The Green Bay Packers have a pivotal game coming up on Sunday against the Chicago Bears, which will play a sizable role in shaping the NFC North race. However, before the two divisional rivals square off at Lambeau Field, the Packers made a notable addition to their practice squad, bolstering their cornerback depth.
According to Bill Huber of Packers on SI, the Packers signed cornerback Shemar Bartholomew to the practice squad on Tuesday. To make room for the former undrafted free agent defender, Green Bay cut ties with cornerback Tyron Herring and wide receiver Michael Woods II.
Bartholomew is the only pure cornerback on Green Bay’s practice squad, as Jaylin Simpson has the versatility to play safety and cornerback, which is also desirable in defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s scheme.
That being said, you might be asking yourself how this latest practice squad signing affects or involves Nate Hobbs. Hobbs has missed the last four games with a Grade 1 MCL sprain that he sustained earlier last month.
Shemar Bartholomew Could Get Called Up if Packers Have Another CB Injury
It was reported that the veteran cornerback would need two weeks to recover from said knee injury, which would’ve kept him out for Weeks 10 and 11. But he still has yet to return, which isn’t great for the Packers, whose cornerback depth isn’t in a good spot.
As things currently stand, the only healthy CBs Green Bay has on its 53-man roster are Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, Kamal Hadden, and Bo Melton. And Melton has been playing more on offense lately, so you can’t depend on him.
This is where you wish Hobbs were healthy, regardless of his play this season. He would give the Packers at least a veteran option to step in if Nixon or Valentine were to go down with an injury.
However, that’s not the case right now, which led to Hadden making his first career start last week against the Detroit Lions when Nixon was banged up. The Packers hope that Hobbs could be back soon, as he was a limited participant last week and ultimately ruled as questionable. He desperately needs to impress in his return to shake the 'bust' label he's garnered this year.
But if another injury situation were to come up during practice, the Packers’ next option would be to call up Bartholomew, who has only played in five regular-season games. All of those were with the Carolina Panthers last season, predominantly on special teams (34 snaps) with some defensive snaps sprinkled in (17).
Needless to say, the coming days will indicate a lot about how the Packers' CB situation is shaping up. If Hobbs can't suit up or another CB goes down, all eyes will be on Bartholomew to see if he can live up to Hafley & Co.'s expectations.