GREEN BAY, Wis. - Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich delivered a ringing endorsement for tight end Mark Redman.
Or, perhaps it was a bell-ringing endorsement.
"He's kind of messed up in the head," Stenavich said on Tuesday.
Redman smiled when relayed the quote after Wednesday's practice.
"My wife sent me a picture of that tweet from somebody the other day," he said. "Isn't everyone a little messed up in the head? Aren't we all a little weird in our own sense?"
Football is played by big, tough, athletic men who seek and embrace the contact that almost everyone else in society would prefer to duck. Redman, who was acquired in a trade at the end of training camp, has found his niche as the team's tough-guy blocker.
Most of the team's big running plays have featured the 258-pound Redman sprinting across the formation and delivering a jarring blow against a defender with similar size and strength.
"Literally, I was just thinking about that a minute ago, you're paid to play a sport where sometimes it takes running full speed at another grown man who's 250 pounds, and yeah, I think logically you would say, 'Don't do that,'" Redman said.
"But that's part of the job description, and honestly, it's fun for me. It's the challenges that not everyone can do in this game, in this league. So, when your number's called and you're asked to do that - absolutely, whatever it takes. Maybe that's the one that bounces MarShawn (Lloyd) or Kaleb (Johnson) or any of the guys for a 20-yard gain. So, if that's how I can play and help support the team, then I'll do whatever they ask me."
Among Redman's greatest hits were the two biggest runs of the season against Tampa Bay, the first by Chris Brooks ...
And the second by Kaleb Johnson ...
As well as Pierre Strong's fourth-and-1 pickup against Chicago ...
And MarShawn Lloyd's walk-in touchdown against Chicago.
On all four runs, Redman sprinted across the formation and inserted himself as the point-of-attack blocker.
"Yeah, he definitely is" giving the Packers a different look than their past tight ends, Stenavich said on Tuesday. "You definitely need guys like him to run our offense. He's a versatile player, he's intelligent. You can move him around. He's physical. He's kind of messed up in the head. So, it's good.
"He's a physical player, and he loves that part of the game, which is awesome. So, he's one of my favorite guys I see every day. He's got a smile on his face. He's excited. He's ready to go. So, it's been really fun to have him. Picking him up was a good pickup, for sure."
The Packers never addressed the role of a blocking tight end during the offseason. So, with the Packers having an obvious need and the Rams having an obvious surplus, general manager Brian Gutekunst sent a 2028 seventh-round pick to Los Angeles at the end of the preseason.
Problem solved.
"Yeah, I love it. We can't have enough of those guys," coach Matt LaFleur said of Redman's mentality. "Physicality is part of our game and in order to be physical, you better have the right mindset. He's a fearless guy that will throw his body in there, and he's been doing a great job for us, and I'm really glad we have him."
And Redman is glad to be here. He went undrafted in 2025 and spent his rookie season on the Rams' practice squad. With the Rams, there was no pathway to playing time. With the Packers, he's been a staple of the offense. In five games, he's played more than 20 snaps in four.
"It's just a mentality/mindset type thing of someone's got to do this, so why not it be me?" he said. "Pop the big ones, and it's really fun. Kaleb popped that one against Tampa Bay. I think you can see me on film, kind of hooting and hollering and pointing. It's really fun to see that hard work and doing some of the dirty stuff, see it pay off, and spring a big one for 20 or 30.
Redman has two receptions for 29, with both passing-game targets coming in the win at Tampa Bay.
The 25-yard catch against Tampa Bay was exciting, but he knows his role is to make big blocks more than it is to make big catches.
"Everyone wants the big spotlight and shine," he said. "If I could go for 1,000 yards, I would do that - absolutely. But you've got to play to the best of your ability, and everyone wants to get paid at the end of the day and be the greatest player of themselves.
"But, at the end of the day, it comes down to winning, too. If you're on a winning team and you keep winning and keep winning, go to the playoffs, make it to the championship, make it to the Super Bowl, you're going to get noticed that way. So, whether it's 100 yards that you catch for or none, and you spring 10 runs with great blocks. As long as you win at the end of the day, I think that's kind of the main thing here, and then everyone will see that on tape, too."
It's been a rewarding start to Redman's career in Green Bay. The Packers believed in him, obviously. So did his wife, Jenna. After not playing in a game since his final season of college at Louisville in 2024, he's become a vital part of a team that looks like a playoff contender heading into Sunday night's home game against the Dallas Cowboys.
"It's awesome being on the other side of things," he said. "I was on the practice squad last year, and just being able to play and kind of showcase your talents [has been great]. My wife's my biggest sporter. She's like, 'I knew you could do it. I knew you could make it.' So just doing that, and putting your head down and grinding and, like I said before, it's whether you catch five balls for 100 yards or you just spring a couple big blocks, or you're on special teams if you're winning, you're going to get noticed.
"So, that's kind of what it is to me. The Tampa game was fun, obviously, but the Chicago game, (I) didn't get passed to at all, and who cares? I mean, we blew them out. That was really fun too. So, as long as you're winning and putting out more points on the other team, that's all I really care about."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/packers/onsi as (Bell-Ringing) Endorsement Speaks Volumes for Packers TE Mark Redman .
