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Packers Elevate WR Hidden Gem to Active Roster After Bears Offer to Steal Him

Green Bay, WI – 2025

The Chicago Bears’ search for immediate wide-receiver help almost netted them a youngster from inside the NFC North. But the Green Bay Packers weren’t about to let him walk.

According to multiple reports, the Bears sought to sign Will Sheppard off Green Bay’s practice squad—an NFL-legal “poach” that would have placed him directly on Chicago’s 53-man roster. League rules allow such moves only to the active roster (not another practice squad), and a poached player must count on the new team’s 53 for three games (with a three-week salary guarantee).

Instead, the Packers moved decisively on Tuesday—promoting Sheppard to their own active roster. The call-up keeps the 23-year-old in house and removes the risk of losing him to a division rival at a moment of need. 

Who is the “hidden gem”? Sheppard is a 6-3 receiver who starred at Vanderbilt and later Colorado before turning pro. Green Bay signed him July 22, 2025, waived him during final cuts, and then re-signed him to the practice squad on Aug. 27. He’s been wearing No. 82 in camp and preseason. 

For the Packers, the promotion is about protecting an asset and fortifying depth while injuries ebb and flow—particularly with recent shuffling at wideout early in the season. For Sheppard, it’s a chance to stick on Sundays, likely beginning on special teams and as a situational chain-mover while he competes for offensive snaps behind the established rotation. If he converts his preseason flashes into game-day production, Green Bay may have uncovered a developmental receiver who can help now and grow into a larger role down the line.

Packers Icon Donald Driver Returns as Co-Owner to Lead From the Front
Green Bay, WI – The Green Bay Packers are writing a new chapter in their history books. This week, reports confirmed that franchise legend Donald Driver has officially purchased a stake in the team, returning home as a co-owner. Few players in NFL history have embodied their franchise like Driver. The Packers’ all-time receiving leader with a relentless motor and team-first ethos, he helped keep Green Bay a perennial playoff contender across the 2000s and early 2010s. Driver’s bond with Wisconsin was never just about football. Through the Donald Driver Foundation, he has championed education, housing, and wellness initiatives for under-served families across the state — a symbol of his “lead from the front” mentality that fans still cherish. The Hall of Fame–bound wideout (Packers Hall of Fame inductee) long ago sealed his place as one of the franchise’s most beloved figures. Now, he returns not only as a hero of the past, but as an architect of the future. Driver isn’t new to leadership off the field. In recent years he has taken visible roles in business and community ventures, contributing in marketing, strategy, and engagement across Wisconsin. Those experiences now come back to Green Bay, where he will work alongside President/CEO Ed Policy to help reshape the Packers’ identity. With the team sitting at 1–3 in the 2025 season, his arrival signals a cultural reset as much as a business move. Fans on X and Facebook exploded with excitement, calling it a “new chapter in history” and a chance for Driver to lead the Packers once again — this time from the boardroom instead of the huddle. For Driver, the message is clear: whether in pads or in a suit, he’s still committed to Green Bay. And for Packers fans, the thought of their greatest icon leading from the front again feels like destiny fulfilled.