When the Green Bay Packers waived wide receiver Grant DuBose last week, it appeared the former Park Crossing High School standout would spend another season on the NFL team’s practice squad.

Instead, DuBose is preparing for the Miami Dolphins’ season-opener on Sunday after being claimed off the waiver wire.

“I knew of him coming out,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said, “and when you’re high on specific players that you’re kind of targeting in different areas of the draft or wherever and then another team takes him, you pay attention, so I’ve been paying attention to his game, and I think also it didn’t hurt that I have a strong relationship that’s very communicative with their head coach Matt LaFleur, so I kind of knew what Grant was like day-in, day-out.

“For what we’re trying to do and the roles that we have on our team, I thought he was a very good fit for his skill sets and what we’re looking for to add to our wide-receiver room. The connectivity of what he has done, it was very clear, and what he could offer us in terms of adding to the group, it was a really good fit. I’m very, very happy we got that claim.”

The Packers also sounded happy that DuBose got claimed.

“I’m super fired up for Grant,” LaFleur said. “Obviously, it was a blessing and a curse to have so many tough decisions. …

“It’s a credit to Grant, too, just to see where he’s come from, the circumstances he was dealt a year ago in regards to coming in here, having to have surgery, battling through with limited reps. I know a year ago at this time he wasn’t happy that he was on the p-squad. But, you know, a lot of times you’re dealt or handed circumstances that you’re not always happy with, and it’s how you respond to them. And I thought, especially as the year went along, just his attention to detail, his work ethic, everything really — I mean, he was busting his butt in practice, and I think he saw the benefits of that. And to go out there and I thought he’s just — he’s a really tough, gritty guy. And we’re certainly going to miss him, but I’m happy for him to be able to get an opportunity elsewhere.”

Coming out of high school in Montgomery, DuBose had one offer to continue his football career.

At Miles College, he played for the Golden Bears’ SIAC championship and NCAA Division II playoff team in 2019. But after Miles canceled its 2020 schedule because of the coronavirus pandemic, DuBose was left bagging groceries, delivering food orders and working at Walmart and Hyundai Glovis.

DuBose returned to college football with Charlotte after connecting with the 49ers through former Sidney Lanier quarterback James Foster. In two seasons with Charlotte, DuBose caught 126 passes for 1,684 yards and 15 touchdowns.

DuBose joined Green Bay as a seventh-round selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. A back injury caused DuBose to start training camp late, and although he returned to play in two preseason games, he spent the entire 2023 campaign on Green Bay’s practice squad without appearing in a regular-season contest.

The Packers kept six wide receivers on their regular-season active roster for this season, with general manager Brian Gutekunst indicating DuBose was the odd man out in the final decision that kept Malik Heath and Bo Melton on the team. Last season, Melton had 16 receptions for 218 yards and one touchdown and Heath had 15 receptions for 125 yards and one touchdown for Green Bay.

“That was a great competition throughout the entire camp with those guys,” Gutekunst said. “They all had their moments. And at some point, you’re debating a lot of things. Do you keep six? Do you keep seven? How does it look? Offense, defense, special teams, all those things go into it.

“And, again, really happy for Grant that he’s going to get an opportunity here. But I just think at the end of the day, you know, some of the things that Malik and Bo did just made more sense for us at this time. At the same time, if we would have kept Grant, again, he earned it. He deserves to be somewhere. And I’m glad he’s getting the opportunity in Miami.”

During the Packers’ three-game preseason schedule, DuBose had five receptions for 66 yards.

DuBose was among the hundreds of players released on Aug. 27 as NFL teams trimmed their 90-player preseason rosters to the regular-season limit of 53 on the active roster. The players who were waived were available to be claimed by any team in the NFL until 11 a.m. CDT Aug. 28, and 26 were, including DuBose by Miami.

DuBose joined Braxton Berrios, West Alabama alumnus Tyreek Hill, Alabama alumnus Jaylen Waddle and Malik Washington as the wide receivers on the Dolphins’ active roster. Miami has three wide receivers on injured reserve – River Cracraft, Auburn alumnus Anthony Schwartz and Tahj Washington.

“He’s got size, he’s tough, really good route runner,” Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said of DuBose. “He’s got good hands, and it was the physical and how physical he is in his play. Obviously, Mike knows a lot of people up there in Green Bay with the relationship, as well as I do, and they’re all very high on him and said it was a very hard decision for them to move on from him, so it was an opportunity we were excited for.”

Green Bay will open the season against the Philadelphia Eagles at 7:15 p.m. Friday in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The Dolphins are preparing for their season-opening game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at noon Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.