Packers: What the Quinton Dunbar signing means for defense

Following Jaire Alexander being placed on IR, the Green Bay Packers have signed former Washington Football Team and Seattle Seahawks CB Quinton Dunbar to their practice squad.

Although this was clearly a depth-based move, this wasn’t a bad pickup for the Packers. Dunbar is 29 years old and only seven years into his NFL career, and has shown some promise in the past.

After playing as a wide receiver for four years at Florida, Dunbar went undrafted in 2015. He signed with the Washington Football Team as an undrafted free agent and made the transition to cornerback as training camp went along. In his rookie year, Dunbar only started two games and played in 11 – which would still net him one interception and five passes defended. Current Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry was Dunbar’s DC in his rookie season.

The next year saw a very similar outing, with Dunbar only starting two games and playing in 14. Again, he recorded one INT and five passes defended while only boosting his tackle numbers slightly.

Dunbar’s play was average up until the 2019 season, where he had a breakout year. Dunbar recorded a career-high four INTs and nine passes defended in only 11 games. Dunbar also had a career-high 87.6 Pro Football Focus grade. The numbers would have ended up being Pro-Bowl like if Dunbar’s injury history didn’t begin to catch up to him. In Week 14, Dunbar suffered a hamstring injury that would end up sidelining him for the rest of the season.

Injuries would plague Dunbar’s 2020 stint with the Seahawks as well, as he only played six games for the team.

If Dunbar can stay healthy and turn the clock back to his 2019 self, this can be a really good signing for the Packers. Although leg-based injuries will almost always permanently damage the play of a cornerback, we’ve seen some players like Richard Sherman and Logan Ryan bounce back in a good way.

I do expect Dunbar to be a last-resort type option for the Pack, but as the CB injuries continue to pile up – don’t be surprised if we see him net some playing time soon.