Packers Sign Kenyan Drake to Practice Squad; ‘I Could Feel the Energy’
GREEN BAY, Wis. – With Aaron Jones sidelined by a knee injury, the Green Bay Packers have signed veteran running back Kenyan Drake to the practice squad, a source told Packer Central on Tuesday.
In a corresponding move, the Packers have released James Robinson from the practice squad.
Drake himself teased the news in a tweet.
Later, NFL insider Josina Anderson talked to Drake.
“I could feel the energy around the building today. It was legendary, and you can feel the legacy and bright future they have. I’m excited to get to work to help them take that next step towards the ultimate goal.”
AJ Dillon has been carrying the load in Jones’ absence but he has been nursing a groin injury of his own.
Of the Packers’ 21 traditional rush attempts on Sunday night against the Chiefs, Dillon handled 18 of those carries.
Drake was picked in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins and spent four seasons there before moving on to Arizona
Drake has played games for those two teams as well as the Las Vegas Raiders and, most recently, the Baltimore Ravens. Drake played two games this year with the Ravens and received one carry. He also caught two passes for 31 yards and lost a fumble.
He hasn’t registered a statistic since that 22-19 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, whom he spent time with in the preseason.
The Ravens released him on Oct. 17. He spent four weeks on the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad but was released on Nov. 28.
Drake could help the Packers by adding some juice to their passing game out of the backfield.
Dillon has been serviceable in that regard, but most passing downs have belonged to Patrick Taylor.
Taylor is a solid pass protector but has only six receptions for 32 yards this season.
Drake has excelled as a pass catcher out of the backfield in his career. That includes catching 53 passes for 477 yards in 2018.
Drake’s biggest asset that he could bring to the Packers is speed. He’s not going to replace Christian Watson, who left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury, but the Packers’ backfield doesn’t have a ton of speed.
Dillon is a powerful runner but won’t run away from anyone. Taylor is solid in pass protection but lacks Drake’s exposiveness.
Drake is fast. The type of fast that makes people look not fast.
He ran a 4.45 at the NFL Combine before he was drafted and still can reach that speed.
Drake reached 22.4 mph, according to Prime Vision, in a Thursday night game against Tampa Bay last year.
Drake also has experience as a kickoff returner should Keisean Nixon go down with an injury.
The Packers had been using James Robinson as the third back without Jones and rookie Emanuel Wilson. He was on the 53-man roster for the game at Detroit but did not play. Back on the practice squad last week, he had one carry for 2 yards and one catch for minus-2 yards in four snaps against the Chiefs.
