Packers Sign Athletic Linebacker to Practice Squad

The Green Bay Packers signed Austin Ajiake, who led the Mountain West Conference in tackles last year at UNLV, to their practice squad on Tuesday.

As a fifth-year senior last year, Ajiake tallied 132 tackles – fifth-best in FBS and fourth-best in school history – along with the first four sacks and the first two interceptions of his career. Afterward, he played in the Hula Bowl and Senior Bowl. In 48 career games, he recorded 232 tackles, 12 for losses and three passes defensed.

Ajiake went undrafted and spent training camp with the Denver Broncos but was released at the end of training camp. He spent the first two weeks of November on the Las Vegas Raiders’ practice squad.

At 6-foot-1 1/2 and 223 pounds, the athletic but undersized Ajiake ran a 4.60 in the 40 with a 38.5-inch vertical leap, good for a Relative Athletic Score of 7.76.

In August, he was named the Mountain West Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2022-23.

Becoming a father increased his focus.

“It was a wake up call,” he told Pro Football Network. “That’s not to say I was doing, like, bad things before or anything because I definitely wasn’t. But it upped my sense of urgency. Once I had her, I realized that I have a whole human being looking at me to set the example, to show her what can be achieved in this world. I never took that lightly. Once that clicked in my head, it was over. I want her to know that you can chase dreams, that you can accomplish what you want to accomplish.”

As Packer Central reported, the Packers opted not to fill the spot by bringing back defensive back Innis Gaines. Gaines had spent the entire season on the practice squad before being signed to the 53-man roster for Sunday’s game at Pittsburgh. The Packers released him on Monday to claim a cornerback off waivers.