Corey Grant joins Green Bay Packers

[aubiefifty 18,200]

Running back Corey Grant joins Green Bay Packers

Posted Jul 26, 4:25 PM

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Corey Grant gets past New England Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones after catching a pass during an NFL game on Sept. 16, 2018, at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.

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By Mark Inabinett | minabinett@al.com

Corey Grant has signed with the Green Bay Packers, the NFL team announced on Friday.

The former Opelika High School and Auburn running back has been a free agent since the end of the 2018 season, which was his fourth with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Grant hasn’t played since the fifth game of the 2018 campaign, when he suffered a Lisfranc injury on an 8-yard run in the second quarter of Jacksonville’s 30-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 7.

A Lisfranc injury involves the displacement of at least one of the metatarsal bones. The metatarsal bones run between the midfoot and the toes. The Lisfranc joint is where the bones that lead to the toes and the bones in the arch of the foot connect.

Grant totaled 13 carries for 40 yards and nine receptions for 67 yards in 2018.

The Packers return their top two running backs from last season. Aaron Jones ran for 728 yards and eight touchdowns on 133 carries in 12 games, and Jamaal Williams ran for 464 yards and three touchdowns on 121 carries.

Green Bay also has running back Dexter Williams, a sixth-round draft choice from Notre Dame in April.

Wide receiver Trevor Davis is at the top of the Packers' depth chart at kickoff returner. Davis played in only two games last season, but in 2017, he returned 31 kickoffs for a 22.8-yard average.

43 Auburn alumni set to report to NFL training camps

Former Tigers are starting the countdown to the 2019 season.

Grant joined the Jaguars as an undrafted rookie in 2015. His ability to return kicks earned a spot on the team. Grant averaged 27.5 yards on his eight kickoff returns. He also carried the ball six times and caught two passes before a hip-flexor tear ended his rookie season after six games.

Grant got hurt again in 2016, as a toe injury caused him to miss five games. But he came back to reclaim his spot as Jacksonville's kickoff returner and made his first NFL start in the final game of the season. Grant ran for 122 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown, against the Indianapolis Colts on Jan. 1, 2017.

After finishing the 2017 preseason as the AFC's leading rusher, Grant played every game during the season -- highlighted by runs of 56 and 58 runs on fake punts -- and made an impact in the first half of the AFC championship game by turning three short passes into 59 yards against the New England Patriots.

A restricted free agent last offseason, Grant re-signed with Jacksonville after the Jaguars put a second-round tender on him, paying him $2.914 million for the 2018 season.

During his NFL career, Grant has 454 yards and three touchdowns on 81 rushing attempts and 18 receptions for 156 yards and one touchdown in 38 regular-season games. He's returned 41 kickoffs for a 23.6-yard average.

Grant prepped at Opelika, where he won the 100-meter dash in 2008 and 2009 and the 200-meter dash in 2008 at the AHSAA Class 6A track and field outdoor championships. Grant spent a redshirt season at Alabama in 2010 before transferring to Auburn.

The Packers will kick off their four-game preseason schedule on Aug. 8 against the Houston Texans.

[gr82be 14,901]

It's always good to see an Auburn Tiger on the Packers. Go Pack Go!

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

Sure will be an adjustment. Playing at Lambeau Field in January is not easy for a Southern boy. 

[gr82be 14,901]

6 hours ago, Tigerbelle said:

Sure will be an adjustment. Playing at Lambeau Field in January is not easy for a Southern boy. 

True but January games at Lambeau = playoff games. 

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

8 hours ago, gr82be said:

True but January games at Lambeau = playoff games. 

If you survive the frostbite.....

He will be a huge asset to GB no doubt. Love Corey Grant, and what he's made of his NFL career.

[DAG 34,725]

16 hours ago, Tigerbelle said:

If you survive the frostbite.....

He will be a huge asset to GB no doubt. Love Corey Grant, and what he's made of his NFL career.

If this southern guy can handle it, Grant absolutely can! I am so excited. My fellow wisconsinites usually can't stand me not cheering on the Packers, but with Grant, I might have to cop me a jersey. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

On 7/28/2019 at 9:36 AM, gr82be said:

True but January games at Lambeau = playoff games. 

I said in the NFL thread, he might be going from the beach to the tundra but at least we're talking about one of the blue blood franchises in all of American pro sports. And he's a hard-nosed, gym rat kind of dude. Might offset the weather some. 

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

9 hours ago, DAG said:

If this southern guy can handle it, Grant absolutely can! I am so excited. My fellow wisconsinites usually can't stand me not cheering on the Packers, but with Grant, I might have to cop me a jersey. 

I've seen Packer games where it's so cold that you could see steam coming off players' bodies just like when you can see your breath in bitter cold and they had to unthaw the football. I hope they are paying him a fortune to play in the frozen north.

[augolf1716 21,962]

22 minutes ago, Tigerbelle said:

I've seen Packer games where it's so cold that you could see steam coming off players' bodies just like when you can see your breath in bitter cold and they had to unthaw the football. I hope they are paying him a fortune to play in the frozen north.

Something like this

 

[gr82be 14,901]

I'm biased here but I think playing football for the Packers is like playing baseball for the Yankees. Their fans love the franchises. Opponents respect the franchises. Other teams fans may hate them but they also respect them. All in all I don't think there's a player out there that wouldn't want to be a part of that history if they had the chance. Frozen or not. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

11 hours ago, gr82be said:

I'm biased here but I think playing football for the Packers is like playing baseball for the Yankees. Their fans love the franchises. Opponents respect the franchises. Other teams fans may hate them but they also respect them. All in all I don't think there's a player out there that wouldn't want to be a part of that history if they had the chance. Frozen or not. 

Exactly. 

Some franchises just have a better culture than others, too. DC has way better weather than Green Bay, but who the hell wants to play for Dan Snyder?? He could play inside a comfy dome in... Detroit??? Nah. They've got all kinds of ways to deal with the cold now, and even that's only a couple months out of the season, and even then it's only the home games. It's the other 99% of the experience that matters. 

Aaron Rodgers, the Lambeau Leap and everything it represents, history, a culture of excellence... very happy for our dude!

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

16 hours ago, gr82be said:

I'm biased here but I think playing football for the Packers is like playing baseball for the Yankees. Their fans love the franchises. Opponents respect the franchises. Other teams fans may hate them but they also respect them. All in all I don't think there's a player out there that wouldn't want to be a part of that history if they had the chance. Frozen or not. 

There's no doubt the GB fans are awesome....and my comments had nothing to do with the team itself, or anything other than the horrible weather in Wisconsin. I have experienced that kind of extreme cold personally and it is a huge adjustment for anyone coming from the South for any reason. Corey has been playing in FL and grew up in Opelika. He will have to get used to playing in a very cold climate in a way he's never had to before.. It will take him a while, and it probably won't be easy. 

I would say the same thing about playing in Buffalo.....

[gr82be 14,901]

5 minutes ago, Tigerbelle said:

There's no doubt the GB fans are awesome....and my comments had nothing to do with the team itself, or anything other than the horrible weather in Wisconsin. I have experienced that kind of extreme cold personally and it is a huge adjustment for anyone coming from the South for any reason. Corey has been playing in FL and grew up in Opelika. He will have to get used to playing in a very cold climate in a way he's never had to before.. It will take him a while, and it probably won't be easy. 

I would say the same thing about playing in Buffalo.....

I knew what you meant. I agree it will be an adjustment for him. I would hate to be standing on the sideline and be one of the guys who never get in the game. I think it's a lot different for the guys out there playing. I don't think they notice it near as much. Now the fans who sit in the stands with their shirts off in Buffalo and Green Bay need to have their head examined.