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Packers Sign Defensive Back to 53-Man Roster

Originally posted on FanNation Packer Central
By Bill Huber | Last updated 11/11/23

Life happens quickly in the NFL. According to a source, the Green Bay Packers promoted defensive back Innis Gaines from the practice squad on Saturday to provide much-needed depth to their suddenly shorthanded secondary for Sunday at the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Packers had 52 players on their roster so didn’t need to make a corresponding move.

Listed as a safety by the Packers, Gaines spent all of training camp and the preseason as the primary backup in the slot. That’s where he went through drills at practice this week.

It was barely a month ago when defensive coordinator Joe Barry said the Packers had “champagne problems” at cornerback. At the time:

- Jaire Alexander was one cornerback.

- Rasul Douglas was the other cornerback.

- Keisean Nixon was holding down the slot.

- Former first-round pick Eric Stokes was close to returning from last season’s season-ending foot injury.

Headed into Sunday:

- Alexander almost certainly won’t play.

- Having been traded to Buffalo, Douglas is getting ready for Monday night’s game against Denver.

- Stokes is back on injured reserve.

Without Alexander and Douglas, the Packers figure to start seventh-round rookie Carrington Valentine and former practice-squad player Corey Ballentine as the corners. Nixon, as usual, will hold down the slot. Robert Rochell, who was signed off Carolina’s practice squad two-and-a-half weeks ago, isn’t just the next man up. He was the only man up until the promotion of Gaines.

Players can be elevated from the practice squad three times before they must be signed to the 53-man roster. The Packers used their final elevation on Gaines last week, when he played one defensive snap in the win over the Rams. The matchup? Against Cooper Kupp. The ball was not thrown his way.

“I’m trying to be a Swiss Army knife for the defense and being able to play wherever they need me: slot, safety, nickel or dime,” he said at the end of training camp.

The move with Gaines – he goes by “Thump” and not Innis – isn’t just about the defense. Ballentine was a key player on special teams with 75 snaps in his five appearances. With Ballentine set to be an every-snap player at corner, those reps in the kicking game will have to go to someone else.

Gaines’ story is remarkable. Each of his final two seasons at TCU ended with torn ACLs. Because of the injury that ended his senior season, he went undrafted and unsigned in 2020. He delivered DoorDash while rehabbing the injury. The Packers signed him to a futures contract at the end of the season.

He played in one game in 2021, seven games with one start in 2022 and three games in 2023.

This article first appeared on FanNation Packer Central and was syndicated with permission.

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