Packers Claim WR Gerrard Sheppard on Waivers

Sheppard was previously on the roster of the Baltimore Ravens.

Wide receiver Gerrard Sheppard (No. 7) by Evan Habeeb—USA TODAY Sports.

Wide receiver Gerrard Sheppard (No. 7) by Evan Habeeb—USA TODAY Sports.

The Green Bay Packers were awarded wide receiver Gerrard Sheppard on waivers on Wednesday, bringing their roster up to its full complement of 90 players.

Sheppard was waived by the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday after spending the previous season on the team's practice squad. He becomes the first player awarded to the Packers since fellow wide receiver Chris Harper joined the team Oct. 18 of last season.

At 6-2 and 215 lbs., Sheppard possesses good size, but will find a crowded position in Green Bay, already bostered by the addition of three 2014 draft choices.

The Packers may be looking for a player to scoop up some of the reps missing by rookie wide receiver Jeff Janis, who's been missing since the start of training camp after being placed on the league's Non-Football Illness (NFI) list.

As a member of the Ravens, Sheppard played in two preseason games last season but did not record a single catch.

Originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of Towson, Sheppard caught 52 passes for 584 yards and five touchdowns in his final two years of college eligibility.

Before transferring to Towson, Sheppard was a member of Connecticut's Big East conference-championship team in 2011, although he only caught one pass that season.

Now that the Packers' 90-man offseason roster is full, they'd have to make room before signing any more players, whether it's free agents like Jermichael Finley, Johnny Jolly, Ryan Pickett or anyone else.

As a waiver claim, the Packers inherit the contract Sheppard originally signed with the Ravens.

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Comments (5)

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Allan Murphy's picture

July 30, 2014 at 05:38 pm

really !

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Clay Zombo's picture

July 30, 2014 at 08:17 pm

Don't be surprised if we read in the next couple of days that GB has traded one of their WRs(Myles White, Chris Harper) to a desperate team like the Giants, Panthers or the Browns.

I fully expect one of them to leave via trade before final cuts are due if not sooner.

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Icebowler's picture

July 30, 2014 at 09:39 pm

Still keeping an eye on the Jaguars' waiver wire.

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DoURant's picture

July 30, 2014 at 10:19 pm

I think this signing means Janis will be out for an extended period of time, why else would they make a claim on a WR other than to get someone else to take reps? Unfortunate, as I was really pulling for Janis to make the team and the longer he is out, the harder it will be.

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DrealynWilliams's picture

July 31, 2014 at 01:41 pm

think he'll last there?

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