Among the various undrafted free agent signings by the Green Bay Packers, only one remained unofficial last week: wide receiver Julian Fleming. The situation has now become clearer. Marc Malkoskie, the sports editor at The News-Item, revealed that Fleming did not pass his physical due to concerns regarding his hip and back.
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Fleming, who played four seasons at Ohio State before transferring to Penn State for his final college year, went undrafted but quickly agreed to a free agent contract with the Packers. He traveled to Green Bay on Thursday for the team’s rookie minicamp, only to be informed that he would not be signed.
Malkoskie notes that the Packers were particularly worried about the 24-year-old’s recent hip injury (which he re-tore) and back issues (bulging disks). Fleming is now seeking new opportunities in the NFL and has been in contact with the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, and Washington Commanders about potentially attending their rookie minicamps, which many teams are holding this week.
Regarding the wide receiver position, the Packers have added draft picks Matthew Golden and Savion Williams. Julian Fleming was the sole undrafted free agent initially signed for this position. The team also had tryout players Jack Studer (Wisconsin-La Crosse), Ali Jennings (Virginia Tech), and Jaden Smith (Nevada) in the rookie minicamp, but none have been added to the 90-man roster.
At the lower end of the roster, Green Bay has two players who spent most of last season on the practice squad: Cornelius Johnson, a seventh-round pick by the Los Angeles Chargers last year, and Julian Hicks, who joined the Packers as a UDFA a year ago. The team waived Tulu Griffin earlier this week, suggesting they are comfortable with the depth at the receiver position.
The current wide receiver lineup includes Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Matthew Golden, Dontayvion Wicks, Savion Williams, Mecole Hardman, Malik Heath, Bo Melton, Julian Hicks, Cornelius Johnson, and Christian Watson, who is expected to miss the beginning of the regular season due to a knee injury.
