, it’s a business,” Welch said. “There’s a lot of stuff out of the players’ control. There’s a lot of outside stuff, different variables. I’ve been it long enough to be on the good side of it and the not-so-great side. I keep that same mindset. Have I slipped? Maybe. Everybody has doubts that creep in maybe in their head here or there but my faith is in Christ. That’s the backbone of my faith. At the end of the day, I’ll be OK. I’ll be good either way.”

Welch and Niemann, who re-signed last week, should give new special teams coordinator Cam Achord some building blocks as he builds his unit.

Welch grew up in Iola, which is located about 60 miles from Green Bay. He trick-or-treated in a Packers costume.

“Very surreal feeling,” Welch said in 2023. “Really, just to have the opportunity to be here – came here at the end of training camp, just kind of a whirlwind. Didn’t know where I was going to end up.

“I knew that there was interest here from the get-go and it ended up working out where I was able to get the opportunity here to be on the practice squad. I just kind of put my head down and worked. It’s kind of been the motto of my entire life and my NFL career. To get the opportunity to play, it just kind of all fell into place. It’s an awesome feeling.”

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