Packers: Ibraheim Campbell could play bigger role

In a recent waiver claim, the Green Bay Packers were awarded strong safety Ibraheim Campbell, however given the lack of depth at the safety position for the Packers, Campbell could be thrust into a much bigger role than backup.

After just being released by the New York Jets, Ibraheim Campbell was claimed earlier this week by the Green Bay Packers.

It was a move made to add depth to the Packers safety position after losing a few players in the last week.

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was traded away, Jermaine Whitehead was cut, Kentrell Brice is battling a knee injury and the coaching staff is reluctant to let Josh Jones see the field.

Against the New England Patriots, Tramon Williams played at safety and with the return of Bashaud Breeland at cornerback, it could free up Josh Jackson to move to safety. But doing this will weaken the Packers depth at corner, especially with another injury to Kevin King.

So with all of these moves made by the Green Bay Packers at safety, it could mean we see a lot more of Ibraheim Campbell as the season progresses.

Ibraheim Campbell’s career

Back in 2015, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound Campbell was the fourth-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns from Northwestern University where he was a four-year starter.

Campebell’s head coach in 2015, you ask?

None other than current Packers defensive coordinator, Mike Pettine. We can only hope that there will be some familiarity for Campbell with this Packers defense.

Up to this point in his career, Campbell has not panned out as hoped and has played for multiple teams.

A majority of his first three years were spent in Cleveland, until he finished the end of the 2017 season with the Houston Texans.

He would then begin 2018 a part of the Dallas Cowboys before he was let go, and eventually signed for just a week with the New York Jets. Campbell’s time on the field this season has been fairly limited.

During his career, Ibraheim has made 11 starts and suited up for 43 games. He’s been credited with 62 solo tackles, assisted on another 21 and has one fumble recovery. Most of Campbell’s production was compiled in his second and third seasons with Cleveland.

Out of college, Campbell was known as a being an aggressive tackler and often times would attempt to strip the ball-carrier.

Campbell is sufficient at covering the underneath routes, however he can be slow at assessing the play calls downfield, which results in Campbell being lost in coverage and giving up the big play.

Given the Packers’ current depth at safety it is realistic that we could see Campbell thrown into live action before the season ends.

Similar to cornerback Bashaud Breeland’s debut, we could see some definite rust from Campbell due to his lack of playing time this season, which could result in some errors on his part.

At the beginning of the season, no one envisioned the Packers having Ibraheim Campbell playing real minutes for them. But with that being said, hopefully if Campbell does see the field this season, he will pick up Pettine’s playbook quickly and some of his potential can be unlocked.