South Shore native and Watertown High School grad Spencer Waege signed by Packers
South Shore native and 2017 Watertown High School graduate Spencer Waege is getting the chance to keep chasing his National Football League dream closer to home.
The Green Bay Packers claimed the defensive lineman off waivers on Thursday, according to an ESPN report. Waege was released on Monday by the San Francisco 49ers.
The 6-foot-5, 295-pound Waege signed with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent out of North Dakota State following the 2023 NFL draft. He was on the 49ers' 90-man roster for most of training camp and played 54 snaps in the preseason, batting down one bass and assisting on a tackle.
Waege was a two-time FCS All-American at NDSU as a defensive end but was used mostly as a defensive tackle by the 49ers, who released Waege before the 2023 regular season started and resigned him to the practice squad for the final three months of the regular season.
More: 2017 Watertown High School graduate not giving up on hopes of playing in the NFL
During his five-year college career with the Bison, Waege recorded 42 tackles for a loss to go along with 20.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, two blocked kicks and four pass breakups. He missed most of the 2021 season with an ACL injury.
His best season came in 2022 when he produced 42 pressures, 17.5 tackles for a loss and 9.5 quarterback sacks.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Watertown grad Spencer Waege signs with Green Bay Packers
