Third-round pick Jace Sternberger signs; Packers claim another tight end

GREEN BAY - With minicamp set to start Tuesday, the Green Bay Packers took care of business with the final unsigned player from their eight-member 2019 draft class.

Tight end Jace Sternberger, the team’s third-round pick, signed his rookie deal Monday, his agent Mike McCartney tweeted. Sternberger, who played college football at Texas A&M, also tweeted pictures of himself signing the contract.

Sternberger had participated with the team throughout voluntary organized team activities.

The Packers previously announced the signings of their other seven draft players: edge rusher Rashan Gary, safety Darnell Savage Jr., guard Elgton Jenkins, defensive lineman Kingsley Keke, cornerback Ka’dar Hollman, running back Dexter Williams and linebacker Ty Summers.

Packers land another tight end 

The Packers had an empty roster spot and a hole in the tight end room with the sudden retirement of undrafted free-agent rookie Davis Koppenhaver. And after hosting a workout of tight ends June 3, the club elected to put in a waiver claim on Pharoah McKever after he was waived Friday by Jacksonville.

The Packers were awarded McKever on Monday.

McKever, 25, is 6-6 and 260 pounds. Originally a quarterback in high school, he played wide receiver and defensive end early in his career at North Carolina State before being moved to tight end in 2016. He caught  just one ball – an 82-yard touchdown – for the Wolfpack. McKever continued his collegiate development at Florida International, where he played as a graduate transfer in 2017. He caught 27 passes for 301 yards and three scores for the Panthers before going undrafted in 2018.

McKever signed as an undrafted free agent in Pittsburgh but did not make the final cuts in September. He was briefly on the Cleveland Browns practice squad before moving on to the Jacksonville practice squad. He signed a futures contract with the Jaguars at the end of last season.