Perfect Storm Brings Pearson Back to Packers

Fullback Henry Pearson has less than a week to remind the Packers of what he’s capable of doing.
Green Bay Packers fullback Henry Pearson runs through a ball-security driill at training camp.
Green Bay Packers fullback Henry Pearson runs through a ball-security driill at training camp. / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers re-signed fullback Henry Pearson on Tuesday.

They can thank Hurricane Ernesto for making it possible.

“I was on my way to the airport last night to go to a workout at Cleveland,” Pearson said after practice, “and I got a call from my agent [Robert Roche] and he was like, ‘Hey, the Packers want to sign you. Do you still want to go to this workout?’

“I was like, ‘No, I’d rather just go back to Lambeau.’”

Pearson was supposed to fly to Cleveland on Sunday night, but Ernesto canceled the flight. So, he was able to change directions when Green Bay called on Monday.

“Just overjoyed,” Pearson said. “Put it all in God’s timing. I think it was what it was supposed to be. It wasn’t meant to be in Cleveland; it was meant to be at Lambeau.”

Pearson, who originally signed with the Packers as an undrafted free agent last year, was released by the team on July 30.

For the past three weeks, Pearson worked out at home in hopes of getting another opportunity that he knew might never come his way.

It “definitely” tested him.

“Going into that realm of the unknown and relying on the other teams to take a shot on you is pretty daunting,” Pearson said. “It could be over, it could keep going – you never know – so you have to stay ready.”

Pearson should be able to hit the ground running. He spent all of last season on the practice squad. When Josiah Deguara was injured, he was elevated for two games. So, he knows what he’s doing.

Mostly.

“I need to get a little refresher,” he said with a laugh. “They definitely put some stuff in in the three weeks that I was gone. I’ll catch up on that stuff and hopefully get back to work.”

Pearson has less than a week to show the Packers what he can do. Or, more accurately, remind them what he can do. The Packers held a short practice on Tuesday – he went through individual drills, as usual, with the tight ends – and will hold another on Wednesday before the joint practice against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday.

The Packers will host the Ravens in the preseason finale on Saturday and they will cut the roster to 53 players on Tuesday. The team will fill its practice squad a day later.

“You’ve just got to keep going to work, keep your head down and take every day like it could be the last,” Pearson said. “That’s all you can do, you know?”

More Green Bay Packers Training Camp News

Latest news and analysis: Latest injury updates | Two roster moves | Updated Roster Lock-O-Meter | Backup QB options? | Packers stock report | Winners and losers | Legitimate concerns | Bo Melton looking to rebound |  Jalen Wayne’s famous cousin | Biggest roster battles | Grant DuBose plays with right mentality | New Packers LB Chris Russell | New Packers RB Nate McCrary

Training camp highlights: Practice 17 | Joint practice vs. Broncos | Practice 15 | Practice 14 | 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.