Packers reportedly set to cut LB De'Vondre Campbell
De'Vondre Campbell will be playing somewhere else next season.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Green Bay Packers will release the veteran linebacker when the new league year begins Wednesday, ending his time with the team after three seasons. The move will save the team roughly $10.5 million in salary cap space.
Campbell earned a big contract from the Packers after he had a fantastic 2021 for the club. A free agent signing after spending his first five years in Atlanta and Arizona, Campbell had 146 tackles, six tackles for loss, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. It helped him earn first-team All-Pro honors.
But Campbell's play fell off the last two years, in part due to injuries. That included him missing six games in 2023. Media and fans were critical of Campbell, who took to social media midway through the year to say he would no longer be playing hurt.
With Campbell out of Green Bay, the Packers currently have former first-round pick Quay Walker and 2021 sixth-round pick Isiah McDuffie in the middle of new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley's unit.
Wisconsin earns much-needed win over Rutgers on Senior Night
Wisconsin used a big second-half run to pull away from Rutgers for a 78-66 win Thursday night at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers trailed 47-40 with 14:35 left when they ripped off a 19-2 run to take control. That included nine points from Kamari McGee in his first game since January, while Steven Crowl had eight points in that stretch. On one possession he corralled four offensive rebounds before eventually getting fouled and sent to the line. He finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, his sixth double-double of the season but just his second since January 16.
AJ Storr had a game-high 19 points, including one of the dunks of the year to put an exclamation point on just the third win in the last 10 for Wisconsin. John Blackwell gave Wisconsin a big lift off the bench, scoring 17 points, the second-most of his career and just the second time he had been in double figures since Jan. 23.
https://twitter.com/ZachHeilprin/status/1765916661968773296?s=20
Wisconsin's defense held Rutgers to only .94 points per possession and forced 18 turnovers, including 14 steals. Chucky Hepburn accounted for five of them and Tyler Wahl had four. Hepburn came up with six points and six assists on the night, with Wahl giving the team three points and six rebounds in his final home game.
The win pushed the Badgers to 19-11 on the year and 11-8 in Big Ten play. That left them in a tie with Nebraska and Northwestern for third in the conference and in position to claim a coveted double bye at the Big Ten Tournament next week in Minneapolis.
Wisconsin will close out the regular season at Purdue on Sunday.
Temple & Heilprin: Biggest 'What Ifs' for the Badgers, Torin Pettaway commits, Barry Alvarez is alive
With the basketball team playing during the show, the guys focused on some of the biggest 'what ifs' in Wisconsin history. They also got into the commitment of DL Torin Pettaway, Barry Alvarez still being among the living, changes to the recruiting calendar and Arch Manning opting out of EA College Football.
Middleton DL Torin Pettaway commits to Wisconsin
Wisconsin has added a third player from the state to its 2025 recruiting class.
Three-star defensive lineman Torin Pettaway (Middleton, Wis.) announced his commitment to the Badgers on Thursday.
https://twitter.com/torinjp/status/1765803406847836291?s=20
The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Pettaway is ranked as the No. 6 player in the state and the 65th-best defensive lineman in the country, according to 247Sports. He had 47 tackles and four sacks for Middleton as a junior, his first year playing football. It earned him first-team All-Big Eight honors
Pettaway chose the Badgers over offers from Nebraska, USC, Minnesota, Rutgers, Illinois, Washington and others.
He joins offensive lineman Michael Roeske and linebacker Cooper Catalano as in-state players in the class, which now has nine players overall.
The Swing: Josh Gasser joins the show, NCAA tourney seeding, Howard Moore returns to the Kohl Center
Former Badgers great Josh Gasser joins the show to talk about his career at Wisconsin, the two runs to the Final Four, his take on this year's team and Greg Gard's job status. Zach and Jesse also talk about where Wisconsin sits in NCAA tourney projections, the importance of a win over Rutgers and Howard Moore's emotional return to the Kohl Center.
The Camp: Samuel Lateju commits, NFL combine recap, top coaches in college football
Wisconsin landed its eighth commitment in the 2025 class Monday. Zach and Jesse talk about what EDGE Samuel Lateju brings to the Badgers. They also discuss Gio Paez going into the transfer portal, how the three UW players did at the NFL combine and where Luke Fickell was in The Athletic's ranking of the top 25 coaches in college football.
2025 New Jersey linebacker commits to Wisconsin
Wisconsin has gone to the East Coast for its latest addition in the 2025 recruiting class.
Three-star outside linebacker Samuel Lateju (Lawrenceville, N.J.) gave coach Luke Fickell his verbal commitment Monday, becoming the eighth player to do so in the 2025 class.
https://twitter.com/lanrewajulateju/status/1764787984707011052?s=20
The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Lateju is the embodiment of the long and athletic type of players the Badgers have looked to add to the defense in its recruiting classes and the transfer portal since Fickell and his staff took over in late 2022. He is ranked as the No. 26 player in the state of New Jersey and the No. 71 edge rusher in the country, according to 247Sports.
Wisconsin was Lateju's first Power 4 offer last May. Since then, the likes of Boston College, Duke, Syracuse, Maryland and others have offered him a scholarship. Lateju told Badger247 that a visit to Madison for Junior Day earlier this year changed his thoughts about the Badgers and elevated them in his mind.
Lateju is the third linebacker Wisconsin has added in the 2025 class and the second one that will play on the outside, joining Brenden Anes.
Temple & Heilprin: Where things stand for Wisconsin basketball, players/coaches under pressure in spring ball
It was Thursday, so Zach and Jesse were back at Monk's in Sun Prairie. The guys talked about where things stand for Wisconsin as the month of March begins, the best- and worst-case scenarios for the final stretch of the season, which players or coaches are under pressure in spring ball and checking in on Maema Njongmeta at the NFL Combine.
The Swing: A bad month of February, expectations for March, Bo Ryan (HOF?)
Wisconsin closed the month of February with a loss at Indiana. Zach and Jesse talk about whether it was the worst month for the team, the fire alarm that led to a 25-minute delay in Bloomington, whether the Badgers are in for a short March, Greg Gard's performance and discussion on Bo Ryan's Hall of Fame candidacy.
Badgers fall at Indiana to finish 2-6 in the month of February
A slow start and a cold finish doomed Wisconsin in a 74-70 loss at Indiana on Tuesday night.
The Badgers found themselves in a 15-point deficit with 6:06 left in the first half, as they had no answer for Hoosiers big man Kel'el Ware. The 7-footer scored 18 points in the half, going 9-for-10 from the field. He would finish the game with a game-high 27 points and 11 rebounds while missing just one shot all night.
Despite that, Wisconsin clawed its way back into the game, getting to with five at the half and eventually taking the lead with 9:29 left. But over the final 2:06 of the game, the Badgers didn't score a point, while Indiana closed on a 6-0 run to snap a 4-game losing streak and drop coach Greg Gard's club to 3-6 in games decided by single digits.
Chucky Hepburn paced Wisconsin with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists. AJ Storr had 14 points, while Max Klesmit had 11.
Steven Crowl had 10 points and six rebounds, but was no match for Ware on the defensive end of the floor. Wahl dealt with foul trouble, playing just 25 minutes and scoring nine points.
Wisconsin did get a lift off the bench for John Blackwell, as the freshman scored 11 points. It was his first time scoring in double figures since Jan. 19.
Indiana, which was the third-lowest scoring team in the Big Ten coming in, shot a season-best 61.7 from the field and averaged more than 1.2 points per possession.
The Badgers finished the month of February just 2-6, going from No. 6 in the county and in first place in the Big Ten to unranked and on the outside looking in for one of the four double byes at the conference tournament in two weeks.
They'll be back home Saturday as No. 13 Illinois comes to town. Wisconsin hasn't beaten the Illini since 2019, a string of six straight losses.
The game was interrupted midway through the second half after a fire alarm went off, forcing the building to be evacuated. Officials said smoke in an elevator was the cause.
