Packers roster moves include speed, speed and more speed

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Bob McGinn

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By BOB McGINN

With gaps to fill, general manager Brian Gutekunst on Monday added pure speed to the roster of the Green Bay Packers.

Inside linebacker Korey Toomer (6-2, 235), who entered the NFL in 2012, was signed off the street after being waived by the San Francisco 49ers Saturday.

Running back Darius Jackson (6-0, 228), a third-year player, was signed off the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad after being cut by the team Saturday.

And cornerback Tony Brown (6-0, 198), a rookie free agent from Alabama, was signed to the practice squad after being released by the Los Angeles Chargers over the weekend.

In corresponding moves, wide receiver Jake Kumerow was placed on injured reserve with a SC joint sprain suffered as he dived into the end zone after an 82-yard touchdown Aug. 16 against Pittsburgh.

Cornerback Herb Waters, who was part of the 53-man roster on the weekend, was let go.
The Packers completed their 10-man practice squad by resigning safety Marwin Evans, who played all 35 games the past two seasons after a high-school career at Oak Creek, Wis.

In March 2012, Toomer ran the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds, which helped lead to his fifth-round selection by the Seattle Seahawks. In that draft, the only off-the-ball linebackers with faster 40s were a trio of second-round picks at 4.46: Zach Brown, Mychal Kendricks and Bobby Wagner.

Much like Toomer, Jackson wasn’t invited to the combine. In his pro day, Jackson ran 4.39 at 220 pounds, leading to his sixth-round selection in 2016. The only back with a swifter 40 that year was Kenyan Drake (4.38), a third-round choice.
Brown ran 4.35 at the combine, a time that ranked among the top five at cornerback last spring.

By analyzing players drafted and signed by Gutekunst in his first seven months on the job, it probably can be safely said that speed and athletic testing numbers are as attractive to him as they were to his predecessor, Ted Thompson.
Kumerow (6-4 ½, 209, 4.52), a free agent from Wisconsin-Whitewater, appeared headed for a regular role in the rotation before being injured. Not only did he catch six passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns in 1 ½ games, he also outperformed every other wide receiver in camp on a daily basis with the exception of Davante Adams.

High-ankle sprains ruined two of his three seasons in Cincinnati’s training camps. But he kept after it and everything clicked for him this spring and summer.
“In those two games he was their second-best receiver,” said an executive in personnel. “He was the best of their young guys. But if the guy can’t stay healthy … I’ve been through that a lot where you get all excited in camp. In the NFL, you have to be able to line up and play 16 games.”

Because the injury didn’t require surgery, it’s possible the Packers might use one of their two moves and bring Kumerow back from injured reserve. A player designated to return must sit out at minimum the first six weeks of the season.
“Frankly, it was a medical decision,” coach Mike McCarthy said Monday. “I think it’s the best thing for Jake and it’s also the best thing for our football team.”

Kumerow’s departure left the Packers, who have been unsuccessful trying to trade Trevor Davis, with seven wide receivers. Since rosters increased to 53 in 1993 the Packers have had as many as seven wideouts on their opening-day roster just once.

Waters’ departure leaves the Packers with five cornerbacks.
Green Bay became the sixth team for the 29-year-old Toomer, who has been waived seven times. In four exhibition games with the 49ers he played 79 snaps from scrimmage and 38 on special teams, finishing with nine tackles (two for loss).
“I still got a lot left,” Toomer said on Twitter Saturday. “This is a journey that is not over. Fuel to the fire.”
The 49ers signed him to a one-year, $880,000 contract ($90,000 guaranteed) as an unrestricted free agent in April after the Chargers elected not to re-sign him. He started 16 of 28 games for the Chargers over the past two seasons, finishing third on the team in tackles each year.

“I like his toughness,” one personnel man said. “He has average instincts to diagnose and find the ball. He runs well in a straight line and is a physical tackler at linebacker or on special teams. He’s a journeyman backup linebacker.”
Toomer started just one of his three seasons at Idaho. His astronomical pro-day testing results included a 42-inch vertical jump and a 10-10 broad jump. He scored 11 on the Wonderlic intelligence test.

In his career, Toomer has started 16 of 46 games with 115 tackles on defense and 14 more on special teams.
Oren Burks (shoulder) missed practice Monday, creating the possibility that former Colt starter Antonio Morrison or Toomer might have to start alongside Blake Martinez Sunday night against Chicago. Morrison is the opposite of Toomer in that he’s extremely slow afoot (5.12) but a heavy hitter against the run.

Jackson, 24, lost out when the Cowboys decided to keep just two running backs and one fullback. He joins Jamaal Williams and Ty Montgomery for the time being, or until Aaron Jones returns from suspension in Game 3.
“I think those guys are ready to go,” McCarthy said in reference to Williams and Montgomery. “They give us an excellent 1-2 punch. So I’m not concerned about that at all.”

Jackson played 78 snaps from scrimmage and 46 on special teams this summer. He carried 21 times for 72 yards and caught 10 passes for 70.

“He’s a good-sized back that has the ability to play all three downs and be a positive contributor on special teams,” an NFC scout said. “He’s a one-cut runner with explosion and top-end speed. Smart kid. He can get protections and execute, and he catches the ball well out of the backfield. He has some hip stiffness and lacks elite wiggle.”

Jackson also turned in some prodigious testing numbers at pro day with a 41-inch vertical jump, an 11-1 broad jump and 20 reps on the bench press. His Wonderlic score was 32.

“I thought he’d run 4.5,” one AFC scout said a few weeks before the 2016 draft. “Then he busted out the 4.35 and everybody reached for their grades. Know what I’m sayin’?
“Kid got himself drafted. He goes higher than the seventh round. He’s a straight-line guy. Doesn’t play to that speed.”
At the time, another AFC scout said of Jackson: “He’s way overrated. He folds like an accordion on contact.”

Jackson played four seasons at Eastern Michigan on teams that finished 7-41 but didn’t start until his senior season (2015) when he rushed for 1,088 of his 1,596 yards. He averaged 5.0 and caught 44 passes.
After rushing for 141 yards in exhibition games as a rookie Jackson made the team behind Zeke Elliott and Alfred Morris. Inactive for the first 13 games, Jackson was cut and claimed by Cleveland.

He suffered a knee injury not long before the start of training camp in the summer of 2017 and spent all year on injured reserve. The Browns cut Jackson in May and the Cowboys re-signed him later in the month.






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