Packers 2017 Recap: QB Jerod Evans
Jerod Evans was an interesting but small blip on the radar for the 2017 Packers.
2017 Stats
- On the practice squad for two months
Expectations going into the season: Low
Expectations were: Not met
Analysis: We still don’t know anything about Jerod Evans
When Jerod Evans signed with the Packers in October, we really only knew one thing about him: nobody knew why he was there.
Specifically, nobody knew why he was trying to play professional football in 2017. A surprise entrant into the 2017 NFL Draft, Evans had gone undrafted and bounced around the league a bit before settling in Green Bay. Draft expert Tony Pauline offered a stark appraisal of Evans’s decision to leave Virginia Tech a year early:
"Shocked the hell out of me," Pauline said. "I never really watched him because I never took him as a serious pro prospect this year. He was never a guy where, I would watch Bucky Hodges, I would watch Isaiah Ford, I would watch (Ken Ekanem), I would watch (Brandon) Facyson, (Chuck) Clark. I never watched the quarterback as a serious, next-level guy."
To be sure, Evans had great physical tools. A 6-3, 232-pound prospect with dual-threat athleticism, a big arm, and stats to match is probably worth a roll of the dice as a practice squad player. But beyond his measurables and a three-and-a-half minute highlight film, we really didn’t know much about him when he joined the team.
Four months later, we still don’t know anything else about him. Even when the Packers were officially eliminated from playoff contention, Evans remained on the practice squad, apparently never getting serious consideration for a spot on the 53-man roster despite plenty of questions at the quarterback position.
The Packers released Evans in December and never looked back.
