Morton was an undrafted free agent signing for the Detroit Lions in 2023.
During the Green Bay Packers’ Tuesday practice, three defensive ends were missing from he field: Deslin Alexandre (leg), Kingsley Enagbare (hamstring) and Keshawn Banks (groin). Because of the injuries that have clustered at the position, the Packers, according to agent Sean Stellato, have signed former Akron pass-rusher Zach Morton — who was one of seven players that Green Bay worked out over the weekend after their Family Night practice. The Packers didn’t have a corresponding roster move to announce today, as they already had an open roster spot available after releasing quarterback Jacob Eason on Monday.
Morton began his career as a three-star recruit out of Detroit, Michigan’s Cass Tech, a powerhouse program in the region. As a recruit, the 222-pounder was able to secure scholarship offers from the likes of Cincinnati, Syracuse and Iowa State. He enrolled at Syracuse before transferring to Akron for his final two years of his college career. As a senior in 2022, Morton was able to record 4.5 sacks and eight tackles for losses.
By the time his pre-draft process rolled around, Morton had grown an inch and put on nearly 40 pounds since he enrolled at Syracuse. He was also able to post a 7.07-second three-cone drill, a high number in a crucial metric for edge benders.
After going undrafted in 2023, Morton signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions. He originally began Lions training camp on the non-football injury list and was later waived by the team on August 5th. Since then, he’s been looking to get back into the league.
The first four defensive ends on the Packers’ depth chart, Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Lukas Van Ness and Enagbare, are virtual locks to make the 53-man roster. After that, though, some questions arise. The presumed number-five edge defender is Brenton Cox Jr., though, he hasn’t done much to make the case as a roster stash for a second straight season. Even in the playoffs, when the team needed an extra pass-rusher on the field, it was Banks off the practice squad, not Cox, who was activated for gameday.
With a healthy defensive end unit of just Gary, Smith, Van Ness, Arron Mosby and soccer-turned-basketball-turned-football convert Kenneth Odumegwu on the roster going into this weekend’s game against the Cleveland Browns, this could be the right type of storm for Morton to get plenty of opportunity to post preseason film.
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