Officially bolstering their offensive line Wednesday with the return of veteran tackle Earl Dotson to practice, the Green Bay Packers also expanded their receiver corps, claiming rookie wideout Devin Lewis from the Houston Texans on waivers.
GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman also announced that veteran running back Jason Brookins has been placed on reserve/left squad status. Under the category, the Packers retain rights to Brookins and also receive a temporary roster exemption from the NFL.
As the result of returning to practice, Dotson was removed from the physically unable to perform/active list on which he had been placed July 26.
The Brookins transaction, stemming from his gratuitous departure from camp, resulted from a misunderstanding. "In our new facility, we have a nice in-house communication process - it's fool-proof," Sherman explained, tongue-in-cheek, "and he misread the foolproof communication on our video monitors. He thought he was cut and he wasn't cut. He was asked to turn in his playbook - as all the players do after the game - his name was on there along with that of Mike Flanagan, a couple other starters and a couple other players. But then he thought he was supposed to turn in his playbook for good, I guess…so it was a misunderstanding on his part."
Lewis, 6-2, and 205 pounds, was signed by the Minnesota Vikings out of Southern University as an undrafted free agent April 26, 2002. Later waived on August 15, he was awarded to the Houston Texans the following day, and subsequently placed on waivers August 27.
The 23-year-old New Orleans native was Southern University's leading receiver as a senior in 2001 with 69 catches for 1,052 yards and 8 touchdowns, posting five 100-yard receiving games along the way. Earlier, as a prep, he returned 3 punts for touchdowns as a senior at Kennedy High School in New Orleans.
Lewis, who has been assigned jersey number 19, will join the Packers on the practice field Thursday morning.
