Packer Central

Son of Former Packers Receiver Signs After Rookie Camp

The Green Bay Packers have signed three tryout players from their rookie camp, including Iowa State receiver Dimitri Stanley.

Bill Huber

Dimitri Stanley
Dimitri Stanley / Des Moines Register-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In 1985, the Green Bay Packers used a fourth-round pick on receiver Walter Stanley. On Saturday, his son, receiver Dimitri Stanley, signed after a successful tryout at the team’s rookie camp, Packer Central has learned.

Stanley spent his first four seasons at Colorado before transferring to Iowa State for his final two years. All told, he caught 118 passes for 1,379 yards and five touchdowns. Last season, he caught 15 passes for 139 yards in 12 games.

The Packers had a full roster entering the weekend, so corresponding roster moves will have to be made. With 11 draft picks added to a talented roster, what would it take to get noticed among the 18-strong contingent of tryout players?

“We had one guy who had a one-handed grab out there that was pretty impressive,” coach Matt LaFleur said after Friday’s practice.

That player was Stanley, who joined receiver Julian Hicks and lineman Lecitus Smith as tryout players signed by the Packers.

At pro day, Stanley measured 5-foot-10 7/8 and 188 pounds and ran his 40 in 4.52 seconds.

Walter Stanley averaged 12.8 yards per punt return as a rookie, had an 83-yard touchdown return in 1986 and led the NFL in punt-return average with the Lions in 1989. Dimitri Stanley has some experience as a punt returner, too. He averaged 8.7 yards per punt return for his career, though most of his opportunities came while at Colorado.

“A lot of people don’t really have the will to do it because you can’t really see the people in front of you when that ball is in the air,” Stanley told The DNVR in 2021. “I just stay calm and trust my athleticism. … I just grew up loving punt return. It’s just explosive plays. It flips the field. It’s everything that you want in a game; that excitement.”

Walter Stanley also played at Colorado, He piled up more than 3,200 return yards during his career.

“(My dad) is on the screen in the locker room that shows NFL Buffs so whenever I see him on there, it kind of gives me motivation,” Dimitri said in 2019. “It reminds me of what he accomplished and also gives me a feeling of where I can go. I grew up watching my dad's tape, learning elbows tucked, how to field the ball. So it comes natural for me, but I still have a long way to go.”

Stanley considered hanging up his cleats after the Cyclones went 4-8 in 2022 – a fifth consecutive losing season for his teams. While his numbers weren’t great in 2023, at least ISU went 7-6.

“I feel like I owed it to these guys to come in here and give them some good play from me, honestly,” he said. “But definitely help myself out as well, because I do still have those dreams of going to the next level.”

The Packers did not draft a receiver, nor did they sign one immediately after the draft. They entered the weekend with 10 receivers under contract, including former quarterback Alex McGough. With Hicks and Stanley, that number is up to 12.

Green Bay Packers Rookies

Rookie Camp: Day 1 | Broken toe for Oladapo | Michael Pratt | Tryout players

All-Star Scouts: Jordan Morgan | Edgerrin Cooper | Javon Bullard | MarShawn Lloyd | Ty’Ron Hopper | Evan Williams, Kitan Oladapo

Published |Modified
Bill Huber

BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packer Central, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.