Green Bay, Wis. The Green Bay Packers added vital veteran depth at safety and continued their new focus on special teams by signing Rudy Ford on Wednesday.

A five-year pro with a lot of experience on special teams before finally getting extensive action on defense last year, Ford was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday.

“Rudy’s a very accomplished special teams player in this league,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said before Wednesday’s practice, at which Ford was present and participating. “He’s one of the better gunners in the league. He’s got a kind of speed and physicality that we certainly covet. We’ve been looking at that situation for a while. We were a little surprised that he got shaken loose, but when he did, we were kind of ready to get on that. So, hopefully, he can get here and get acclimated soon, not only on special teams but on defence as well.”

To make room, Gutekunst released Micah Abernathy with the intention of re-signing him to the practice squad if he clears waivers.

Injuries have taken a bite out of Green Bay’s safety corps. The top backups entering training camp, Vernon Scott and Shawn Davis, were released following shoulder and knee injuries, respectively. Following Tuesday’s cutdown, the Packers had special-team standout Dallin Leavitt, rookie Tariq Carpenter, and former USFL player  Abernathy as the depth behind starters Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage.

“I think that’s something that we’re well aware of,” coach Matt LaFleur said during training camp, when the safety depth had been hit hard by injuries. “You’re always looking. But we have confidence in the guys, and, you know, it’s given these guys a great opportunity to go out there and show what they can do. They’ve gotten a lot of time in, not only in practice, but in those preseason games that’s going to be beneficial.”

A sixth-round pick out of Auburn by the Arizona Cardinals in 2017, Ford has played in 56 games with six starts in five NFL seasons. Last year with Jacksonville, he played in 15 games with four starts and recorded the first interception and three passes defensed of his career.

“My mindset is just to go and help our team,” Ford said last season. “My mindset is to keep going out, play at a high level, go anywhere the team asks, and make sure I’m there to help our team and keep helping us continue to try to elevate each and every week. That’s kind of my mindset: how can I become better, and how can we become better as an organisation? That is everything; that’s kind of my mindset.”

Until last year, his value was on special teams. In his first five seasons, he played 548 snaps on defence but 985 on special teams. Last year was the only time he played more snaps on defence (423) than special teams (179). Of those defensive snaps, 273 came in the slot and 99 came in the box, according to Pro Football Focus. He missed only three tackles (5.9 percent) but allowed 39-of-47 passing (83.0 percent).

“When we were doing the free agency back in February,” then-Jaguars coach Urban Meyer said last season, “I remember I watched him probably 100 times, and I said, ‘My gosh, this guy’s got elite speed. He’s tough as nails.’ We kept doing research: Why hasn’t he played on defence? And then, he’s proven that he can.”

In 2020 with the Eagles, Ford led the team with 11 tackles on special teams. Leavitt, it’s worth noting, led the Raiders with 12 tackles on special teams in 2021.

At Auburn, Ford was a three-year starter with five interceptions and three passes defensed. Before the 2017 NFL Draft, Ford measured 5-foot-11 1/8 and 205 pounds. He ran his 40 in 4.40 seconds and put up an impressive 20 reps on the 225-pound bench press.

Ford’s given name is Johnathan. An uncle gave him the nickname Rudy because of the underdog hero of the movie.” The moniker is more than a name.

“I feel like that underdog,” Ford said. “I had to work my entire career.”