GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers filled their practice squad on Saturday by signing linebacker Michael Barrett and guard Marquis Hayes.

Barrett, who was part of Michigan’s national championship defense, was a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft by the Carolina Panthers.

He was traded to the Seattle Seahawks during training camp, and he served practice-squad stints with the Seahawks and Cleveland Browns. The Browns released him last month.

Barrett played in 62 games with 35 starts over six seasons. He was third-team all-Big Ten in 2022, when he had 72 tackles, two interceptions, 3.5 sacks and five tackles for losses, and again in 2023, when he had three sacks and four tackles for losses among 65 tackles.

He plays with a physical mentality.

Coming into the contact with bad intentions, that’s the goal every time,” he said after being drafted.

Being a late-round draft pick – and now a practice-squad player – will provide motivation.

“Honestly, I’ve always kind of been an underdog,” he said in a Panthers.com diary. “The one that’s been overlooked. I’ve always had to work my way back, using my emotions. (There’s) motivation to, not really get back at, but prove everybody wrong. I’ve heard all the negatives about me or why I didn’t get drafted higher or why this and that. They asked me if I had a chip on my shoulder from it and I feel like I have a whole bag.