The Green Bay Packers claimed Johnathan Abram off waivers from the Las Vegas Raiders on Wednesday.
Abram, a 2019 first-round draft pick by the Raiders, was waived on Tuesday.
The Packers lost one member of their secondary on Sunday against the Detroit Lions but it was a cornerback, Eric Stokes (ankle, knee).
Abram was taken in the same draft as Packers safety Darnell Savage. Defensive coordinator Joe Barry has talked about moving Savage into a slot cornerback role but said they would need a replacement at safety before he could make that move.
Abram also has a connection to the Packers. He played for current Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, who has helped bring in several former Raiders special teamers.
The Packers cleared a roster spot for Abram when they placed outside linebacker Rashan Gary on injured reserve. Gary is out for the season after tearing an ACL in Sunday's game.
Abram had been a starter at strong safety since being drafted but with a new regime taking over the Raiders in general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels, Abram lost his starting job in Week 8 this season to Duron Harmon. Abram's special teams snaps started to go up, and he was rumored to be shopped at the trade deadline, but to no avail.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, of the 121 players who have logged at least 1,000 coverage snaps since 2019, Abram has allowed the second-highest completion percentage as a nearest defender.
Abram, who turned 26 last month, has three career interceptions and 11 passes defensed in 36 career games, 34 starts. He also had 255 tackles, with 9.5 stuffs and a fumble recovery.
ESPN's Rob Demovsky and Paul Gutierrez contributed to this report.