Packers Attempted To Claim WR Elijah Higgins After Cuts

The Green Bay Packers had an unexpected training camp battle at the wide receiver position. Undrafted free agents Malik Heath out of Ole Miss and Bo Melton out of Rutgers pushed for a roster spot all offseason. They were joined by seventh-round pick Grant DuBose, who was also looking to secure a spot in the 53-man roster.

Ultimately, it was Heath who earned the spot. An injury to Melton during training camp took him out of the race. DuBose started camp in the NFI List, which put him behind the eight ball and was too much to come back from.

Things would have gotten even more complicated had the Packers been awarded the player they put a waiver claim on. According to NFL insider Field Yates of ESPN, Green Bay was one of five teams that put a waiver claim in for wide receiver Elijah Higgins. Higgins was a sixth-round pick of the Miami Dolphins who was released at cut down day.

He received the most waiver claims of any player, as the Packers were one of five teams who attempted to snag him. The Arizona Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans and Washington Commanders were the others.

Higgins was one of only two players to receive more than two claims along with Houston Texans guard Nick Broeker. The Cardinals, Titans and New York Giants attempted to land him.

Higgins graded out very well athletically during the pre-draft process. Standing 6’3” and weighing 235 pounds, he was considered a wide receiver/tight end hybrid. He has a similar mold to former Packers wide receiver, Allen Lazard.

It would have been interesting to see how things played out had the Packers been awarded Higgins on waivers. With six wide receivers on the roster, and two more on the practice squad, something would have had to give.

Fifth-round pick Dontayvion Wicks and 2022 seventh-round pick Samori Toure and Heath would have been closest to the chopping block. Given how much the Packers value keeping draft picks, Heath could have very well been the odd man out. However, there would have been a high likelihood someone claimed him on waivers and kept Green Bay from adding him to the practice squad.