Best of the Packers: Top 10 running backs since 1960

Ryan Grant (25) of the Green Bay Packers breaks loose for a 56-yard touchdown run in a Dec. 27, 2009, game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field. (Photo by Mike Morbeck via Flickr.com/This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Genericlicense.)

9. Ryan Grant (2007-11, 2012)

The Green Bay Packers needed running back depth when they traded a 2008 sixth-round pick to the New York Giants to get Ryan Grant before the start of the 2007 season.

But with Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn hurt in front of him, Grant got his shot a Week 8 game at Denver, rushing for 104 yards, and earned the starting job.

He wound up with 956 yards and eight touchdowns despite the late start and rumbled for 230 more yards and three scores in two postseason games, with a franchise-record 201 yards coming in a Divisional Playoff win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Grant rushed for more than 1,200 yards in each of the next two seasons, scoring 11 touchdowns in 2009, but sustained a season-ending ankle injury in the 2010 opener.

Grant came back in 2011, but was much less productive in a limited role and signed with the Washington Redskins as a free agent in September 2012. He had just one carry in four weeks with Washington and was waived, returning to Green Bay in early December. He played in four games and went unsigned as a free agent in 2013.

In parts of six seasons with the Pack, Grant had 955 carries for 4,143 yards and 27 touchdowns to go with 93 receptions, 760 yards and two scores.

Grant’s 4,143 yards ranks fifth in franchise history and his 27 rushing touchdowns are 10th.

The Giants signed Grant as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame in May 2005 and he spent the 2005 campaign on the practice squad for Big Blue before missing the 2006 season with a severe arm injury caused by broken glass at a night club.

Next: Unconventional Road To Feature Back Status