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Packers Bring Back Fan Favorite DT Who Won Two Super Bowls, Name Him Week 1 Starter on the Initial Depth Chart

“I can’t even put into words how I felt when I got the call from Coach LaFleur. Coming back to Green Bay makes me truly happy — to put on the Green & Gold, the colors that have lifted multiple Lombardi Trophies. Being listed as a Week 1 starter on the initial depth chart surprised me, but I’ll be ready and play my heart out for this jersey,” Mike Pennel said.

After a brief free-agency stint elsewhere, Pennel — an undrafted nose tackle who began his NFL career with the Packers — was acquired in a low-cost late-round pick swap that brings a system-fit run anchor back to Lambeau. The reunion hands Green Bay a ready-made interior piece who already understands the scheme, minimizing the playbook ramp-up ahead of Week 1.

The team’s first depth chart lists Pennel alongside Devonte Wyatt as the starting defensive tackles, with T.J. Slaton and Karl Brooks on the second line. The roles are clear: Pennel profiles as a 1-tech/shade run stopper who preserves gap integrity for the linebackers, while Wyatt works primarily at 3-tech to generate interior disruption. On third-and-long, Brooks and Slaton could see an uptick in snaps to juice the pass rush.

Before the move back, Pennel admitted the call caught him off guard mid-routine — and the biggest hassle was simply having to move again. Even so, he emphasized that everything “worked out the right way,” returning to the place where his NFL journey started and bringing with him two Super Bowl rings earned during his years away.

Pennel’s Green Bay homecoming is about more than depth: it’s a cultural fit. With a familiar voice in the room and a proven early-down anchor on the field, the Packers expect the interior to clamp down on the run and set the table for heavier pressure packages off the edge — Green & Gold business from the very first snap.

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Father of Packers Rookie DT shocks everyone by declaring he will quit his job and live off his son — his words leave the room silent
Green Bay, WI — October 7, 2025. In the Lambeau Field press room, a man with work-hardened hands looked straight into the lens, his voice low but resolute:“Why should I keep working when I can live off my son? I just want to say one thing: ‘Thank you, son — from now on your father will live off you.’” He paused for half a beat and smiled. “I’m saying it half-jokingly. I’ve worked night shifts my whole life, some months counting every dollar to pay the power bill. Today, when my son sent 100% of his first month’s salary to our family, it felt like we finally rounded a long, hard bend. ‘Live off my son’ is my way of saying pride, and of setting down old burdens.”Beside him, the rookie nodded gently. Per a plan discussed with his advisors, starting next month 50% of his salary will go home on a regular schedule — the rest will be split among long-term savings, a small fund for his old school, and careful investments. “Careers can be short or long, but gratitude to our parents can’t wait,” he said, just loud enough for the room to hear. Outside, the “Titletown” signage shimmered in the morning haze. For a young defensive tackle fighting his way into the Packers’ rotation, everything moved fast: signing as a UDFA after the Draft, grinding through camp, and then making the 53-man roster right before the season — milestones most players only dare to dream about. (It also extends the franchise’s streak to 21 straight seasons with at least one UDFA on the Week 1 roster.) That’s why this story goes well beyond a bank transfer. It’s a message about discipline, gratitude, and grit. A team spokesperson put it simply: “We respect any decision that puts family first — as long as the player matches it with professionalism every day.” On the low risers of the press room, a few reporters nodded: it’s rare to see a rookie choose to “speak with his wallet” in his very first month. And then, at the heart of this story — like the moment a name finally gets inked onto the lineup — that rookie is Nazir Stackhouse: DT #93 of the Green Bay Packers, undrafted in 2025, who quite literally stitched his name onto a first-team jersey. Back at the podium, the father — still wearing a faded ball cap — spoke again, slower this time, clearer:“I’m not bragging. I’ve patched roads, hauled loads; some days my hands cracked and bled. We ate lean so our son could chase football. Today I say ‘live off my son’ because, for the first time, I feel I can breathe. Thank you, son, for not giving up.”Then he turned to his boy, a hint of mischief in his voice: “As for me… tomorrow I’ll still work half a day. The other half, I’ll be home grilling for the neighbors.” A quick hug closed the presser. Shutters clicked. The rookie smiled and tugged up the strap of his practice backpack: “On the field, this is only the beginning,” he said. In Green Bay — where the Lombardi name is heritage — a rookie’s anchor doesn’t always start in a thick playbook; sometimes it begins with an envelope sent home and a single sentence that makes a crowded room go quiet.