Packers Sign Defensive End Ray Drew

The Packers have dipped their toes into the free agent waters in signing the former Dolphin. 

Via the NFL transaction wire, the Green Bay Packers have made their first move in unrestricted free agency. 

That's right, the Packers have signed defensive end Ray Drew, who has spent time with the Dolphins and Browns since coming out of Georgia last year. 

At first glance, one would think this is a camp-body-type move more than anything, but if Drew comes into camp and is able to make some noise, who knows. 

You can read Lance Zierlein's write up of Drew here

Money quote:


 Former five-star recruit out of high school who ended up being a disappointment. Lacks dynamic pass-rushing ability as a 4-3 defensive end, but flashed at times while playing inside or as a 3-4 defensive end. High-rising pad level is primary culprit robbing Drew of potential production, but if he can improve in that area, he has enough strength and quickness to warrant a look on the third day of the draft.

Here's some video for you jackals. 

 

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Comments (64)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
Evan's picture

March 14, 2016 at 04:44 pm

Ted gonna troll. Love it. Ha

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packsmack's picture

March 14, 2016 at 05:08 pm

My thoughts exactly. Ted Thompson is awesome.

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packsmack's picture

March 14, 2016 at 05:09 pm

The scouting report mentions pad level! We all know Coach McCarthy will get it fixed!

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Packer_Pete's picture

March 14, 2016 at 05:14 pm

Get ready for some McCarthy pressers: 'pad level too high... fundamentals...' Love it LOL

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marpag1's picture

March 14, 2016 at 05:26 pm

Well, the Wikipedia article said that his nickname was "Pastor of Disaster." So that's promising. Kinda like "The Minister of Defense" except... y'know... not a very good football player.

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NickPerry's picture

March 15, 2016 at 07:28 am

@Marpag1.... Now that was funny!!! : )

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Curt's picture

March 14, 2016 at 05:55 pm

Who knows - Guion has been ok and he was trashed as a low level signing....you can't teach size.

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Evan's picture

March 14, 2016 at 05:59 pm

This is much lower than "low level." But who knows.

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DrealynWilliams's picture

March 14, 2016 at 06:01 pm

True. The only thing I could even find on Guion was a video of James Starks trucking over him. We shall see.

I did laugh though after realizing I never heard of this guy.

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meatstyk's picture

March 14, 2016 at 07:09 pm

mccarthy will coach him up

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Packer_Pete's picture

March 14, 2016 at 09:23 pm

"you can't teach size." - no but you can eat your way to size LOL

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AndrewInAtlanta's picture

March 14, 2016 at 06:02 pm

Saw almost all his games at UGA. He certainly had some good ones...and some not so good. I think Aaron is spot on. Camp move I think with surprise upside? Let us hope for the surprise part

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meatstyk's picture

March 15, 2016 at 10:16 am

except that he couldnt make the Browns or Dolphins roster

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pooch's picture

March 14, 2016 at 06:15 pm

Bears sign Zach Miller

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Evan's picture

March 14, 2016 at 06:50 pm

Lol. Bears are having Packer fans' dream off-season.

We'll still win more games than them though.

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NickPerry's picture

March 15, 2016 at 07:34 am

For the Bears to have gotten both Freeman and Trevathon for the money they spent for the two, makes it that much worse as a Packers fan. I for one am pretty tired of Ted suggesting he looks at other teams FA. It just doesn't seem possible.

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Ibleedgreenmore's picture

March 14, 2016 at 06:20 pm

They could be padding the defense.

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meatstyk's picture

March 14, 2016 at 06:43 pm

Get your superbowl tickets now!!

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4EVER's picture

March 15, 2016 at 01:28 am

Miami and Cleveland released him...I can't repeat that without puking. But will we be hearing of his development - its his year - 4 years from now? The dude has notta drop of flip in the hips, and reminds of a Nick Perry. That's what this defense needs, is another interior defensive lineman - placeholder - to be pushed 5 + yards out of position...who needs any stinken gap discipline!

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Oppy's picture

March 14, 2016 at 08:06 pm

LOL if Nick Perry did one thing well last season, it was NOT getting pushed 5 yards out of position. He set the edge like a champ.

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4EVER's picture

March 15, 2016 at 02:04 am

Yeah, yeah, yeah, lost my head and got caught envisioning - maybe that was in my head - the lack of gap discipline displayed by the front seven. Would contribute that lack of discipline on the most part to the interior of the line.

The Nick Perry comment; kicks off earlier in his career where he got caught a number of times in the open field, no bend whats so ever, it was ugly. I agree, as i've stated in earlier threads, that he came out like gang busters early last year and finished the season in the playoffs with two very solid games. I'm all in with the 1 year contract extension...!

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 15, 2016 at 12:23 am

They released him from their practice squads - this guys did not make their 53 man rosters.

Still, the scouting reports suggested he might be a 6th or 7th round pick last year, and suggested that he needed some technique work. Still, not an earth-shaking move, but time will tell with this prospect.

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SteveCheez's picture

March 14, 2016 at 07:09 pm

Best FA signing since Frank Walker

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meatstyk's picture

March 15, 2016 at 10:18 am

or johnny walker..

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RCPackerFan's picture

March 14, 2016 at 08:55 pm

At what positions?

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TommyG's picture

March 14, 2016 at 09:26 pm

ILB (or OLB if CMIII stays inside), TE, and CB.

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Packer_Pete's picture

March 14, 2016 at 10:26 pm

Why CB? What happened today was improvement through subtraction... Hayward was never good enough to play outside CB.

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TommyG's picture

March 15, 2016 at 06:57 am

I fail to see how losing the guy who lead our team in INTs in two of the last four seasons is an improvement.

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RCPackerFan's picture

March 15, 2016 at 07:03 am

They drafted 2 starting CB's last year. Also found a possible hidden gem in Gunter as an UDFA.
They are set up really well at CB.

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RCPackerFan's picture

March 15, 2016 at 07:25 am

Yeah, I agree about ILB, and DL.

While Rodgers isn't the best TE in the league, he is 'ok' as the starter. What they really need is another TE to play. Not necessarily a starter. If they draft a TE odds are he wouldn't be starting right away anyways. It typically takes a TE 2-3 years to become the player they were drafted to be.

IF they use Rodgers in the right ways, he can be a good or good enough TE. The problem is they have to stop pretending he is something that he is not. They don't need him to be Jermichael Finley. But they have to stop using him in the same ways.

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4EVER's picture

March 15, 2016 at 10:24 am

NT
ILB
DE

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John Galt III's picture

March 15, 2016 at 07:36 am

The Packers have 6 draft choices in the first (4) rounds. They are 27, 57, 88,125, 131 and 138.

There are 22 positions or roughly the top 6 available in each position 6x22=132. Assume our scouts/management is as good or better than other teams.

So on first (2) draft days you get one of the top 6 at (6) positions you need. You don't think you can get 3 starters out of 6 picks?

Say you get the 6th best OT/OG, sixth best WR, 6th best Safety, 6th best CB, 6th best OLB or ILB and 6th best DE or DT.

TE and QB are very weak it is said so forget those unless the best TE drops to the 3rd round or something like that.

The Packers must believe they can draft 3 starters out of 6 picks. The starters may not start, but they are just as good as the man they are replacing and that is the same thing.

Example: When Linsley went down, Tretter was just as good most people think.

Example: Lacy is out for a series and Starks comes in. No knowledgeable fan is upset by that.

They will get (3) starters given the above criteria - count on it.

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RCPackerFan's picture

March 15, 2016 at 08:05 am

The term 'starter' can be used loosely. It truly doesn't matter if a player is a 'starter' or not especially as a rookie. It really only matters how much they play and how effective they are when they play. Packers base defense is the 3-4, but they play so much nickel that essentially the Nickel back is a starter even though they technically aren't.

The last 3 drafts the Packers have had at least 3 'starters' playing in their rookie years. Not to mention others that played.
2013 - Datone Jones, Eddie Lacy, David Bakhtiari
2014 - Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Davante Adams, Richard Rodgers, Corey Linsley
2015 - Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins, Jake Ryan

I don't think finding 3 'starters' will be a problem.

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4EVER's picture

March 15, 2016 at 10:19 am

TT certainly rebounded from the 2011-12 fiascos, in a big way!

Datone Jones is a reach...he gets pushed all over the field.

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Point-Packer's picture

March 14, 2016 at 08:32 pm

The Bears get three day one starters on the cheap, two of which in positions of need for GB. And we get this ass clown? TT is a genius!!!'

And then BJ Raji retires.

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Packer_Pete's picture

March 14, 2016 at 09:25 pm

he didn't retire yet. he'll take one year off.

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marpag1's picture

March 15, 2016 at 08:00 am

Yeah, but realistically, I seriously doubt he's ever coming back - whether with the Packers or with anybody else. Once you say, "My heart isn't in this..." you might as well add "...so don't sign me to anything more than a minimum wage deal."

If his heart wasn't in it for several million per year, will he play for 700,000? Don't think so. He's done, and if he's happy about it, good for him.

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Packer_Pete's picture

March 15, 2016 at 09:40 am

you are probably right. but what I hope is that he'll come back and will play for some other team and the Packers get a draft pick for a trade :-)

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4thand1's picture

March 14, 2016 at 08:32 pm

Jackals????LMFAO................jackals. good one.

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Razer's picture

March 15, 2016 at 06:03 am

Yeah that got me laughing. Seems Aaron knows this crowd.

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Rossonero's picture

March 14, 2016 at 10:28 pm

McCarthy said the Packers might "shock us in free agency."

I'm not shocked at all. We just got a reject from the Browns who will be a 3 year project, but won't even be on the team 3 years from now. This signing is so conservative, so safe, so boring, it's impossible to not be irritated at it. All I hope is TT sure as hell sees something that we do not.

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Amanofthenorth's picture

March 15, 2016 at 02:02 am

He usually does.

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Amanofthenorth's picture

March 15, 2016 at 07:58 am

At least three of those names wear Super Bowl rings

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Packer_Pete's picture

March 14, 2016 at 10:31 pm

"McCarthy said the Packers might "shock us in free agency."" Maybe Mike wanted to shock us, but Ted didn't...

Free Agency isn't over yet. Maybe we'll trade our coach for a 5th string Browns ILB ...

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meatstyk's picture

March 15, 2016 at 10:20 am

I guess the "shock" is that TT can actually do LESS than previous years!

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Amanofthenorth's picture

March 15, 2016 at 02:05 am

ILB sickness here. How do you make it to probowls as an ILB? Have monsters in front of you. Even God gets blocked with a weak line.
Most of you I get, did not play football.

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Amanofthenorth's picture

March 15, 2016 at 08:00 am

Agree. That's why it's the priority not some ILB who plays there because he wasn't good enough to play outside. It's like drafting. O guards. Packers don't do it usually.

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Amanofthenorth's picture

March 15, 2016 at 08:01 am

. B

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Packer_Pete's picture

March 15, 2016 at 09:42 am

you are right. That's also why Travathan is ridiculously overrated... He didn't really play that well in a defense with ridiculous talent at OLB and at DL in front of his face. Glad the Packers didn't even reach out to him...

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Irish_Cheesehead's picture

March 15, 2016 at 08:35 am

Patience. Maybe they see this guy as a natural ILB. ;)

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Packer_Pete's picture

March 15, 2016 at 09:43 am

I thought he was signed to be the new 'rover' as a natural tweener between SS and ILB... Maybe I'm wrong.

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meatstyk's picture

March 15, 2016 at 10:22 am

maybe he has some long snapper abilities that we dont know about

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Tundraboy's picture

March 15, 2016 at 10:02 am

McCarthy was right. I'm shocked. Shocked that this is what they came up with.

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Point-Packer's picture

March 15, 2016 at 10:14 am

Cut by the Dolphins and Browns?

That's an all star resume..

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PackerAaron's picture

March 15, 2016 at 10:44 am

Tramon Williams was cut by the Texans. How did that work out?

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Point-Packer's picture

March 15, 2016 at 04:56 pm

Brandon Weeden was cut by the Browns. How did that work out?

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Evan's picture

March 15, 2016 at 11:40 am

If the Dolphins and Browns regularly made sound personnel decisions, they wouldn't be the Dolphins and Browns.

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Tundraboy's picture

March 15, 2016 at 11:44 am

I was thinking the same thing. Not exactly like they know what their doing.

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Point-Packer's picture

March 15, 2016 at 04:58 pm

Yeah, Trent Richardson has been a stud since he was traded by the Browns.

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Evan's picture

March 15, 2016 at 05:09 pm

Not sure if that's supporting or refuting my point.

Fwiw, The Browns getting a 1st round pick for him is easily the best thing they've done since they were reborn. Of course they blew the pick on Manziel.

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meatstyk's picture

March 15, 2016 at 10:23 am

Just threw up in my mouth

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Tundraboy's picture

March 15, 2016 at 10:41 am

Looks like we are on the 6 year plan. Assuming we hit on 2 picks each year, while also losing two each year, it should take about that long to make the improvements we need. Aargh.

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Since'61's picture

March 15, 2016 at 11:35 am

It's getting harder and harder to maintain my sense of humor as we go through this offseason. I guess this signing is TTs idea of a joke or maybe this is the big splash that MM told us about. Pretty sad actually. Thanks, Since '61

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Tundraboy's picture

March 15, 2016 at 11:45 am

Hence my comment about 6 year plan. Is there a plan or what here?

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