New Packers lineman expected to play tonight

Green Bay signed guard Dejon Allen on Thursday.

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst continues to differentiate himself from his former boss and mentor, Ted Thompson, will his willingness to turn over the bottom of the roster.

During the days headed into tonight’s preseason finale against Kansas City, Gutekunst signed outside linebacker James Folston, cornerback Jocquez Kalili and cornerback Jackson Porter. Those three practiced with the team this week. On Thursday, Gutekunst signed guard Dejon Allen.

Impressively, Allen – who arrived in Green Bay on Wednesday and took his physical and signed today – is expected to play tonight against the Chiefs, according to a source. 

Allen (6-2, 300) went undrafted out of Hawaii in 2018 and spent training camp and all of his rookie season in Chicago’s practice squad. The Bears released Allen in May and he’s been out of the league ever since.

A 49-game starter at Hawaii, Allen started at right guard as a freshman and sophomore before moving to left tackle for his final two seasons. According to Pro Football Focus, he gave up only one sack, two quarterback hits and nine total pressures as a senior. Allen had a great pro day: 4.98 in the 40, 4.82 shuttle and 29 reps on the bench; he had 33 7/8-inch arms at the East-West Shrine Game, where he was one of the top performers.

Green Bay was among his predraft visits.

For all the recent additions, this week and tonight’s game will serve as a brief audition to see if they are worthy of a spot on the practice squad. The Packers must cut their 89-man roster down to 53 players by 3 p.m. Saturday. They can start forming their 10-man practice squad beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday.