Paul Bretl | 8/4/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers bolstered their cornerback depth on Monday and did so by signing a familiar face.
A few days after the Indianapolis Colts had released Corey Ballentine, the Packers announced that they were signing him. Ballentine was a free agent this past offseason and signed a one-year deal with the Colts.
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Ballentine had spent the previous three seasons with the Packers. During that span, he was a core special teams contributor, which in 2024, included playing 195 snaps across five of the six different phases.
Ballentine’s role on defense was mostly small, filling in when the Packers were dealing with injuries at cornerback. However, in 2023, he did play 488 snaps that season while making six starts.
Most of Ballentine’s snaps in games have come lined up on the outside, but the Packers did cross-train him at the nickel position last summer.
The performance from Ballentine that many will remember came in Week 17 against Minnesota. The Vikings went after Ballentine in that game, targeting him eight times, but he allowed just two receptions for 13 yards with an interception and pass breakup.
“Corey did a great job,” said Matt LaFleur of Ballentine’s play in 2023. “He was in a tough situation because there were a lot of games where maybe he wasn’t anticipating starting and then on a Friday or a Saturday, ‘Hey, you’re going in there. You got to go play ball.’ And I thought he did an outstanding job, just whatever we asked of him he was always prepared and that’s the expectation.
“I thought he handled that like a mature player and went in there and played a lot of meaningful snaps for us and also gave us a boost on special teams. So, he’s a versatile player that did a lot of good things for us.”
Green Bay reuniting with Ballentine is a move that made plenty of sense the moment the Colts decided to move on from him.
While GM Brian Gutekunst is confident in the corners at the top of the depth chart, namely Keisean Nixon, Nate Hobbs, and Carrington Valentine, all of whom have “pelts on the wall,” as Gutekunst put it this offseason, there are unknowns when it comes to the depth behind them.
Given what we’ve seen in training camp, it looks like the next few spots on the depth chart belong to Kamal Hadden, Kalen King, Bo Melton, and Micah Robinson, none of whom have any regular-season defensive snaps at the NFL level.
“I think they’ve all done a nice job with the opportunities,” Gutekunst said of the depth at cornerback. “I mean, it’s been really neat to watch Bo get in there and be as successful as he’s been the first few days that he’s been out there. But they’ve done a nice job. I think there’s gonna be some really, really good competition there at the back of that group.”
Ballentine is familiar with Jeff Hafley’s defense, having played in it last season, which will help him hit the ground running here in August, and he can help out on special teams.