The Green Bay Packers were always high on tight end Mitchell Henry, just not high enough to put him on the 53 coming out of training camp.
After turning in a surprising camp, the grand plan was to put Henry on the practice squad while giving the roster spots to Richard Rodgers, Andrew Quarless and sixth-round pick Kennard Backman.
That plan failed when the Denver Broncos claimed Henry. The undrafted rookie from Western Kentucky played in two games for the Broncos this season. They released him on Tuesday.
The same day, the Packers promoted tight end Justin Perillo to the active roster and used his practice squad spot for cornerback Kyle Sebetic. That seemingly left no room for Henry.
Well, not so fast.
The Packers signed Henry to the practice squad on Friday. They created a spot for him by releasing tight end Tom Annen.
Why are we making such a big deal about a practice squad tight end?
Henry seemingly has more upside than Quarless or Perillo.
He played in a run dominated offense in college and, as such, didn’t get a lot of opportunities to show his skill as a pass catcher. Henry can block fine, but he showed he can also make plays in the passing game during camp, much to the surprise of everyone.
We’ve hammered this point home over and over.
Richard Rodgers: garbage.
Andrew Quarless: mediocre on his best day.
Kennard Backman: no idea, doesn’t get any snaps.
Justin Perillo: limited skill set.
The Packers haven’t had a good tight end since Jermichael Finley got injured. Henry is probably not Jermichael Finley, but he’s at least someone with potential.