Latest news with #WillSheppard
USA Today
03-08-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Quick takeaways from Packers Family Night practice 2025: Valentine continues to impress
The Green Bay Packers were reunited with a packed Lambeau Field for Family Night on Saturday, with almost 60,000 fans in attendance to watch Green Bay's annual open practice. Defense ruled the night, with the offense failing to find the end zone until Will Sheppard hauled in a touchdown right at the end of practice. Here were the key moments from Family Night 2025: Biggest play Carrington Valentine continued his strong start to training camp by making the highlight play of the night. After stonewalling Matthew Golden on a deep route, he reached out to pick off Jordan Love's pass for his fourth interception of the summer, stumbling to the turf after hauling it in. An impressive play by an increasingly impressive player. Best moment The punt catch contest is quickly becoming a fan favorite at Family Night, as Packers returners as well as local youth football players try their hand at catching and holding on to as many consecutive punts as possible. Romeo Doubs, who had a strong practice, held onto six footballs at once, dropped one as he waited for the seventh, then casually caught another with one hand. After last year's heroic effort by a fan to catch three consecutive punts, more memories were made as Keisean Nixon encouraged and backed up one of this year's young participants, keeping the ball in the air for him to bring in. Watching Packers stars dapping up the youngster after the drill was a great reminder of what makes Family Night special. Standout player It will be tough to crack Green Bay's safety room, with five strong candidates in Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, Javon Bullard, Kitan Oladapo and Zayne Anderson, but former undrafted rookie Omar Brown is giving himself a real chance. He had three picks on Saturday night, including two off Malik Willis, bringing his tally up to five for the summer. The highlight was an acrobatic grab as he fell to the ground. Brown is making a real impression. Of note At this time last year, plenty of attention was being paid to Green Bay's kicker battle, consisting of a few undesirable options. A stark contrast to this year, as Brandon McManus has well and truly ended the Packers' turbulent search for a kicker. He went eight for eight on the night, including kicks of 50, 51 and 54 yards, and is now an incredible 36 of 37 in training camp. Injuries The only new injury entering Family Night was Tucker Kraft, who missed out with a groin issue which Matt LaFleur indicated is day to day. The list of Packers not practicing was as follows: Zach Tom dropped out late in practice, before Malik Heath hobbled off after making a catch and going to the ground during a two-minute drill with the ones. Quote of the night 'I don't think I've ever had a cheese curd.' - Packers legend Larry 'Rock' McCarren with easily the most shocking revelation of the night.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Packers signing rookie WR ahead of training camp
The Green Bay Packers are signing a rookie wide receiver ahead of Wednesday's start to training camp. According to multiple reports, the Packers will sign undrafted free agent Will Sheppard, a rookie out of Colorado, to the 90-man offseason roster. Sheppard (6-2, 203) originally agreed to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following the 2025 NFL draft but failed his physical. He also participated at the Denver Broncos minicamp as a tryout player but was not signed. After four seasons at Vanderbilt, Sheppard transferred to Colorado and was an important player for the Buffaloes in 2024. He caught 48 passes for 621 yards and six touchdowns across 13 games. While Sheppard had five games with two or fewer catches, he also had a six-game stretch where he caught all six of his touchdown passes and Colorado went 5-1. Sheppard played almost exclusively out wide for Colorado. He averaged 1.22 yards per route run, per PFF, a relatively poor number at the college level, but Sheppard did catch 12 of 24 contested catch opportunities and only had two drops. He previously caught 152 passes for 2,067 yards and 21 touchdowns over 42 games at Vanderbilt. He caught nine touchdown passes in 2022 and eight more in 2023. Sheppard played more in the slot (roughly 20 percent of snaps) while at Vanderbilt and was a more efficient receiver overall, averaging 2.12 yards per route run in 2022 and 1.93 in 2023. Sheppard participated at the East-West Shrine Game. During pre-draft testing, Sheppard ran the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds -- a slow time for a receiver his size -- but also hit 40.5" in the vertical leap and covered 10-6 in the broad jump, giving him a Relative Athletic Score of 8.72. From Lance Zierlein of "Fifth-year senior with steady catch production over the last four seasons. Sheppard has good size and average speed. However, he will run routes below his optimal play speed and leaves too many routes unfinished. His ball skills are much better down the field than underneath and he toggles between a spectacular catch and a frustrating lack of catch finishing. He sees a high number of routes contested but lacks the feistiness to win those battles at a high enough rate." Sheppard joins a fascinating receiver group for the Packers featuring rookies Matthew Golden, Savion Williams and Sam Brown Jr. Sheppard was among a group of players working out for the Packers on Monday. Expect the signing to become official on Tuesday. This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers signing rookie WR Will Sheppard ahead of training camp
USA Today
22-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Packers signing rookie WR ahead of training camp
The Green Bay Packers are signing a rookie wide receiver ahead of Wednesday's start to training camp. According to multiple reports, the Packers will sign undrafted free agent Will Sheppard, a rookie out of Colorado, to the 90-man offseason roster. Sheppard (6-2, 203) originally agreed to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following the 2025 NFL draft but failed his physical. He also participated at the Denver Broncos minicamp as a tryout player but was not signed. After four seasons at Vanderbilt, Sheppard transferred to Colorado and was an important player for the Buffaloes in 2024. He caught 48 passes for 621 yards and six touchdowns across 13 games. While Sheppard had five games with two or fewer catches, he also had a six-game stretch where he caught all six of his touchdown passes and Colorado went 5-1. Sheppard played almost exclusively out wide for Colorado. He averaged 1.22 yards per route run, per PFF, a relatively poor number at the college level, but Sheppard did catch 12 of 24 contested catch opportunities and only had two drops. He previously caught 152 passes for 2,067 yards and 21 touchdowns over 42 games at Vanderbilt. He caught nine touchdown passes in 2022 and eight more in 2023. Sheppard played more in the slot (roughly 20 percent of snaps) while at Vanderbilt and was a more efficient receiver overall, averaging 2.12 yards per route run in 2022 and 1.93 in 2023. Sheppard participated at the East-West Shrine Game. During pre-draft testing, Sheppard ran the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds -- a slow time for a receiver his size -- but also hit 40.5" in the vertical leap and covered 10-6 in the broad jump, giving him a Relative Athletic Score of 8.72. From Lance Zierlein of "Fifth-year senior with steady catch production over the last four seasons. Sheppard has good size and average speed. However, he will run routes below his optimal play speed and leaves too many routes unfinished. His ball skills are much better down the field than underneath and he toggles between a spectacular catch and a frustrating lack of catch finishing. He sees a high number of routes contested but lacks the feistiness to win those battles at a high enough rate." Sheppard joins a fascinating receiver group for the Packers featuring rookies Matthew Golden, Savion Williams and Sam Brown Jr. Sheppard was among a group of players working out for the Packers on Monday. Expect the signing to become official on Tuesday.
USA Today
21-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Former Colorado standout receiver signs rookie contract with Green Bay Packers
Former Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Will Sheppard is reportedly signing with the Green Bay Packers. NFL Insider Jordan Schultz reported the news, which comes after Sheppard failed his physical with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after going undrafted in the 2025 NFL draft. He was released in early May and now has found a new NFL home in Green Bay. The setback didn't discourage Sheppard, who remained in shape, attending tryouts and is now set for his first NFL training camp with the Packers. Sheppard brings a unique skillset to the table at 6-foot-2, 203 pounds. At Colorado's pro day, he showcased elite athleticism, recording a 4.54-second 40-yard dash and an impressive 40.5-inch vertical leap. During his time at Colorado, he showed he can be a tenacious red-zone threat and make contested catches. Playing in an explosive Colorado passing attack, alongside Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, Sheppard caught 48 passes for 621 yards and six touchdowns in his lone season in Boulder. Green Bay's addition of Sheppard is surprising considering the Packers are loaded at wide receiver with Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Matthew Golden, Mecole Hardman and Dontayvion Wicks all competing for a roster spot. Sheppard and all other Green Bay Packers will report for training camp on Tuesday. Follow Charlie Strella on X, Threads and Instagram. Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ex-Colorado Buffaloes WR trying out for Broncos at minicamp
The Denver Broncos brought in a local wide receiver for a tryout this week. Former Colorado Buffaloes receiver Will Sheppard attended mandatory minicamp on a tryout basis on Tuesday, according to a report from the Denver Post's Luca Evans. Advertisement Evans previously spotted Broncos coach Sean Payton chatting up Sheppard at CU's pro day earlier this year. Sheppard posted 40-yard dash times of 4.56 and 4.54 seconds, a 40.5-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot, 11-inch broad jump at the pro day. He was not picked during the NFL draft in April but is now getting a chance to impress at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit. Sheppard (6-2, 198 pounds) spent four years at Vanderbilt before transferring to Colorado last fall. He totaled 48 receptions for 621 yards and six touchdowns in 2024, ending his five-year college career with 200 catches for 2,688 yards and 27 touchdowns in 55 games. As of the time of publication, Sheppard has not signed. Related: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans. This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Denver Broncos: Ex-CU WR trying out for team at minicamp
