The Packers have put another running back into their crowded offseason backfield to compete for the No. 3 job behind Eddie Lacy and James Starks.
Green Bay added undrafted rookie Brandon Ross on Wednesday. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ross (5-foot-10, 205 pounds) was initially signed as a free agent by the Vikings on May 2, but he was released just three weeks later.
In four seasons at Maryland, he finished fourth in career rushing yards with 2,543. As a senior last year, Ross ran for 958 yards, 10 touchdowns and led the conference with a 6.4 yards per carry average, earning honorable mention All-Big Ten. He gained 250 rushing yards against Indiana last season, the fourth-highest single game total in school history. While never a star, Ross led the Terrapins in rushing yards in three of his four years.
Since the Packers were two players under the 90-man limit, they did not have to remove anyone to make room for Ross on their offseason roster, which stands at 89.
There are now four players ostensibly vying for the third halfback spot behind Lacy and Starks. Ross will be competing against two other undrafted rookies – Don Jackson from Nevada and Brandon Burks from Troy – as well as second-year man John Crockett. An undrafted rookie himself last year, Crockett spent most of 2015 on the practice squad before being promoted in December, ultimately finishing with nine carries for 21 yards. You can read more about Crockett’s outgoing personality here.
With an overweight Lacy and a fumble-prone Starks leading the charge, the Packers rushed for 1,850 yards last year, which was their lowest total since 2012 but still 12th-most in the NFL. Lacy’s 758 rushing yards were a career low, as he battled injuries, ineffectiveness and being benched for a game against the Lions in December for missing the team’s curfew. Starks, who started four games due to Lacy’s struggles, finished with a career-high 601 yards but also fumbled four times.
After the season, head coach Mike McCarthy said Lacy had to get in better shape, and during the team’s offseason minicamps it appeared Lacy had shed a few pounds. Entering his seventh season in Green Bay, Starks signed a new, two-year contract in March to return as the Packers’ backup, the lightning to Lacy’s thunder.
Listed at the same size as Ross, Jackson was signed as a free agent immediately by the Packers. As a senior last year, he rushed for 1,078 yards and eight touchdowns in 13 games. He scored seven touchdowns the previous season. Burks (5-9, 208) was also signed right away by Green Bay, after leading Troy in rushing in three different seasons, including a 1,005-yard campaign in 2015.
At fullback, the Packers currently have second-year bowling ball Aaron Ripkowski and undrafted rookie Alstevis Squirewell. The team has not re-signed veteran fan favorite John Kuhn.
Possessing a compact build and shifty feet, Ross reportedly ran the 40-yard dash in 4.44 seconds at his Maryland pro day, which would have been among the fastest times for a running back at the NFL Draft combine, and he put up 10 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. Not considered much of a receiving threat, Ross had just five catches for 17 yards last year.
Fun fact: In 2011, Green Bay signed undrafted free agent Brandian Ross, who spent the season on the practice squad and is now with the Broncos. It's practically the same name!
Anyway, the Packers kick off training camp on Tuesday, July 26.
Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.
After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.
Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.
