GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Mike McCarthy couldn’t give a firsthand account of Christine Michael yet because the Green Bay Packers' newest running back had not even arrived at Lambeau Field by the time the coach addressed reporters on Thursday morning.
But McCarthy wasn’t about to rely on negative reports about Michael’s play or his character.
The Packers claimed Michael off waivers on Wednesday, one day after he was released by Seattle. It’s the second time the Seahawks have dumped their former second-round pick. They traded him to Dallas for a conditional seventh-round pick last season only to bring him back after the Cowboys cut him.
Michael was part of a running-back group in Seattle that was criticized by offensive-line coach Tom Cable for making mistakes on seven of 10 run plays in the Seahawks’ game against the Buffalo Bills in Week 9. Michael was gone less than two weeks later. The same issues ended Michael’s tenure with the Cowboys. He also had disciplinary problems in college at Texas A&M and reportedly scored only an 11 on the Wonderlic test.
“Those are all part of his past experiences,” McCarthy said Thursday. “He'll come here, we have a way we do things, and he'll be given an opportunity to do it. So yeah, I'm not really looking, I'm not going to rely on information from comments or scouting reports from his college days, or a pro report from his days in Seattle.”
It’s unlikely Michael would play Sunday at Washington given that he probably won’t do much, if anything, in practice on Thursday.
“He’s played a lot of football; he’s a veteran,” McCarthy said. “I look for the transition to be pretty seamless. They’ll be some carryover like there always is from his prior experiences. Once again, it’s really about language and understanding what we’re doing and just like any new player, you work him in packages, and that will be our approach.”
McCarthy said general manager Ted Thompson approached him on the practice field Wednesday afternoon to discuss the possibility of putting in a waiver claim on Michael. The Vikings also put in a claim on Michael, but the Packers got him because their record was worse. To make room for him on the roster, the Packers placed rookie running back Don Jackson on injured reserve. McCarthy said Jackson sustained a knee injury in practice on Wednesday. McCarthy did not say whether Jackson’s knee injury prompted the decision to claim Michael.
Michael has more rushing yards (469) this season than anyone on the Packers’ roster. Their leading rusher, Eddie Lacy, hasn’t played in more than a month because of the ankle injury that sent him to injured reserve.
“Dynamic football player; I love his running style,” McCarthy said. “Once again, he’s productive, his ability to get in and out of breaks, I think the one thing I know best about him is just the way he’s able to change direction and explode on the second and third cuts. I think he’s a good fit for us.”