Green Bay Packers claim a tight end and a safety off waivers, release Tariq Carpenter and Jonathan Ford

GREEN BAY – Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst continued a trend toward youth on his roster, claiming a rookie tight end and third-year safety off waivers Wednesday morning. Gutekunst had gone light at both tight end and safety after trimming his roster to 53 Tuesday and quickly made it up for it by claiming rookie tight end Ben Sims from the Minnesota Vikings and safety Zayne Anderson from the Buffalo Bills. To fit both players on the 53, Gutekunst released inside linebacker Tariq Carpenter and defensive lineman Jonathan Ford.

He is expected to place tackle Luke Tenuta on injured reserve, but that spot will be taken when he re-signs long-snapper Matt Orzech. ESPN first reported Carpenter's release. The Vikings released Sims, an undrafted rookie from Baylor in their cutdown to 53 Tuesday.

The Packers had shown interest in him before the draft, using one of their 30 visits to bring him in to meet with coaches. The Packers were intrigued by Sims’ size and speed. At 6-4½, 250 pounds, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.

58 seconds. He also had a 36-inch vertical leap and posted 15 reps on the bench press. He has 33-inch arms and 9½-inch hands.

By comparison, the Packers’ second-round pick, Luke Musgrave is 6-6, 253 pounds, ran the 40-yard dash in 4. 61 seconds and had a 36-inch vertical leap. Musgrave is a much more polished football player and skilled pass catcher than Sims, but it’s easy to see why they liked his testing numbers.

Sims is Baylor’s record holder for career touchdowns by a tight end (12), ranks second in receptions by a tight end (78) and fourth in receiving yards by a tight end (785). During his senior season, he caught 31 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns. In the preseason with the Vikings, Sims caught three of five targeted passes for 53 yards and two first downs.

The Vikings kept four tight ends on their 53-man roster, three of whom have five or more years of experience. Sims received a $10,000 signing bonus and $100,000 guaranteed base salary, which is an unusually high amount for an undrafted rookie. Because they claimed him off waivers, the Packers are on the hook for the $100,000 guarantee.

He will be making $41,666 per week, so the only way they would be on the hook for anything extra would be if they cut Sims after one or two weeks. The 6-2, 206-pound Anderson spent the past two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played in seven games and spent most of his time on their practice squad.

The undrafted free agent from BYU signed with Buffalo during the offseason. Anderson had eight tackles in the preseason. .