Packer Central

Packers Fill Practice Squad Vacancy With Familiar Face

After releasing tight end Johnny Lumpkin, the Green Bay Packers filled the void on the practice squad by bringing back Messiah Swinson.

Bill Huber

Tight end Messiah Swinson has returned to the Packers.
Tight end Messiah Swinson has returned to the Packers. / Mark Hoffman-Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers filled their practice squad by bringing back tight end Messiah Swinson, a source told Packers On SI on Wednesday.

Swinson started the season on Green Bay’s practice squad but was signed to the Carolina Panthers’ 53-man roster on Sept. 4.

The Packers filled the vacancy on Sept. 10 when they signed tight end Johnny Lumpkin to the practice squad.

On Tuesday, the Panthers released Swinson from their 53-man roster and the Packers released Lumpkin from their practice squad.

Having cleared waivers, Swinson was free to return to Green Bay.

It’s the latest reality check for Swinson, as he told reporters in Carolina.

On Sept. 4, Swinson and the rest of the Packers’ practice-squad players were headed to a meeting when one of his agents called with an “active situation.”

The situation? Stay on Green Bay’s practice squad or go to Carolina. But there was no time to think about it. He had to decide on the spot, otherwise the Panthers – who were down two of their top tight ends – would pivot elsewhere.

“He was just like, it’s a really good opportunity for me,” Swinson told reporters. “They like the tape you put out there during preseason and … it is a good situation. It’s a good room, good tight end coach, good team, good young core.”

So, Swinson grabbed some belongings and hopped on a plane. With minimal sleep, he was on the practice field the next day.

Used almost exclusively as a blocker during the preseason – he blocked on 24 of his 28 snaps in three games – Swinson had a good training camp with the Packers. At 6-foot-8 and about 260 pounds, his calling card at Missouri and Arizona State was his blocking. His physicality is what caught the Panthers’ eye and made the Packers want to bring him back.

“I just try to take pride in that and take pride in and do it to the best of my ability,” Swinson said. “My in-line blocking, my run blocking and stuff like that — I didn't have any catches in the preseason. They asked me to do a job and I felt like I went and did it to full extent.

“Whatever they need, I'm ready to do it. … It's not always the prettiest, it's not always the glorious stuff that you get to do on the field, but you can have a job.”

Swinson did not play in any of his three games for Carolina.

Back in Green Bay, he’ll provide some depth. The Packers have only three tight ends on the roster with Tucker Kraft, Luke Musgrave and Ben Sims; a shoulder injury is limiting Kraft at practice.

After going undrafted, Swinson was given a $10,000 signing bonus, tied for No. 1 on the team.

“It’s awesome. When I got the call that they were signing me right at the end of the draft, the feeling was indescribable,” he told his hometown Suffolk County (N.Y.) News. “Playing for the Green Bay Packers, [they’re] such a historic franchise, and it was just an amazing feeling being up here in Green Bay.

“It’s a first-class organization. Everyone around the building has a championship standard.” 

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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.