Walter Stanley ‘Living a Dream’ as Son Signs With Packers

The Green Bay Packers signed Dimitri Stanley, the son of former Packers receiver Walter Stanley. Here’s how his father got the news.

Dimitri Stanley / Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Former Green Bay Packers receiver Walter Stanley was at the Denver Nuggets’ NBA playoff game on Saturday night when he got a text message from his son, Dimitri.

“Within that text, he has a photo of him signing with the Packers and said, ‘Dad, I’ve just landed,’” Walter Stanley told Packer Central on Sunday. “I pulled this up while I’m sitting there in my chair in the suite watching the game. My wife’s sitting next to me and I turned around and showed her the picture and she read the caption. And, of course, she immediately started bawling.

“Everyone in the suite’s looking at her and wondering, ‘What’s going on? What is going on?’ So, it was very emotional. It was very emotional for both of us because we know how hard he’s worked. We also know how good he is.”

Dimitri Stanley was one of three players who signed with the Packers following tryouts at the team’s rookie minicamp. It was the culmination of a college career filled with promise, expectations and disappointment.

After four seasons and with a fourth head coach on the horizon, Stanley transferred from Colorado – where his father started his collegiate career – to Iowa State in 2022. He caught 33 passes for 420 yards during his debut season. But, with his chance to solidify an opportunity in the NFL, he caught only 15 passes for 139 yards in 2023. Even while getting regular playing time, he wasn’t even targeted in six of 12 games.

“He had probably one of the worst experiences I’ve ever seen any kid that I’ve been around his last year of college and what he had to deal with in terms of just not getting the ball but being on the field and being called on to just go down and block and run decoy routes, clear-out routes, and know that that ball was always going to go to someone else, even if he was open,” Walter said.

“That’s tough for an athlete. That is extremely tough. And for him to deal with that and take it on the chin and work through it and stay positive with his teammates and just keep pushing and working has been amazing.”

Of course, the lack of production torpedoed his NFL Draft chances. While Walter was a fourth-round pick by the Packers in 1985, Dimitri wasn’t drafted and wasn’t signed as a priority free agent. His opportunity – what might have been a make-or-break opportunity – came as one of 18 tryout players at the Packers’ rookie camp.

At least three #Packers signings from the tryout players.
Offensive lineman: https://t.co/PG0NwOg4cO
Receiver: https://t.co/vO3y986274
Receiver (and son of former Packers receiver) ⬇️https://t.co/rRlcJbHgpR

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) May 5, 2024

A one-handed catch grabbed coach Matt LaFleur’s attention on Friday and he was signed on Saturday.

“I thought this was well-deserved for him, something that he had worked his tail off for,” Walter said. “The icing on the cake was it being the Green Bay Packers. Of course, in my home, we are all green and yellow. We’re Packers through and through, and to connect with the team that was a childhood dream team has just been phenomenal.

“It’s been a phenomenal feeling for him, phenomenal feeling for the family, phenomenal feeling for my extended family, as well, because they know that that’s kind of where my journey started. To have your kid’s journey start in the same place is just amazing.”

Getting an opportunity on the Packers’ 90-man roster came after not getting many of them at Iowa State, even though he caught 15-of-16 targeted passes in 2023. He wasn’t a factor as a punt returner, either.

The latter was one of Walter Stanley’s calling cards. With the Packers, he averaged 12.8 yards per return as a rookie, had an electric 83-yard touchdown at Detroit on Thanksgiving in 1986 and led the NFL with a 13.8-yard average with the Lions in 1989. Dimitri Stanley averaged 12.3 yards per punt return during his final season at Colorado in 2021 but had just two returns in two seasons at Iowa State. On one of them, Walter said, only a shoestring tackle kept him from going the distance.

“The thing is, he’s probably just as good, maybe even a little bit better, than I am,” Walter said. “Every time he touched the ball, it was lights out. He was almost taking every punt to the house. He just didn’t get a chance to do it. He’s really dangerous back there. …

“I don’t say that just because he’s my kid. He’ll tell you (that) I’ve always been honest with him and spoke the truth about what I see, what he’s really good at and things that he may not be as good at. One thing I will say, he’s a really, really good punt returner. I’m talking about he’d be one of the best punt returners out there. He makes things happen.”

If Dimitri Stanley can make things happen as a punt returner during the offseason practices, training camp and preseason, he’ll have a legitimate shot to join the Packers’ young, talented and deep receiver corps. It’s a group so strong that they didn’t draft a receiver and didn’t sign one after the draft. The lone additions are Stanley and Julian Hicks, another one of the tryout players.

But at least he’s got a chance.

“It’s going to be like being home. That’s home for me,” Walter said. “Outside of high school, that’s where football started for me. It’s like coming home. And not only home, it’s like living a dream.”

No doubt Dimitri Stanley would have pounced on any opportunity. For it come with the Packers, though, makes it all the sweeter. He endured the outside expectations that come with being the son of an NFL player. The disappointment of playing for four losing teams in six collegiate seasons. Of never quite being that star player he envisioned.

None of it matters now. He’s earned his shot.

“Just to have that opportunity for him is going to be exciting,” Walter said. “He loves the Packers. My daughter pulled out a letter last night that he had written when he was in fourth grade. And in fourth grade, he said he wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps.

“And, of course, he says I want to play for all the teams that my dad played for. And, of course, the Green Bay Packers are one of those teams that he said in that letter. So, he manifested this from fourth grade that the Packers was going to be a team of his that he played on. And for that to actually happen, and to also be the very first opportunity that came his way on a professional level, it’s just an amazing story. It’s phenomenal.”

Green Bay Packers Rookies

Rookie Camp: Day 1 | Broken toe for Oladapo | Michael Pratt | Signed: Dimitri Stanley | Julian Hicks | Lecitus Smith

All-Star Scouts: Jordan Morgan | Edgerrin Cooper | Javon Bullard | MarShawn Lloyd | Ty’Ron Hopper | Evan Williams, Kitan Oladapo