Packer Central

Packers Add Playmaking Defensive Lineman from Madison

The Green Bay Packers were a bit shorthanded on the defensivve line entering their joint practice and preseason game against the Ravens.

Bill Huber

New Packers DT Keonte Schad (60) performs a drill while at Arizona Cardinals rookie minicamp in 2022.
New Packers DT Keonte Schad (60) performs a drill while at Arizona Cardinals rookie minicamp in 2022. / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers signed Madison native Keonte Schad in time for Thursday’s joint practice against the Baltimore Ravens.

Schad is a defensive tackle from Oregon State. The Packers are a man down with Spencer Waege out with a concussion. They created the roster space on Wednesday.

In 2023 for the USFL’s New Orleans Breakers, he ranked second in the league with 7.5 sacks and tallied nine tackles for losses. In 2024 with the UFL’s Houston Roughnecks, he had a half-sack and two TFLs in 10 starts.

His production earned him a tryout with the Packers – and a contract.

He won’t have much time to make his mark. The Packers will practice against the Ravens on Thursday and play against them in Saturday’s preseason finale. A few days later, the Packers will cut their roster to 53 players on Tuesday.

Here are some of his highlights:

As a senior at Oregon State, he was honorable-mention all-Pac-12 in 2021 after recording 2.5 sacks, six tackles for losses and 46 total tackles.

“I bring that swag and grit to the field that teammates love to be a part of,” he told Draft Diamonds before the 2022 draft. “Someone who understands the game, someone who is versatile, a high character guy with a motor. A guy who loves the game of football and has so much passion.

Before landing at Oregon State, he spent two seasons at Minnesota with zero sacks and 2.5 TFLs.

At Madison East High School, he had three sacks and 12 tackles for losses during a career that included time at quarterback, offensive line and outside linebacker.

While waiting for a professional football opportunity, Schad worked as the multicultural service coordinator at Madison East.

“Being a true Northsider, a lot of adversity comes your way but fighting through all that, that’s what this journey’s been,” he told Madison’s Channel 3000. “Not too many people make it out of here and I try to put on a good example for the youth. I try to keep it in their minds and their ears that it’s possible to do it out of here.”

Before the 2022 draft, Schad measured 6-foot-2 1/4 and 284 pounds. With a 4.92 in the 40, his Relative Athletic Score was 7.28.

“​​It means the most when you notice the impact you’re making,” Schad said of his volunteer work in a recent interview with EAMG sports. “When the kids express how much fun they’re having, or just thanking you for spending time with them, is where you get that sense of joy.”

Schad arrives in Green Bay for the last open practice of the summer. After the practice and the Saturday game, the focus will turn to the Sept. 6 opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.

“I think that’s what we’ve been doing this whole time is you’re ramping up always and the intensity and, certainly, it’s always great to go against a competitive team like the Baltimore Ravens, one of the premier teams in the National Football League,” coach Matt LaFleur said before practice.

“A team that, there’s not many holes on that roster and then when you watch the tape, you can really see their style of play is one you want to emulate. So, I’ve got a lot of respect for what they’ve been able to do there, and we’re just looking forward to competing against them and getting better today.”

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Bill Huber

BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packer Central, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.