GREEN BAY, Wisconsin: On Thursday, the Green Bay Packers signed safety Omar Brown and linebacker Chris Russell to further bolster their 17-man practice squad.
Green Bay is no stranger to either player.
The second part of training camp was spent by Russell with the Packers. Despite not being with the team for the Cleveland game, Texas A&M product and undrafted free agent tied for sixth on the team with eight tackles throughout the preseason. His five tackles in the preseason finale against the Ravens included a fourth-and-one stop and one tackle for loss.
Edgerrin Cooper, a second-round pick, and Russell were teammates in college.
Russell was described by Cooper as a “hard-working individual who has been waiting for the opportunity to come and compete.”
The wait was quite lengthy. Russell was not only not selected, but also not signed. The Packers and Titans gave him tryouts, but he was not signed.
What sustained him?
“You must possess extraordinary self-confidence,” he stated. “Talk to God and just let Him handle it. All you need to do is have unseen faith in your future. I was limited to doing it at the time. Now that I’m here, I just want to make the most of my possibilities and see what God has in store for me.
After starting 37 games at Northern Iowa (2019 through 2021) and Nebraska (2022 and 2023), Brown visited the Packers prior to the draft.
Brown was a member of the Broncos’ training camp. In three preseason games, he recorded six tackles, two of which came against the Packers.
196 tackles, 9 interceptions, 25 passes defensed, and 3 forced fumbles were his stats during his time in college. He played a lot of cornerback and safety, where he made the majority of his snaps.
He said to Justin Melo of The Draft Network, “I’m an athlete.” “In high school, I was a wide receiver. It feels really natural to me to catch the ball. I thought my specialty was being a superb ball-handling defensive back when I first came to Northern Iowa.
“I enjoy kicking the ball around in the air. I’ll take it down with me if it’s near me. I am the kind of player that I am. I adore being in the ballroom. I enjoy writing elaborate plays. That’s my only activity.
With that, 15 of the 17 practice squad spots have been filled by the Packers.
Brayden Narveson, a kicker signed off waivers by the Titans, was also officially added by the Packers.
As a result of our liking for him when he left N.C. State, we kind of dug into him, special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said on Thursday. “We kind of went back to Western (Kentucky) and kind of watched what he did there. I know he had attended a lot of other institutions.
“He’s strong, has an amazing body, and had a fantastic preseason at Tennessee.” We have, therefore, been following him and the others during the preseason. However, we worked hard to help him come out.
In Tennessee’s victory over Seattle, Narveson kicked a 59-yard field goal and the game-winning 46-yarder with seconds remaining, contributing to that “really good preseason.”
Adam Tanalski of Hammer Kicking, Narveson’s longtime kicker, told Packers On SI on Thursday that “he knows he’s going to make the field goal.” “He’s aiming for the 59-yarder.” He’s after the winning goal. He aspires to be the one who shows up when things count. He’s fairly spectacular between the ears.
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