Green Bay Packers Reportedly Re-Signing Tyler Ervin
By Paul Bretl
It was just reported by Field Yates of ESPN that the Green Bay Packers are bringing back running back/return man, Tyler Ervin.
Overall it’s been a fairly quiet offseason up to this point for the Green Bay Packers, but to some extent, that should have been expected. So far they’ve brought in Christian Kirksey, Rick Wagner, and Devin Funchess. While also re-signing Mason Crosby early on, and more recently Marcedes Lewis and Will Redmond.
Well now we can add another player to that list and it should make most Packer fans quite happy. It was just reported by Field Yates that Green Bay is expected to bring back running back/return man, Tyler Ervin.
The Packers are expected to bring back RB/return man Tyler Ervin on a one-year deal. Ervin, who was acquired off of waivers mid-season in 2019, gave them a real boost in the return game.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 27, 2020
Ervin was a midseason addition in 2019 who had a much greater impact than I think anyone would have anticipated. Prior to his arrival, this Green Bay Packers’ punt return team was on a historically bad pace, but it was Ervin who helped turn them into a respectable unit.
On the season he’d finish with 9.6 yards per punt return on 11 attempts, including 51 total yards during his debut against Washington. On top of that, Ervin would average nearly 27 yards per kick return as well.
However, it wasn’t just in the return game that Ervin made contributions, in the final weeks of the season he began to take snaps on offense. While his numbers weren’t eye-popping by any means, his ability to line up out wide, in the slot, or out of the backfield, coupled with being an effective pass-catcher, gave Matt LaFleur and this offense a new weapon to utilize.
And looking ahead to the upcoming season, I’m expecting to see Ervin’s role in this offense to be much bigger in 2020.
Next. The Current State of the Roster. dark
At the NFL Combine, LaFleur talked about the importance of having a third running back to lean on this season and as we saw in 2019, Ervin can provide that. Ultimately, bringing Ervin back always made sense. He isn’t going to break the bank, he knows the system, and in addition to giving Green Bay a viable return man, he is another weapon for this offense.