Justis MosquedaTue, December 2, 2025 at 9:43 PM UTC·3 min readYesterday, the Green Bay Packers announced that receiver Will Sheppard would be waived from the 53-man roster. To get him back on the practice squad, should he clear waivers, the Packers needed to make a corresponding roster move, as their practice squad was full after the re-signing of kicker Lucas Havrisik last week. They made this move on Tuesday, when they released receiver Michael Woods II and cornerback Tyron Herring, while also announcing the signing of cornerback Shemar Bartholomew.
Sheppard should replace Woods, who was signed by Green Bay in Week 10. Even without Woods, the potential signing of Sheppard would still give the Packers’ 17-man practice squad a third receiver to go along with Isaiah Neyor and Jakobie Keeney-James.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHerring was in camp with the Packers after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent out of Delaware following the 2025 draft. He wasn’t initially re-signed to the practice squad at the start of the year, spending Weeks 4 to 7 with the New England Patriots’ practice squad, before being signed by Green Bay in Week 9 following the Tennessee Titans’ poaching of Micah Robinson, a 2025 draft pick.
Bartholomew originally worked out with the Packers back in early November, but the team elected not to sign him then. A week later, he joined the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad, where he spent two weeks before being released last week.
Before his workout with Green Bay, Bartholomew had worked out with the Houston Texans, New York Giants, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers this season. There are probably few players in the NFL who have racked up more miles than him in 2025.
Here is what we wrote about Bartholomew when he initially worked out with the Packers:
The cornerback position is interesting on the practice squad, because the Packers recently had 2025 draft pick Micah Robinson poached by the Tennessee Titans, who actually had Robinson active after just a week of practice last week. Without Robinson, Green Bay only had five cornerbacks available for practice, so the team scrambled to sign Tyron Herring, who had previously spent time with the Packers in training camp, last week.
Based on Green Bay bringing in two cornerbacks on Monday, it doesn’t seem like they’re committed to Herring.
Bartholomew entered the league as an undrafted rookie with the New York Jets, where he was waived at roster cuts in 2024. From there, he was outright claimed by the Carolina Panthers, who were one of four teams that put in a claim for the cornerback. The other teams that attempted to claim Bartholomew were the Los Angeles Chargers, New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs.
He stayed on the 53-man roster in Carolina for all of 2024 but was waived at cutdowns in 2025. Going unclaimed, he signed with the Panthers’ practice squad for just one day before becoming a street free agent. He was actually replaced by former Packers draft pick Kalen King on the Panthers’ practice squad. In total, Bartholomew played 34 special teams snaps and 17 defensive snaps over five games with Carolina last regular season.
This could also be a sign that the Packers are looking past 2025 and feel good about where Keisean Nixon and Nate Hobbs’ injuries are at right now. The team might just rather have Bartholomew than Herring when they hand reserve/futures contracts (essentially league-minimum deals) to their practice squad members after their season ends. Below is the new breakdown of the practice squad, which again has one opening that Sheppard is likely to fill.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPackers practice squad update
QB: Clayton Tune
RB: Pierre Strong Jr.
WR: Isaiah Neyor, Jakobie Keeney-James
TE: McCallan Castles, Drake Dabney
OT: Brant Banks
OG: Dalton Cooper
OC: Lecitus Smith
DE: None
DT: James Ester, Dante Barnett (international exemption)
LB: Jamon Johnson
CB: Shemar Bartholomew
S: Johnathan Baldwin, Jaylin Simpson
K: Lucas Havrisik
P: None
LS: None
