The Green Bay Packers (6-6) have elevated veteran running back Kenyan Drake from their practice squad to their active roster ahead of the Week 14 road clash against the New York Giants (4-8) Monday.
Green Bay signed the 29-year-old to their practice squad this past Tuesday amid the continued absence from running back Aaron Jones, who has been sidelined with a knee injury. Drake, in his eighth season in the NFL, appeared in two games this season for the Baltimore Ravens (10-3). He received one carry, rushing for zero yards and added 31 yards on two receptions.
Drake, a third-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Alabama, spent three seasons with the Miami Dolphins (9-3), two with the Arizona Cardinals (3-10), one with the Las Vegas Raiders (5-7) and the last two in Baltimore. Drake has tallied 3,866 rushing yards on 4.5 yards per carry and 33 touchdowns as well as 218 receptions for 1,655 yards and eight scores.
The Packers have spent a majority of the season without their star tailback in Jones. The 29-year-old has appeared in just seven games, rushing for 245 yards on a career-low 3.7 yards per carry and two touchdowns. Green Bay has instead had to rely on AJ Dillon, who has struggled to carry the load without Jones. He has rushed for 521 yards on 3.5 yards per carry and one touchdown.
Jordan Love says ‘every game’ is a playoff game for Packers
Drake will make his debut at a time where the Packers are surging, having won three games in a row and four of their last five. But with five games remaining, work remains for the Packers to finish the job and get back into the postseason. Quarterback Jordan Love knows this, and is taking on a playoff-like mentality the rest of the way. Essentially, every game moving forward for Green Bay must be treated like a playoff game.
Win, or go home.
“We don’t doubt anybody or take a game off or anything like that,” Love said Thursday. “We give everybody respect and take it that one game at a time. Our mindset is just to focus and go win every week.
“We don’t need a reminder at all. We know what position we’re in. Every game is like a playoff game for us. We know [we need] that mentality — we’ve got to win out. So, this team doesn’t need a reminder of that.”
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