Jonathan Ford returns to Green Bay, chasing a longer NFL foothold

For jonathan ford, the path back to Green Bay has never looked like a straight line. Drafted by the Packers, then spending long stretches on practice squads and time in Chicago, he found his way into snaps late in the 2025 season when the defensive line needed bodies and size. Now the Packers are bringing him back on a new deal, keeping a true nose tackle option in the building.

jonathan ford and the snaps that finally arrived in 2025

The most telling detail about jonathan ford’s early career is how often it did not include game days. After the Packers selected him in the seventh round of the 2022 draft, he spent his rookie season on the practice squad and did not play in a game. His second season followed the same pattern. He spent most of his third season on the practice squad as well, and did not play until the Bears signed him for the end of the season.

By late 2025, circumstances changed quickly. The Bears released Ford, and Green Bay was looking for reinforcements up front after losing Devonte Wyatt and Jordon Riley to season-ending injuries. The need was immediate enough that Ford’s Packers debut came right away, and it came with volume: a career-high 30 snaps against the Vikings in the regular-season finale at Minnesota, a game described as a rest-the-starters finale. He added 18 more snaps in a playoff loss to the Bears.

Those numbers did not arrive with a long runway. They arrived because the roster was thin, the run defense had taken a hit, and the team needed a player who could line up inside and hold ground.

Green Bay Packers re-sign Jonathan Ford, alongside Josh Whyle’s one-year return

Green Bay’s decision now is a return to a familiar name at a specific position. The Packers re-signed Ford, who had been scheduled to be a restricted free agent. The move brings back a player described as a true nose tackle option, with size that fits the job: Ford has been listed at 6-foot-5 and about 340 pounds, and he has been called a “massive human being” by coach Matt LaFleur. Another description in the coverage put him at 338 pounds, underscoring the basic point of the role he fills.

Ford’s re-signing came alongside another piece of roster maintenance: tight end Josh Whyle returning on a one-year deal. Both Whyle and Ford were scheduled to be restricted free agents.

Whyle’s return was framed as a depth move at a position where the Packers need bodies. He sits behind Tucker Kraft, who is coming off a torn ACL, and Luke Musgrave. With John FitzPatrick recovering from a torn Achilles and still unsigned, Whyle was described as the early favorite to be TE3 on the 53-man roster. Whyle, a 2023 draft pick of the Titans who joined Green Bay on the practice squad in August of last year, played 199 snaps over eight games in 2025.

Neither re-signing was positioned as flashy. The value is in how they help a roster navigate injuries and numbers, with August roster decisions in mind.

DeMarcus Covington’s message, and the role Ford can realistically fill

Ford’s return also carried a simple, personal thread: opportunity, as he described it. He said defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington had been “preaching opportunity” since they met. In Ford’s telling, Covington told him he had “a big shot this week, ” and the aim was direct: show he could help in the playoffs. “That’s all I want to do is just go and help this team as much as I can, ” Ford said.

On the team-building side, the fit is equally specific. Coverage of the move described Ford as providing the roster with a true nose tackle option, and noted that the Packers had not yet added a defensive lineman in free agency, while the nose tackle options on the veteran market moved quickly. That context makes Ford’s presence less about a promise and more about a practical answer to a narrow question: who can play the position right now, in this system, with NFL experience at nose tackle.

For Ford, the re-signing is another turn in a career defined by waiting for a chance to become permanent. For the Packers, it is a bet that the late-2025 snaps were not only a response to injuries, but also a glimpse of a player who can be ready when the depth chart tightens again.

When the roster picture comes into focus later in the year, the story will return to the same concrete point that brought him back into view: the 30 snaps against Minnesota, followed by 18 more in the playoff loss to Chicago. The Packers have already made the next move by keeping him in Green Bay; Ford’s next chance to turn that into something longer will come as the team pushes toward the 53-man roster in August.