AllGreenBayPackers.Com

Brandon Saine

1) Introduction: After an up-and-down career at Ohio State, Saine signed with the Packers as undrafted free agent on July 28. During the 2011 preseason, no skill player saw more touches than Saine (25; 19 rushes for 51 yards, six receptions for 36). A big back that fits the positional mold of Ted Thompson, Saine was retained on the Packers 8-man practice squad to start the 2011 season.

2) Profile:

Brandon Croft Saine

Position: RB
Height: 5-11
Weight: 220 lbs.
AGE: 23

Career Stats

3) Expectations coming into the season: Expectations are never high for a player who starts the season on the practice squad. With both Ryan Grant and James Starks healthy, and third-round pick Alex Green showing a capacity to contribute on third downs and special teams, Saine looked destined to spend the 2011 season on the Packers’ practice squad.

4) Player’s highlights/low-lights: Injury spawned him a chance. Saine was promoted off the practice squad on Oct. 31 following a season-ending knee injury to Green against Minnesota in Week 8. Saine didn’t get many opportunities (just 75 snaps) in the nine games he was active but did show an ability to both break tackles (team-high 2.7 yards after contact) and catch the football (10 receptions, no drops). His highest carry totals came against New York (six for 16 yards) and Detroit in Week 17 (eight for 28).  Read more... (399 words + 1 image, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

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The Packers signed star AFL quarterback Nick Hill Friday.

Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers announced the signings of nine different players, including all eight on the practice squad and former Arena Football League quarterback Nick Hill.

Thompson brought back the eight players that ended the season on the practice squad, which includes T Chris Campbell, FB Jon Hoese, C Sampson Genus, WR Diondre Borel, WR Tori Gurley, DL Johnny Jones, S Anthony Levine and CB Brandian Ross.

The first move from outside the organization was the signing of Hill, who last season played for the Orlando Predators and tossed 97 touchdowns in 16 games. He made his entrance into the NFL in the summer of 2008, when the Chicago Bears signed the undrafted quarterback from Southern Illinois in May. Chicago released Hill (6-3, 215) in July of that year. At Southern Illinois, Hill set school records for passing yards, touchdowns and completions during his senior year.

Hill throws left-handed and will wear No. 17.  Read more... (303 words + 1 image, estimated 1:13 mins reading time)

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Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson announced Tuesday that the team had signed tackle Herb Taylor to replace first-round pick Derek Sherrod on the Packers active roster. As expected, Sherrod was placed on IR.

Sherrod, the No. 32 overall pick in the 2011 draft, broke his leg Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs and remained in Kansas City to have surgery. It was learned yesterday that Sherrod broke both the tibia and fibula in his right leg, which means he’ll miss the rest of this season and potentially some of the next. Recovery time for such an injury is obviously extensive.

Taylor was drafted in sixth round by the Chiefs in 2007 and appeared in 18 games, including one start, from 2007-08. Taylor made the Denver Broncos active roster at the end of ’09 before training camp stints with the New York Giants in ’10 and Broncos again in ’11. Taylor had a work out with the Packers in early December, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

In college, Taylor (6-4, 305) started 48 games at TCU and twice earned First-Team All-Mountain West honors.

He’ll wear No. 72.  Read more... (398 words + 1 image, estimated 1:36 mins reading time)

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Bryan Bulaga is unlikely to play Sunday with a sprained knee cap.

Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Monday that right tackle Bryan Bulaga suffered a sprained knee cap against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday and will be “challenged to play” against the Chicago Bears this week.

Bulaga suffered the injury in the first half and was helped to the locker room for evaluation. He returned to the sidelines in the second half but was unable to play. McCarthy said the injury happened to the same knee he sprained earlier in the season but was a different injury. McCarthy couldn’t provide specifics on what exactly a “knee cap sprain” was, either.

If Bulaga can’t go on Sunday, it’ll likely be T.J. Lang who again plays at right tackle with Evan Dietrich-Smith shifting to left guard. The Packers lined up this way after first-round pick Derek Sherrod broke his leg in the second half. McCarthy confirmed that Sherrod already had surgery in Kansas City and is in good spirits. He’ll miss the rest of the season and it’s not unreasonable to think his playing status for early 2012 could be in question.  Read more... (356 words + 1 image, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)

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During his Friday press conference, Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy ruled out both Desmond Bishop and Ryan Pickett for Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs but said that James Starks, Brandon Saine and Josh Sitton all have a chance to play.

Bishop and Pickett have both been held out of practice this week. Bishop will miss his third straight game after injuring his calf against the Lions in Week 13. Pickett suffered his second concussion of the season against the Raiders last Sunday and won’t make the trip to Kansas City.

Rookie D.J. Smith will make his third straight start for Bishop, and C.J. Wilson is listed behind Pickett on the Packers depth chart. Jarius Wynn and Mike Neal should also see more snaps in Pickett’s absence.

Both Starks (injury) and Saine (concussion) have missed this week’s practices, but McCarthy said they’ll be game-time decisions. If they checkout on the field in Kansas City before kickoff, each will have a chance to play. The Packers are hopeful that one of the two will be able to play, as Ryan Grant and John Kuhn are the only other healthy ball carriers on the roster. No roster move was made to fortify the position this week.  Read more... (448 words + 1 image, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

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Gurley turned down the Vikings to stay with the Packers.

Green Bay Packers receiver Tori Gurley has turned down an active roster spot on the Minnesota Vikings to stay in Green Bay at a higher salary, according to Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press Gazette.

AllGreenBayPackers.com reported on Monday about the possibility of Gurley being promoted to the Packers’ active roster after a source confirmed that Gurley and the Packers were in negotiations for a salary bump.

AllGBP also reported that an unnamed team had put in a claim for Gurley, which certainly helped in the negotiations for Gurley’s raise.  Combined with the fact that the Packers had just lost Greg Jennings for 2-3 weeks, the possibility was there for Gurley to be activated from the practice squad.

While it’s still possible that Gurley could be added to the active roster in the coming days or weeks, Gurley remains on the practice squad at this time.

According to Demovsky, Gurley turned down the offer in part because the Vikings’ season has just three games left but also for the fact that he’s learning the position from the best group of receivers in the NFL. As Demovsky quoted Gurley, “The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”  Read more... (311 words + 1 image, estimated 1:15 mins reading time)

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According to a source, Gurley will be promoted to the Packers' active roster soon.

According to a source close to the situation, the Green Bay Packers are working on promoting rookie receiver Tori Gurley from the practice squad to the active roster in the coming days.

The source, speaking on terms of anonymity, said that the Packers are working on a deal to pay him money in the range of an active player. Combined with Greg Jennings’ injury that will keep him out 2-3 weeks, there’s a good chance that the Packers could activate Gurley sometime before Green Bay takes on the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday.

Gurley had an extended talk with both quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers coaching staff on Monday and came away from the meetings encouraged about the upcoming situation, the source said. That would help explain Gurley’s tweet about an hour before McCarthy’s press conference on Monday that said “God works in mysterious ways ;- ) Go Pack Go.”

The source also said that another team was in talks to claim Gurley off the Packers practice squad. The team wasn’t named, but that likely helped give Gurley even more leverage to get onto the active roster.  Read more... (390 words + 1 image, estimated 1:34 mins reading time)

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