Packers Sign All But Three Members of Practice Squad to Futures Contracts

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers signed 16 members of their practice squad to futures deals on Monday, two days after their season ended with a wild-card playoff loss at Chicago.

Among them are kicker Lucas Havrisik, who figures to get a legitimate shot to be the team’s kicker next season after Brandon McManus missed two field goals and an extra point against the Bears, and Beast Mode 2.0.

The team did not re-sign three players, and they’re all receivers.

Undrafted rookie Isaiah Neyor was elevated from the practice squad to the gameday roster against Chicago. He reverted back to the practice squad on Monday. Presumably, the team will sign him to a futures contract on Tuesday.

Julian Hicks and Kisean Johnson were signed to the practice squad last week. Hicks, a first-year player, spent his rookie season on the practice squad in 2024 and competed for a spot in training camp in 2025. Johnson is an undrafted rookie from Western Kentucky via Alabama State who spent training camp this year with the Browns.

Johnson was not offered a futures contract and Hicks has not been offered one.

The Packers finished the season with 17 players on their practice squad – including International Player Pathway participant Dante Barnett. Plus, receiver Will Sheppard and tight end McCallan Castles were on their practice squad/injured list.

That’s a total of 19, of which 16 were retained to get a spot on an offseason roster that include up to 90 players.

Running backs Pierre Strong and Damien Martinez: Strong was signed to the practice squad at the end of training camp and Martinez before Week 18. The Packers maxed out Strong's practice-squad elevations but he didn’t play in any of the three games.

Strong was a fourth-round pick by New England in 2022. In 46 NFL games, he has carried the ball 99 times for 499 yards (5.0 average) and caught 26 passes for 193 yards. He was a two-time All-American at South Dakota State with 4,527 career rushing yards. A teammate there was Tucker Kraft.

Martinez was drafted by the Seahawks in the seventh round this year and called himself Beast Mode 2.0 in honor of Marshawn Lynch. In three seasons at Oregon State and Miami, he rushed for 3,169 yards.

Offensive tackle Brant Banks, Dalton Cooper: Banks started and ended the season on Green Bay’s practice squad. In between, he spent one week on Tennessee’s 53-man roster. With the Packers, he played six snaps on special teams in two games. Cooper spent the season on the practice squad. He was a 57-game starter in college.

Guard Karsen Barnhart: Barnhart joined the practice squad for the final week of the regular season. He was a 31-game starter at Michigan, with those appearances at every position but center.

Receiver Will Sheppard: The undrafted rookie from Colorado joined the Packers early in training camp and spent the full year with Green Bay. He spent one week on the 53-man roster but did not play in a game, and ended the season on injured reserve.

Tight ends Drake Dabney, McCallan Castles and Messiah Swinson: Dabney and Castles were signed to the practice squad following Tucker Kraft’s torn ACL. Dabney played in two games, including getting just about every snap in Week 18 at Minnesota. Castles ended the season on injured reserve.

Swinson spent his rookie year of 2024 on the practice squad. He was released at the end of camp this year and served stints on the practice squads of San Francisco and Arizona. He rejoined the Packers last week.

Defensive linemen Dante Barnett, Anthony Campball, James Ester: Barnett is the team’s International Player Pathway performer. He spent training camp with the Bengals.

“At 15 or 16, I didn’t know what I was going to pursue and I didn’t do too well academically, so I picked it up just as a hobby and then after that I took it more seriously when I entered the NFL Academy for the three years,” Barnett said.

Campbell signed to the practice squad last week and will earn an extended look. He was coached at the University of Miami by NFL legend Jason Taylor. Ester went undrafted in 2024 and has spent all of his NFL career on Green Bay’s practice squad without playing in a game.

Linebacker Jamon Johnson: The undrafted rookie who started his career at Georgia and ended it at Kentucky played in two games this season. He played all 67 defensive snaps in Week 18 at Minnesota and had a team-high 10 tackles.

Cornerback Tyron Herring: The undrafted rookie from Delaware preserved Green Bay’s preseason win against the Colts. That wasn’t enough to earn a roster spot, though he was signed twice to the practice squad, including for the final week of the season.

Safety Mark Perry: Perry went undrafted in 2024 out of TCU. After spending his rookie training camp with the Texans, he spent his entire rookie year on New England’s practice squad. This year, he spent time with the Patriots, Titans and Bears. The Packers signed him to the practice squad for the final week of the regular season. He has not played in a game.

He is an intriguing size-speed prospect.

Mark Perry is a FS prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored a 9.59 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 46 out of 1092 FS from 1987 to 2024. https://t.co/my4OK5Rnjd pic.twitter.com/SoCz5jNUid
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 24, 2024

Kicker Lucas Havrisik: Who owns the Packers record for longest field goal? It’s not Ryan Longwell or Mason Crosby or Brandon McManus. It’s Havrisik. When McManus was out with an injured quad, Havrisik kicked in three games. Against Arizona, he kicked a 63-yard field goal before halftime.

In three games, he made 4-of-4 field-goal attempts and 7-of-9 extra points, with both misses in a wind storm against the Giants. He spent about a month-and-a-half on the 53-man roster and ended the season on the practice squad.

“I really don’t celebrate them too much just because that’s the standard for us – making your kicks,” he said. “If I go a whole season without missing, then I’d be like, ‘All right, cool.’ But every week, you’ve got to keep the same level of emotion of even-keel, just because it really doesn’t matter what you did last week. What are you going to do now? So, very thankful for that. Obviously, it’s great, but I just try to focus on my next kick.”

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