Given everything swirling around Green Bay’s backfield, the Packers didn’t wait around on cutdown day to make a move.
They are trading for Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson, according to NFL reporter Tom Pelissero. Johnson, a third-round pick in 2025, had been squeezed into a crowded Steelers running back room that also included Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle.
In Green Bay, though, there should be a clearer path to compete for snaps.
The Packers’ need was obvious. Josh Jacobs’ status is up in the air after he was charged Aug. 27 with two misdemeanors, one count of battery and another count of criminal damage to property, stemming from his late May arrest. It remains unclear whether the NFL will discipline him before Week 1, and Jacobs is also heading into his age-28 season after an injury-hit 2025.
Behind him, the depth chart is thin. MarShawn Lloyd, the Packers’ 2024 third-round pick, has played only 10 snaps over the past two seasons.
Green Bay had chances all offseason to bring in a veteran for the backfield, but instead the team is moving in a different direction. General manager Brian Gutekunst had opened up the competition for the third tailback spot in camp, but the Packers are releasing Pierre Strong Jr. and Jaden Nixon, according to sources. They are also expected to release Damien Martinez.
Johnson is still largely an unknown at the NFL level, but he arrives with some intrigue. He just turned 23 this month and stands 6-foot-1, 224 pounds. At last year’s combine, he ran a 4.57-second 40-yard dash.
His college resume is a lot louder than his pro one. At Iowa, Johnson broke out as a junior with 1,537 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns on 240 carries, earning Big Ten running back of the year honors and second-team All-American recognition.
His rookie season in Pittsburgh was quiet. Johnson played just 51 snaps, carrying the ball 28 times for 69 yards and no touchdowns. He was stuck behind Warren and Kenny Gainwell, and when Gainwell left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Steelers chose to sign Dowdle rather than move Johnson up the pecking order.
Now he gets a reset in Green Bay, where the Packers clearly felt they needed more insulation in the running game before the season starts.
In Other News...
Packers Get Another Look At A Running Back They Wanted First
Damon Bankston is back on the market, and that gives the Packers another chance to revisit a player they already spent time with before the 2026 draft. The running back originally visited Green Bay, then later signed with the Giants after going undrafted, and now his release opens the door for a team that clearly had him on its radar once already.
Bankston comes with the kind of college production and athletic profile that can keep a name in circulation even after a winding path through the spring. For the Packers, the interest is easy to understand, especially with roster and practice-squad spots always in flux this time of year, but there is no indication yet that anything has been finalized. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Clearly Won This Trade As The Other Side Unravels
When the Packers sent defensive lineman Colby Wooden to Indianapolis in exchange for linebacker Zaire Franklin, it looked like the kind of swap both sides could live with. Franklin has settled in as Green Bays starting middle linebacker and even earned a captaincy, giving the defense a veteran presence in the middle and a clear sign that the Packers viewed him as more than a short-term fix.
The Colts, meanwhile, have announced they will waive Wooden, whose 2025 role in Green Bay included starting at nose tackle. His next stop is now up in the air, and it only adds to the sense that this is one of those trades where Green Bay got the more stable part of the deal while the other side is still trying to sort out what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Just Created A New QB Depth Problem After Trading Kyle McCord
Kyle McCords strong preseason in Green Bay had started to make him look like more than just a camp arm, which is why his move to Miami stood out as more than a routine transaction. The Packers sent McCord to the Dolphins for a 2028 sixth-round pick, a deal that came after Miami had already moved backup quarterback Quinn Ewers to the Jacksonville Jaguars and turned over its own reserve depth chart.
For Green Bay, the bigger issue is what comes next. McCords departure leaves the Packers needing another quarterback for the practice squad, and it creates a small but real depth question at a spot teams prefer not to improvise with once the summer roster churn starts to settle. Even when the trade return is modest and the timing is simple enough to explain, losing a preseason performer can force a team to rethink how it wants to protect the most important position on the roster. [Read more 🡒]