The Green Bay Packers have signed TE Spencer Havner and placed T Mark Tauscher on injured reserve. The transactions were announced Friday by Executive Vice President, General Manager and Director of Football Operations Ted Thompson.
Havner (HAY-vner), a 6-foot-3, 250-pound second-year player out of UCLA, played in 20 games with the Packers from 2008-09, including all 16 contests in '09. He originally entered the NFL as a non-drafted free agent with Washington in 2006, and spent time on Green Bay's practice squad for three seasons (2006-08) before being signed to the active roster in December 2008. Havner was with the Packers during the 2010 preseason before being released in the final roster cutdown, and was claimed off waivers by Detroit. He played in five games this season for the Lions before being waived/injured on Oct. 14. Havner will wear No. 41.
Tauscher, a seventh-round selection by the Packers in 2000, has played in 134 games with 132 starts during his 11 seasons in Green Bay, including four starts this season. He sustained a shoulder injury in Week 4 vs. Detroit.
"Despite long odds, Mark has been battling this shoulder injury in an effort to get back on the field," Thompson said. "His work ethic and motivation have been tremendous but the injury has been too severe to overcome. He is a team leader and will be an important part of our team as we go through the stretch run of our season."
