Green Bay Packers add seven-year veteran defender on Tuesday

The Green Bay Packers signed seven-year veteran linebacker Kristian Welch to their 53-man active roster on Tuesday. The move addresses the roster vacancy created after linebacker Edgerrin Cooper suffered a season-ending torn Achilles and was placed on injured reserve. Additionally, running back Damon Bankston returned to the team's practice squad.

Welch, a 28-year-old special-teams specialist, had previously spent the season on the practice squad. He is expected to take over special-teams responsibilities to allow Isaiah McDuffie, Zaire Franklin, Nick Niemann, and Ty'Ron Hopper to take on larger roles in the defensive rotation.