The Green Bay Packers didn’t take long to get ahold of running back Patrick Taylor — who was on the practice squad of the New England Patriots as of last Sunday — when injuries hit both Aaron Jones and Emanuel Wilson in the second quarter of Green Bay’s 23-20 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
Their depth at running back devastated by injury and a game to be played Thursday in Detroit, the Packers immediately called Taylor and arranged his return.
How long did it take? Minutes.
“They called me Sunday while the guys were at halftime,” Taylor said Tuesday.
Taylor was watching when Jones and Wilson suffered injuries against the Chargers. Within a few plays, Jones injured his knee on an awkward tackle and Wilson hurt his shoulder while fighting for yards near the sideline.
“I said, we might be going back to the Packers, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon,” Taylor said. “Literally two minutes, three minutes after I said that, my agent called me and I looked at my wife. He (the agent) called her, she said, hey Chris just called. And I looked at her and then she was like, yeah, we are going back to the Packers.”
Taylor said he was on a plane and headed back to Green Bay by 5:00 a.m. Monday morning. He was officially signed to the team’s 53-man roster later Monday. By Thursday, Taylor will be expected to be the top backup behind A.J. Dillon against the Lions at Ford Field.
“It’s a big opportunity for me to put my talent on display,” Taylor said.
Taylor said it was “exciting” to walk back into the facility after being away for over a month.
Taylor, who first arrived in Green Bay in 2020, played four regular season games for the Packers in 2023. He was elevated from the practice squad three times — the maximum in a season — and signed to the 53-man roster before facing the Las Vegas Raiders. But the Packers released him a day after the loss to the Raiders and had no interest in re-signing him to the practice squad.
Taylor found a new opportunity in New England and admitted he wasn’t pleased with how things ended in Green Bay.
“No, they didn’t,” Taylor said when asked if the Packers tried signing him back to the practice squad. “It left a bad taste in my mouth for sure. I know out of everything nobody owes you anything in this league, no matter how hard you work. No matter the things that you do. It’s a performance-based business. If you’re not playing well or you’re not helping the team, they’ll get rid of you. It left a bad taste in my mouth for sure. But I am grateful that it happened because it gave me a different perspective of everything moving forward. But I am grateful for the opportunity to be back here and be back with my boys and play with the Packer G.”
Over the last six weeks, Taylor played 21 snaps for the Packers vs. the Raiders in Las Vegas, was released the next day, flew to Boston, signed with the Patriots, went to Germany during New England’s international trip and is now back in Green Bay with an opportunity to help the Packers in a huge NFC North showdown in Detroit.
Quotes from Packers Wire contributor Paul Bretl was used in this story.
