The open spot on the Green Bay Packers’ practice squad will be filled Wednesday by the signing of cornerback and kick returner Corey Ballentine, according to Bill Huber of SI.com.
Ballentine (6-0, 191) was one of six players to work out for the team on Tuesday.
Ballentine, a sixth-round pick (180th overall) of the New York Giants in 2019, has played in 32 regular-season games with the Giants, New York Jets and Detroit Lions. He’s produced 46 tackles and two pass breakups as a cornerback and 855 return yards on 35 kickoff returns, with a long of 66 yards.
Ballentine most recently spent two weeks on the practice squad of the Arizona Cardinals.
Ballentine struggled in coverage with the Giants over the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He gave up five touchdown passes and a passer rating of 134.2 while also missing four tackles over 405 snaps, per PFF.
However, he’s been excellent on special teams, both as a returner and coverage player. In 2020, he tallied eight special teams tackles and produced over 500 return yards.
Ballentine has never returned on a punt at the NFL level.
He is an elite athlete.
At the 2019 combine, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds, hit 39.5″ in the vertical leap and covered 11-3 in the broad jump, finished the three-cone drill in 6.82 seconds and the short shuttle in 4.14 seconds. He also did 15 reps on the bench press. His Relative Athletic Score was 9.36 out of 10.0.
With pick 180 in the 2019 NFL Draft, the #Giants select Corey Ballentine, CB, Washburn.
Corey Ballentine posted a Elite #RAS with Good size, Good speed, Elite explosiveness, Good agility at the CB position. pic.twitter.com/T9oxTj3GxK
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 27, 2019
It’s possible Ballentine could give the Packers a boost as a returner at some point in the season. Amari Rodgers currently returns kicks and punts.
