Packers Release James Robinson, Sign Ellis Merriweather to Practice Squad

Ellis Merriweather, an undrafted free agent, has returned to Green Bay, where he spent a couple days after the draft.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Nov 6, 2023 4:52 PM EST

In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Out with the old, in with the new.

The Green Bay Packers signed running back Ellis Merriweather to their practice squad on Monday. He takes the place of former 1,000-yard rusher and all-rookie running back James Robinson, who was released in a corresponding transaction.

Merriweather is an undrafted rookie from UMass. He was among the tryout players at this year’s Packers rookie camp.

He failed to land with the Packers but was signed by the Saints the following week after a tryout at their rookie camp. He spent the entire preseason with New Orleans and a couple days on their practice squad. During the preseason, he carried 22 times for 73 yards (3.3 average) with a long of 11.

“I’ve been in this situation before, and I came out on top,” Merriweather said after the draft. “Now it’s just time for that next level, to prove the same thing to myself, not to nobody else but myself.”

Merriweather had a workout with the Packers in mid-September.

Merriweather spent two years at Garden City Community College before spending his final three seasons at UMass. With the Minutemen, he rushed for 1,828 yards and scored eight touchdowns. His yards per carry dipped from 5.2 in 2021 to 3.8 in 2022. He caught 20 passes during his final two seasons.

In three preseason games with the Saints, he caught eight passes for 48 yards (6.0 average) with one touchdown.

“I really want to be an extra wide receiver,” Merriweather said after the draft. “I’m so big, people don’t even think about putting me as a wide receiver. [My catching] is honestly my best ability.”

At 6-foot 3/8 and 220 pounds, he ran his 40 in 4.60 seconds.

He is “short, compact and powerful” with a “jolting” stiff-arm, reads his scouting report at NFL Draft Bible.

The Packers signed Robinson on Oct. 17. He had 1,414 total yards and 10 total touchdowns during a superb rookie season in 2020. His 2021 season ended with a torn Achilles, an injury that has permanently derailed a promising career.

“I can see why this guy rushed for 1,000 yards as a rookie,” position coach Ben Sirmans said last week. “You can see he’s got good vision, he’s got good instincts, he’s patient. His ability to find a crease, because he moves just fast enough to let things develop in front of him, and then he can interpret what he sees and, bam, he’s hitting it. I’ve been pretty pleased with him. I totally feel confident that, if he’s got to go in the game, he would give us some production based off of what I’ve seen so far without being live.”