Packer Central

Packers Bring Back Familiar Face at Running Back

The Green Bay Packers practiced without rookies MarShawn Lloyd and Jarveon Howard on Tuesday.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers running back Nate McCrary (46) and quarterback Alex McGough celebrate a touchdown vs. the Seahawks.
Green Bay Packers running back Nate McCrary (46) and quarterback Alex McGough celebrate a touchdown vs. the Seahawks. / USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
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GREEN BAY – With injuries in the backfield, the Green Bay Packers have re-signed running back Nate McCrary, a source told Packers On SI on Tuesday.

The news was reported first by MLFootball.

McCrary played his college ball at Saginaw Valley State, where he rushed for 1,060 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2019 and 28 touchdowns in three seasons. However, COVID wiped out the 2020 season and he went undrafted in 2021.

McCrary spent his rookie training camp with the Baltimore Ravens and played in one game for the team.

In 2022, he spent training camp with the Ravens and a month on the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad.

In 2023, he was released by the Cleveland Browns and landed with the Packers. In two preseason games, he rushed 11 times for 37 yards, including a touchdown against Seattle. He was released in the roster cutdown and served a brief stint on the Browns’ practice squad.

McCrary is coming off a UFL season with the Michigan Panthers, who were quarterbacked by former Packers player Danny Etling. A source said McCrary is “in great shape and ready to go” to help the Packers, who are down rookie third-round pick MarShawn Lloyd (hamstring) and undrafted rookie Jarveon Howard (ankle).

“I’m my biggest critic and I harshly judge myself on the season (with the Panthers),” McCrary told Local Sports Journal recently. “I realize I just need to keep the positive momentum going forward. The level of focus to be a back in the NFL is at a whole other level. I know I need to be extremely locked in.”

McCrary finished the UFL regular season with 16 carries for 60 yards, two receptions for 26 yards and five kickoff returns for 111 yards. He had a season-high 36 rushing yards in the regular-season finale.

However, in the team’s playoff game, he carried 11 times for 62 yards (long of 25) in the season-ending loss to Birmingham

“Where I’ve been and where I’ve come from, you realize there’s going to be tough times chasing a dream like this,” he said. “But with the dedication and hard work I’ve put in this game, you just tell yourself, you just got to run with it, compete and get myself back to the player that I’m capable of; playing with that swag.”

With knowledge of Green Bay’s offense, McCrary can provide immediate depth in the backfield this week. There is a joint practice at the Denver Broncos on Friday. The starters aren’t expected to play in Sunday’s game at Denver, meaning the team could be without Josh Jacobs, Lloyd and Howard.

So, there is an opportunity for McCrary to make a splash headed into the stretch run of training camp.

“To me, (the setbacks are) not a big deal,” he said. “I had a dream and I’m chasing it until it’s no longer possible. As long as I give it everything I’ve got, I know I’ll have no regrets. Some people say, ‘I wish I would have done this, wish I could have done that.’ For me, I had a dream and I’m going out and doing it.”  

Before going undrafted, McCrary measured 6-foot 1/4 and 220 pounds and ran his 40 in 4.52 seconds.

With injuries at linebacker, the Packers also bolstered that depth chart. The team had a full roster so corresponding roster moves will have to be made before Wednesday’s practice.

More Green Bay Packers Training Camp News

Latest news and analysis: Packers sign linebacker | 53-man roster projection (Westendorf) | Waiting game: Love vs. Williams | Injury updates | No. 1 receivers and vomit | 53-man projection 3.0 | Gold, silver and bronze after Week 3 of camp | Why three kickers? | Monk gets massive opportunity | All-newcomer team | Power rankings | New kicker’s crazy story

Packers vs. Browns: Winners and losers | Stock report | Two bubble players excel | What’s plan against Broncos? | Packers 23, Brown 10 | Four takeaways in victory | Live updates | Five things to watch | Players who need a big game | How to watch

Training camp highlights: Practice 13 | Practice 12 | Practice 11 | Family Night | Practice 9 | Practice 8 | Practice 7 | Practice 6 | Practice 5 | Practice 4 | Practice 3 | Practice 2 | Practice 1 


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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, 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.