Packers Strengthen Injury-Plagued Defensive Ends

When the Packers released quarterback Jacob Eason, it was apparent the opening on the roster would be used to sign a defensive end. That’s what the Packers did on Tuesday by signing Zach Morton.

New Packers DL Zach Morton while at Akron / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With Kingsley Enagbare, Keshawn Banks and Deslin Alexandre sidelined by injuries, the Green Bay Packers signed Zach Morton on Tuesday.

He worked out for the team on Tuesday and should have an opportunity to play right away.

Morton spent his first four seasons at Syracuse. He redshirted in 2017 and missed 2018 with a knee injury before getting on the field in 2019 and 2020. He spent his final two seasons at Akron. As a senior in 2022, he had 4.5 sacks and eight tackles for losses. He had a 24-yard pick-six in 2021.

Morton, a Detroit native, went undrafted in 2023 and signed with the Lions. He was released early in training camp and did not play in any preseason games.

In 2024, he spent time with the San Antonio Brahmas of the UFL.

The athletic profile is there. Before the 2023 draft, he measured 6-foot-4 7/8 and 261 pounds. While he ran his 40 in only 4.88 seconds, he posted strong numbers in the 10-yard split, vertical jump, broad jump and three-cone drill to post a Relative Athletic Score of 9.32.

His father played at Division II Central State University.

The injuries on the defensive line made this the obvious move when the team released quarterback Jacob Eason on Monday.

“I’ve said it a million times, it’s hard to rep four quarterbacks. It limits everybody,” coach Matt LaFleur said before Tuesday’s practice. “I’m appreciate of Jake coming in here and competing and he did a lot of good things but, at the end of the day, I think it’s more important to really focus and try to get a guy like Michael Pratt in this instance more reps and hopefully that can translate to success in the games.”

The presence of four quarterbacks didn’t impact the snaps of Jordan Love and Sean Clifford. It did eat into the opportunities of seventh-round draft pick Michael Pratt.

“With a lot of these guys, just trying to get a little bit more consistent,” LaFleur said of Pratt. “I think that position just naturally there’s a lot of information getting pushed at you, and it’s how you handle that and then go out there and try and execute each individual play.

“We’re not holding everything back with our playbook. It’s a girthy playbook, especially in the preseason. It starts to get pared down when we start to get into more of the game situations. The call sheet shrinks substantially, so I think that will be good for all our guys.”

The Packers have been relatively healthy throughout training camp but the injuries at defensive end necessitated a move.

Rashan Gary and Preston Smith have been the No. 1 tandem throughout camp. On Tuesday, Lukas Van Ness and Brenton Cox formed the No. 2 tandem and Kenneth Odumegwu and Arron Mosby were the third pairing. Any other injuries would have put additional stress on the last men standing.

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