Packers Sign Rocket-Fast Receiver to Futures Contract

The Green Bay Packers signed at least 11 players to futures deals, including kicker JJ Molson and lineman Cole Van Lanen.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Along with quarterbacks Kurt Benkert and Danny Etling, the Green Bay Packers signed receiver Rico Gafford to a futures deal on Tuesday.

Gafford played his final two seasons of college football at Wyoming, where he intercepted two passes as a junior and four passes as a senior to earn all-Mountain West Conference honors.

He went undrafted in 2018 and spent his rookie training camp with the Tennessee Titans, where coach Matt LaFleur was offensive coordinator. Upon his release, he signed to the Oakland Raiders and made the change to offense. He made his first career reception late in the 2019 season, a 49-yard touchdown pass against the Titans.

“The last two years I was in and out of roles, whether it was offense or defense,” Gafford said while with the Raiders. “So going into this offseason, I knew that I was going to be playing wide receiver 100 percent, and that in order for me to become a guy that is playing on Sundays, I would have to completely dedicate myself to working on my craft and getting better as a receiver.”

This summer, he spent training camp with the Cardinals and Bills. He worked out for the Packers on Monday.

While at Dowling Catholic Central High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, he set the school record in the 100-meter dash. At Wyoming’s pro day before the 2018 draft, he measured 5-9 1/2 and 184 pounds and ran his 40 in a dazzling 4.22 seconds.

The Packers retained nine players who spent all or most of the season on the team’s practice squad: Benkert, receiver Chris Blair, center Michal Menet and sixth-round rookie lineman Cole Van Lanen on offense, and cornerback Kabion Ento, safety Innis Gaines, outside linebacker La’Darius Hamilton and inside linebacker Ray Wilborn on defense, and kicker JJ Molson on special teams. Etling, who spent part of training camp in 2019 as a receiver with the Patriots, spent a week on Green Bay’s practice squad.

Molson might be the big name on the list. Veteran kicker Mason Crosby is coming off a dismal season and the Packers could save about $2.4 million against the cap by moving on. Molson made a 60-yard field goal during training camp.

A native of Montreal, his grandfather once owned the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens. In case you were wondering, yes, there are beer ties.

“Yes sir. That’s my family,” he said at the 2020 Scouting Combine. “The first John Molson that came to Montreal that founded the brewery in 1786, I’m his eighth-generation descendant. So, my real name is John Molson. I just go by J.J. My grandfather (J. David Molson) owned the Montreal Canadiens from 1964-71, so he won five Stanley Cups in eight years. So, we’ve kind of got the hockey side and the beer side. I’m just trying to add the football side now.”

Van Lanen played at Wisconsin and grew up in nearby Suamico. He spent most of the season on the practice squad but did play one snap vs. Minnesota in Week 17.

“It’s been awesome,” he said a couple days before that game. “I’m getting this experience of going against the ‘1’ defense every day. I get to learn the things I need to work on and that’s all I’ve been doing this entire time, and I definitely feel like I’ve been getting better. On the edge, going against RG (Rashan Gary), P (Preston Smith), those guys, interior going against Kenny (Clark) every day, you learn things and you learn from going against the best every day, and I definitely think it’s helped me. I’ve just got to keep growing and make myself a better player every day.”

Receivers David Moore and Josh Malone, running back Kerrith Whyte, tight end Bronson Kaufusi, guard Ben Braden, defensive linemen Abdullah Anderson and RJ McIntosh and linebacker Peter Kalambayi were practice squad players who were not announced as signing. Neither was Jack Heflin, who spent most of the season on the 53-man roster but was released before the playoff game to make room for the returns of Za'Darius Smith and Whitney Mercilus.

Moore, a fifth-year player who impressed as a returner against Minnesota in his one and only game with the team, Malone, a former fourth-round pick, and Anderson, a second-year player who got some snaps down the stretch, are not re-signing.

With the Packers about $50 million over the cap, there could be a financial component in not retaining some of the older players. The minimum salary for Moore, for instance, would be $1.035 million. Blair, a first-year player, signed for $825,000.