In October, the Green Bay Packers signed tight end John FitzPatrick off of the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad. With three years of NFL service under his belt, because he spent his rookie on the Falcons’ injured reserve, he was the Packers’ lone restricted free agent during the 2025 offseason.
According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, the Packers have chosen not to tender FitzPatrick, which means that he will be an unrestricted free agent moving forward. This isn’t surprising, considering that RFA tenders range from $3.3 million to $7.5 million this offseason.
As Demovsky noted, this doesn’t mean that FitzPatrick won’t return to the team, just that he won’t return on a tender price. In the past, Green Bay allowed tight end Tyler Davis, another player who they plucked off of a practice squad, to hit unrestricted free agent after not tending the player — only to bring him back on a cheaper deal near the league minimum. The same is probably likely for FitzPatrick’s situation.
Coming out of Georgia, FitzPatrick was best known for his highly-rated blocking ability. Despite having played 18 games at the NFL level, he’s only brought in two receptions. Still, he played 73 offensive snaps for the Packers in 2024 and added 50 special teams reps to his plate. Toward the end of the year, he started to slowly steal more reps away from the previous number three tight end Ben Sims, who remains under contract for Green Bay.
Don’t be shocked if the 6’7” FitzPatrick comes back and pushes Sims for the special teams-heavy third tight end spot on the team.