Green Bay Packers host Kalon Barnes, Chris Steele for workouts
The Green Bay Packers hosted a pair of cornerbacks for workouts, according to KPRC’s Aaron Wilson. Kalon Barnes and Chris Steele worked out with the team this week.
Barnes has bounced around multiple NFL practice squads since the Carolina Panthers selected him in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft. They waived him just before the 2022 season, and he also spent time with the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings practice squads over the last two years. A former Baylor cornerback, Barnes ran a 4.23-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in 2022.
Steele, a former USC star, hasn’t played an NFL game after going undrafted in 2022. He was part of the Dolphins and Seattle Seahawks practice squads last year.
The Packers are gearing up for a new era after trading Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets over the offseason. That means it’s officially Jordan Love’s team as he takes over as starting quarterback, and he put up decent numbers in the preseason. He completed 21 of 33 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns as he prepares for his fourth season in the league.
While those numbers were solid, general manager Brian Gutekunst said there’s always room for improvement.
“There’s things that not everybody sees but little mistakes that I think he’s going to really grow from,” Gutekunst said in his press conference. “And then there’s things that maybe didn’t affect the play.”
The Packers were reportedly interested in Jonathan Taylor
When Jonathan Taylor requested a trade from the Indianapolis Colts, he generated plenty of interest. That included a mystery team, which was later revealed to be the Packers, according to ESPN’s Stephen Holder.
Gutekunst received questions about his team’s interest in the star running back and, while he can’t specifically comment on specific players, he made it clear he looks for any chance to make his team better.
“Well, let’s get the checklist out,” Gutekunst said, via Pro Football Talk. “First of all, I can’t talk about players on other teams. We try to be in every conversation. So, you know, anytime we have good players available to us, we’d like to make the Green Bay Packers better and we’ll look at those opportunities. So, that’s about what I’ve got to say about that.”
Still, Gutekunst has confidence in his running back room, calling it the “strength of our football team.”
“We have conversations about players throughout the National Football League — players on our team, on other teams — all the time,” Gutekunst said. “People ask about our guys all the time. That’s just part of it. I can’t be running to worry about what our players think every time somebody calls and asks us because it might get out into the media. I’m not really too concerned with that.
“We have a great running back room. We’re really excited about it. I think they’re the strength of our football team. But, again, we have a lot of conversations. If people perceive it’s one thing or another, I can’t control that.”
On3’s Nick Geddes contributed to this report.