The Green Bay Packers have signed offensive tackle Josh Warner and re-signed cornerback Erwin Swiney to the team's practice squad, GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman announced Wednesday.
In another transaction, cornerback Bruce Branch has been terminated from the practice squad, Sherman said.
Warner, 6-4-1/2 and 300 pounds, originally was signed by the New York Giants as a free agent out of SUNY College at Brockport on April 27, 2001. Placed on waivers Aug. 28, 2001, he was out of football for the balance of the '01 season.
Later signed by the Chicago Bears as a reserve/future on Jan. 9, 2002, he was allocated to the NFL Europe League for its '02 season. He returned to the Bears for training camp and the preseason before being waived on Sept. 1 in the team's final roster reduction for the regular season.
Warner, assigned jersey No. 79, joined the Packers on the practice field this afternoon.
Swiney, a 6-foot, 192-pound rookie free agent from the University of Nebraska, originally had been signed as a free agent April 26, 2002, and gone through training camp and the preseason before being waived September 1 in the team's final roster reduction for the regular season. In the interim, he had been on the active roster for the New England game October 13 and helped the Packers defeat the reigning Super Bowl champions (28-10). He was waived from the active roster Oct. 15 and re-signed to the practice squad Oct. 17. Swiney subsequently was waived from the practice squad Oct. 22.
Swiney has been re-assigned jersey No. 26.
Branch, initially signed by Jacksonville as a free agent for the '02 season, was with the Jaguars in the preseason until the first mandated roster reduction to 65 players (Aug. 27) and had been out of football until signed to the Packers' practice squad Oct. 15.
