The Miami Dolphins are turning South Beach into a Packers reunion, and the latest arrivals are two more familiar Green Bay names.
Miami signed wide receiver Will Sheppard and cornerback Jaylin Simpson to its practice squad, adding to a pipeline that already runs straight from the Packers’ building to the Dolphins’ roster.
Sheppard made the kind of preseason impression teams remember. In Green Bay’s 42-38 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 28, he scored twice - once on a reception and once on a punt return for a touchdown.
Across three preseason games, he finished with nine catches for 73 yards and two touchdowns. Still, that wasn’t enough to win a roster spot, as general manager Brian Gutekunst chose undrafted rookie J.
Michael Sturdivant as the final receiver.
Sheppard, 24, entered the league as an undrafted player in 2025 and had spent all of last season on the Packers’ practice squad.
Simpson’s path was a little different, but the end result was the same: he was a roster cut on Sunday, Aug. 30, before landing back on a practice squad. A fifth-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts in 2024, Simpson joined the Packers in August 2025, then signed to Green Bay’s practice squad after being released during roster cuts a week later.
He spent most of the season there before getting into the Week 18 game against the Minnesota Vikings, where he recorded eight tackles. The 26-year-old added eight tackles in the 2026 preseason for Green Bay.
Those two join a growing list of former Packers in Miami.
Safety Zayne Anderson and quarterbacks Malik Willis and Kyle McCord are all on the Dolphins’ 53-man roster. Anderson signed with Miami in March after three years with the Packers.
Willis landed a three-year, $67.5 million deal to become the Dolphins’ starter after two successful seasons as Jordan Love’s backup. McCord, who went through training camp and preseason with Green Bay, is now Willis’ backup after being traded to Miami on Sunday.
He also had a strong preseason, highlighted by a four-touchdown outing against the Cardinals.
The connection at the top of the Dolphins’ organization is hard to miss. Former Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan was hired as Miami’s general manager in January after 19 years in Green Bay’s front office. His first major move was naming former Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as head coach.
Hafley, in turn, brought more Green Bay ties with him. Sean Duggan, who coached the Packers linebackers in 2025, is now Miami’s defensive coordinator, while Ryan Downard, Green Bay’s defensive backs coach over the previous three seasons, is the Dolphins’ secondary coach. Former Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry is also still on the Dolphins’ staff, where he’s in his third year after being retained by Hafley.
The Packers exodus wasn’t limited to Miami, either. Other former Green Bay players also landed on practice squads around the league this week.
Darian Kinnard, an offensive lineman who was signed by the Packers last year and appeared in all 17 games as a backup, joined the New York Giants after being released during roster cuts on Sunday, Aug. 30.
Messiah Swinson, who was in his third stint with Green Bay, signed with the Cleveland Browns after never appearing in a regular-season game for the Packers. He caught one pass for 11 yards during the 2026 preseason.
Shemar Bartholomew went to the Tennessee Titans after joining the Packers in December 2025, getting elevated for the regular-season finale against the Vikings and finishing that game with four tackles and one for a loss. He also had five tackles in the preseason.
Isaac Yiadom signed with the Washington Commanders. His last Packers stint came in 2021, when Green Bay acquired him in a trade and he played in 16 games with one start before being released ahead of the playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Since then, he has also spent time with the Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers. Yiadom signed a three-year contract in March 2025 during his second run with the Saints, but was released during roster cuts on Aug.
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