The Green Bay Packers will be facing the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7, who are coming off four straight defeats. The Cardinals will try to avoid falling to 2-5 for the season before their bye week, and will rely on a former Packers playmaker to help them in the process.
On Wednesday, Arizona signed ex-Packer tight end Josiah Deguara to the active roster, per an official team announcement. This will give him a chance to suit up for the second time this season. The 28-year-old had made his season debut in Week 2 against the Panthers after signing with the Cardinals in the offseason.
Ex-Packer Josiah Deguara Has Clear Role for the Cardinals vs. Green Bay in Week 7
The impetus for the move was tight end Travis Vokolek landing on the injured reserve list. He was the second TE on the Cardinals roster after Tip Reiman to land on the IR in recent weeks. Deguara will now wait for a chance behind Trey McBride and Elijah Higgins in the rotation. This will be his second shot at revenge against Green Bay since they let him walk in free agency in 2024.
Don't expect Deguara to get involved much in the Cards' offense (Vokolek has only played 32 offensive snaps on the season and has never seen a target as a receiver across his three NFL seasons), but he should still see the field. Vokolek has played 34% of Arizona's special teams snaps on the year, and Deguara played 63.6% in his lone appearance of the season back in Week 2.
You'd hope he wouldn't be able to give the Cardinals too much insight into the Packers' current special teams scheme after being away for a couple of seasons, but with Rich Basaccia calling the shots, you never know.
Deguara Goes Down as a Bust in Packers Lore
Deguara was a third-round pick for the Packers in the 2020 NFL Draft and was a part of a tight end rotation with Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis for a few years. He was never a big part of the offense, other than the 2021 campaign, where he finished with 25 catches, 245 yards, and two touchdowns in 16 games. Otherwise, he spent more of his snaps on special teams before his rookie-scale contract ended and he signed with the Jaguars in the 2024 season.
The biggest factor in Deguara's inability to contribute at a high level was his lack of size and strength for his position. Undersized at six-foot-two and 240 pounds, Deguara didn't have the physical and athletic tools to be a true difference-maker in the NFL. Plus, the ACL tear he suffered in Week 5 of his rookie season set him back further on that front, making him more of a fringe player.
Since that 2021 season, Deguara hasn't scored a touchdown in the NFL. In his defense, he hasn't had too many opportunities to do so. This will be his second time going up against the Packers after he suited up against his former team when he was with the Jaguars last season, finishing the game without any stats. The odds of him making a difference in Week 7 for the Cardinals are very low, but Packers fans will be keeping a close eye on their former player when he takes the field.