The Green Bay Packers placed tight end Eric Stokes on injured reserve, safety Benny Sapp on the active roster and senior wide receiver Bo Melton on Saturday, who was removed from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings .As always, the trades that don’t get executed are just as interesting as the moves that do. Here is the weekly report:
Injured reserve: CB Eric Stokes
Cornerback Eric Stokes, a 2021 first-round pick, looked like a potential star as a rookie.
However, he underperformed in his second season, which was cut short by a season-ending injury, and his third season was also miserable. It was the third time this year he was on the injured list, starting the season on the PUP after being placed on injured reserve with a thigh injury three games into Denver before returning to IR with another injury hamstring on Saturday.Stokes has given up three touchdowns in the last two weeks. The Packers need him to play for his growth and development. Instead of starting at least four games in 2024, it will be a long offseason. Stokes broke up 14 passes in 16 games (14 starts) as a rookie. He allowed a 46.2 percent catch rate, according to Sports Info Solutions. In 12 games (11 starts) in 2022 and 2023, Stokes completed 22 of 30 passes attempted (73.3%) and had zero pass breakups.
Signed: C Benny Sapp
The Packers beefed up their secondary and special teams depth by moving safety Benny Sapp to the 53-man roster. The undrafted rookie left the practice squad. He made special team appearances against the Lions and Panthers. Transactions are a big deal for Sapp. His father spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with the Vikings, where he started 11 games and caught two passes.”Little Benny Sapp had a good time,” Sapp told Packer Central. “I grew up watching your dad play for the Vikings and I want his team to win. When they won, he took me to the locker room. Going through something like that honestly gave me a lot of inspiration in my life. Not many people have fathers like that. “It was crazy that I could do something like that.”After suffering an injury in high school, Sapp began his collegiate career at the University of Minnesota and earned FCS All-American honors at Northern Iowa last year. “He’s excited,” Sapp said. “He told me, by the grace of God, if I do my job, put my head down on the 53-man roster on the road and put in the time, I’ll play the Vikings game. .”Comments:
WR Bo Melton
Christian Watson (hamstring) and Dontayvion Weeks (chest/ankle) did not practice this week. Watson will miss Game 4 and Weeks will not participate in pregame practices. So it was pointless to bring Melton on Sunday. In reality, it was only a matter of whether he would take a higher position or sign a contract. Melton was a seventh-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks last year.
He joined the Packers late last season and spent most of this offseason on the practice squad. He made his NFL debut against Detroit on Thanksgiving, made his NFL debut two weeks ago against Tampa Bay and caught four passes for 44 yards last week against Carolina.
