The Green Bay Packers have re-signed CB Corey Ballentine and S Rudy Ford. General Manager Brian Gutekunst announced the transactions Monday.
(bal-en-tine) Ballentine (5-11, 196), a fifth-year player, joined the Packers last year on the practice squad in late September and was promoted to the active roster in November. He went on to play in eight games for Green Bay, posting an assisted tackle on defense with four tackles and a forced fumble on special teams. Ballentine spent the 2022 offseason with the Atlanta Falcons before being released after training camp and spent part of the regular season on the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad. He was originally selected by the New York Giants in the sixth round (No. 180 overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Washburn University in Kansas. He played for the Giants (2019-20), New York Jets (2020) and Detroit Lions (2021), appearing in 32 games with four starts. For his career, Ballentine has recorded 36 tackles (28 solo), two passes defensed, a QB hit and 15 special teams tackles. He has also returned 35 kickoffs for 855 yards (23.8 avg.) with a long of 66 yards.
Ford (6-0, 200), a seventh-year player out of Auburn University, was originally drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round (No. 208 overall) in 2017. After two years with the Cardinals (2017-18), he played for the Philadelphia Eagles for two seasons (2019-20) and spent one season with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2021) before signing with the Packers on Aug. 31, 2022. For his career, Ford has played in 73 games with 12 starts and registered 100 tackles (72 solo), two tackles for a loss, four interceptions, six passes defensed, two QB hits, and a half-sack. He has posted 35 tackles on special teams, including a career-high 11 for the Eagles in 2020. In his first season with the Packers, Ford Appeared in all 17 games with a career-best six starts, recording 40 tackles (29 solo), a career-high three interceptions (No. 3 on the team), a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and three passes defensed. He led the team with a career-best 87 yards on INT returns, which tied for No. 7 in the NFL. Ford also added four tackles on special teams.
