GREEN BAY, Wis. — The second wave of free agency has been an active one for the Green Bay Packers.
After signing cornerback Benjamin St-Juste to a two-year deal worth $10 million dollars in the early hours of Tuesday morning, they're also signing wide receiver Skyy Moore to a one-year deal, according to Jordan Schultz.
But the Packers presumably aren't bringing Moore, a former second-round pick, aboard for his pass-catching qualities. They needed a designated return man for kicks and punts, and Moore will be just that.
Skyy Moore returns a punt in a Nov. 30 game against the Cleveland Browns. (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
This week has been all about special teams for the Packers, for the most part. They re-signed linebackers Nick Niemann and Kristian Welch—both players were on the field for more than 20 percent of the special teams snaps last season. Niemann's season was cut short due to a pectoral injury, but he still finished the year tied for the team lead in special teams tackles.
New special teams coordinator Cam Achord was hired as the successor to Rich Bisaccia, who surprisingly stepped down from his role to pursue the same opportunity at Clemson. It may have been Achord who pushed for the Packers to pursue Moore considering he's had a designated return man at every stop throughout his coaching career. Whether it was with the New England Patriots or the New York Giants, Achord has maximized whoever that player was. With the Patriots, it was Marcus Jones, and with the Giants, it was Gunner Olszewski and Deonte Banks.
That's a role that has yet to be truly filled in Green Bay. Five different players returned a kickoff for the Packers last season: Savion Williams, Bo Melton, Emanuel Wilson, Nate Hobbs and Jakobie Keeney-James. Four different players returned punts: Romeo Doubs, Matthew Golden, Keisean Nixon and Jayden Reed. Nixon, the team's top cornerback, was an All-Pro return man in 2022 and led the league in return yardage in back-to-back seasons, but has indicated that he doesn't want to return kicks anymore.
This isn't the first time the Packers have signed an ex-Chief with a second-round pedigree. They picked up Mecole Hardman in free agency last year for his experience as a returner, but he was released during final cut-downs in the summer. The Packers signed him to their practice squad, but he was released three weeks into the regular season.
Mecole Hardman was released by the Packers on Sept. 23. (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Enter Moore, who has won a pair of Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs. He spent his first three seasons with Patrick Mahomes and co. before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers last summer for a 2027 sixth-round selection.
Moore had only returned 14 punts and five kickoffs during his time in Kansas City, but that number saw a significant uptick in San Francisco. Last season, Moore brought back 25 punts for 291 yards, averaging 11.6 yards per return—that would've led Green Bay's return unit. He also brought back 33 kickoffs for 907 yards at an average of 275 yards per return—both of those numbers would, once again, lead Green Bay.
While the Packers may not have much interest in deploying Moore on offense, that's not something you can fully rule out when it comes to head coach Matt LaFleur. The gadget portion of his playbook that includes jet sweeps and end-arounds is essentially already occupied by Williams, but Moore could see his fair share of opportunities, too. He caught 43 passes with the Chiefs for 494 yards and a touchdown, as well as ran six times for an additional 47 yards.
Zachary Jacobson is the Editor-in-Chief of Packer Report. He is entering his 12th season covering theGreen Bay Packers. He is a member of thePro Football Writers of America. Follow him on Twitter@zacobson or contact him via email atitszachariahj@gmail.com