Former Baltimore Ravens running back Kenyan Drake has officially joined the Green Bay Packers practice squad ahead of Week 14, signing with his fourth team through the current 2023 NFL regular season.
The transaction was reported in the NFL's daily transaction sheet on Wednesday, although Tom Pelissero first broke the news on X a day earlier than the move became official.
The #Packers officially signed veteran RB Kenyan Drake to the practice squad and released RB James Robinson from the practice squad.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 5, 2023
With J.K. Dobbins getting injured barely a few minutes into the season and multiple other injuries impacting the Ravens roster earlier this year, Baltimore opted to sign a familiar face in Drake a few weeks ago. He went on to fumble a rock in a game against the Colts that Baltimore ended up losing, and that was all the Ravens needed to cut him for good.
Coincidentally, Drake was on Indianapolis' roster through training camp before signing with Baltimore in September. He went on to sign with Cleveland on Halloween before inking his latest deal with Green Bay on Dec. 5 on a practice squad agreement.
Drake takes the spot previously held by James Robinson on the Packers' taxi squad, another rusher the Cheeseheads signed earlier this season as a free agent.
In his two games with the Ravens this year, Drake rushed the rock one for no gain and caught two of three targets for 31 yards... and a contract-ending fumble. That giveaway didn't mark the end of Drake's career in Baltimore, mind you, as he went on to play another game two weeks later against the Steelers, but it was a damaging one for sure.
In his last game at Pittsburgh, Drake was active but only took one offensive snap without getting either a touch or an opportunity before getting released by the Flock a little over a week after that matchup with no role available for him among those in the active roster.
The Packers have released James Robinson to accommodate Drake, although it's unclear whether or not Drake will make it to the gameday squad of the Packers in Week 14 and going forward, or if he's just been signed as a warm body to keep around in practices.
Last season, Drake put up 482 rushing yards and scored four touchdowns, showcasing his talents and fooling teams into signing him (four times!) this year mostly as a backup rusher.
Throughout his NFL career, Drake has logged 868 carries for 3,866 yards and 33 rushing touchdowns with an average of 4.5 yards per attempt. Additionally, he has caught 218 receptions for 1,655 yards and eight receiving touchdowns. His best days, however, are long over.