GREEN BAY, Wis. — Ahead of Sunday’s season-opening divisional bout with the Minnesota Vikings, the Green Bay Packers are outsourcing for some intel from someone who has spent each of the last two summers donning purple.
The Packers signed defensive back Kahlef Hailassie to their practice squad on Wednesday. He was spotted on the practice field wearing No. 34.
Murvin Kenion III, who had an excellent preseason in Green Bay, was released as the corresponding roster move. He played 64 snaps in coverage across three exhibition contests, being targeted just once—a 20-yard reception in the Aug. 28 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Otherwise, it was a relatively painless preseason slate for the first-year undrafted safety from Nevada. He had six tackles in the Aug. 13 opener versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Packers are already absurdly light at the safety position, so they couldn’t release Kenion without bringing in someone to fill the void. Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, and Kitan Oladapo are the only safeties on the 53-man roster, but Javon Bullard—their starting nickelback—can also play on the back end if needed. With the addition of Hailassie, he’s the sole safety on the practice squad.
A native of Elk Grove, Calif., the 25-year-old Hailassie entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He spent two years playing collegiate football at Oregon, and another two at Western Kentucky before turning pro. He was originally signed by the Kansas City Chiefs, but fell victim to roster cut-downs the following summer. He was claimed on waivers by the Cleveland Browns before they released him by October and re-signed him to their practice squad.
2025 and 2026 have featured more of the same for Hailassie, almost as if he were living in a simulation. In back-to-back years, he’d sign a reserve/future contract with the Vikings in January before being released by the end of August. Between both stints in Minnesota, Hailassie spent two months with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hailassie was the corresponding signing after the Jaguars released Darnell Savage, a former first-round pick of the Packers.
The versatile Hailassie seemed to be stuck in an endless loop. Ideally, the Packers could prove to be the landing spot that sticks.
At 6’1” and 195 pounds, Hailassie has just nine regular-season games under his belt since joining the league. It’s a small sample size, but the do-it-all safety has thrived at multiple positions throughout his extensive playing time in the preseason. He played 38 snaps between the slot and in the box in three preseason games for the Vikings in 2025, as well as 21 snaps at free safety. The Vikings shifted him to safety, and in his first exposure at the position, he intercepted two passes in an Aug. 9 victory over the Houston Texans.
The following summer, Hailassie played almost exclusively at the safety position, where he logged 68 snaps. He surrendered just two receptions in three games, but one of them was an 88-yard play on a blown coverage that saw Denver Broncos rookie tight end Justin Joly scamper upfield untouched. It was a stain on an otherwise stellar afternoon for Hailassie, who intercepted a pass—his third in the last two years—from quarterback Sam Ehlinger.
While Bullard and even Kamal Hadden could potentially rotate to safety in a dire situation, the thin numbers at the position and Hailassie’s familiarity with the Vikings could result in a game-day elevation from the practice squad, despite the short turnaround.
Zachary Jacobson is the author of The Packer Dispatch. He is entering his 12th season covering the Green Bay Packers after spending seven as the Editor-in-Chief of Packer Report. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Follow him on Twitter @zachjacobson or contact him via email at itszachariahj@gmail.com.