The Green Bay Packers were allocated Nigerian defensive lineman Kenneth Odumegwu from the NFL’s International Pathway Program, the team and NFL announced on Thursday.
Odumegwu is a 22-year-old of Nigerian decent who was initially discovered through Osi Umenyiora’s “The Uprise Intiative” in Ghana. From there, Odumegwu and 12 others participated at the Internaitonal Combine in London last year, were trained in Florida during a 10-week program and then had a pro day in front of teams at South Florida.
Odumegwu is one of eight allocated players from the program following the 2023 draft. All four teams from the NFC North and AFC West received a player, and now all 32 teams have been allocated at least one player from the International Pathway Program, which began in 2017.
Udumegwu will be with the Packers throughout training and will be eligible for an international player practice squad exemption for the regular season.
Of the 37 players signed throughout the program, four have made active rosters.