Packer Central

Saturday’s Packers Transactions: What They Mean for Sunday vs. Texans

The Green Bay Packers made one roster move on Saturday by elevating a former Texans player to the gameday roster. Perhaps more noteworthy was who was not added to the roster.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Jonathan Ford
Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Jonathan Ford / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers made one roster move on Saturday, elevating fullback Andrew Beck from the practice squad to face his former team, the Houston Texans, on Sunday.

As always, the transactions that weren’t made sometimes are more interesting than the transactions that were made. Here’s our weekly breakdown.

Elevated: FB Andrew Beck

With tight end Luke Musgrave on injured reserve, the Packers for the third consecutive week have elevated fullback Andrew Beck from the practice squad.

After playing four seasons for the Denver Broncos, Beck spent last season with the Texans. He was a Pro Bowl alternate with 11 receptions for 55 yards and five carries for 3 yards. He scored two touchdowns through the air, one on the ground and one on a stunning 85-yard kickoff return.

The 255-pounder became the heaviest player to return a kickoff for a touchdown in NFL history. He broke five tackles on the way to the end zone. The second-to-last of those was by new Packers kicker Brandon McManus.

“When I crossed the goal line, I refused to believe it,” Beck said last year. “It took me a minute to celebrate. It felt great. Anytime you give your team that kind of momentum.”

The past two weeks, Beck played 10 snaps on offense and 10 more on special teams.

Teams can elevate a player three times. The next time he’s needed, he’ll have to be added to the 53-man roster.

Will he be needed again? The Packers signed tight end John FitzPatrick off Atlanta’s practice squad a couple weeks ago. Perhaps he’ll be ready to contribute for next week’s game at Jacksonville.

“Whatever I’m asked of, I’m just going to go do it to the best of my ability,” FitzPatrick said on Thursday. “I’m continuing to learn and grow and just whatever coach wants, I’m ready for.”

Not Activated: DT Jonathan Ford

With Devonte Wyatt ruled out and Colby Wooden listed as questionable on Friday, the Packers have only three fully healthy defensive tackles on the roster with Kenny Clark, T.J. Slaton and Karl Brooks.

Wooden, however, must be healthy enough to play. Otherwise, the Packers would have activated Ford from injured reserve.

Wooden, a fourth-round pick last year and a key player as a rookie, didn’t play on defense in Week 1 and was inactive in Weeks 2 through 4. Wyatt’s ankle injury, however, opened the door for Wooden to play 49 snaps on defense the last two weeks. With Wyatt set to miss a third consecutive game, Wooden will have a key role again.

Several Moves Made By Texans

Well, there won’t be any drama with the Texans’ inactives on Sunday.

After ruling out five players on Friday – including four starters on defense – they downgraded receiver/returner Steven Sims to out because of a back injury on Saturday. He did not travel to Green Bay.

So, the Texans elevated fullback Troy Hairston and veteran defensive back Desmond King from the practice squad.

This will be King’s season debut. Sims and receiver Robert Woods, who was ruled out on Friday, had shared the kickoff- and punt-return duties this season. King was the first-team All-Pro returner in 2018 and has career averages of 22.5 yards per kickoff return and 9.3 yards per punt return with two touchdowns.

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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.