Getty Head coach Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers talks to Aaron Rodgers #12 on the sidelines against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half of the NFC Championship game at Levi's Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Santa Clara, California.
The Green Bay Packers have already lost two of their top three wide receivers from 2021, and the pool of free agents from which to replace them is thinning.
All-Pro Davante Adams headed west to join the Las Vegas Raiders by way of a trade that brought back first-round and second-round draft picks to Green Bay in 2022. Marquez Valdes-Scantling departed for the Kansas City Chiefs and $30 million over three years via free agency.
Several of the free agent options available to replace Adams and Valdes-Scantling are either coming off of injury troubles, down seasons or both. That list includes Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr., most recently of the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams, respectively; Will Fuller V, formerly of the Miami Dolphins; and Julio Jones, formerly of the Tennessee Titans.
However, there is another talented wide receiver option the Packers could pursue who has appeared in all but one regular season game over the previous two seasons and experienced something of a statistical resurgence in 2021 — seven-time Pro Bowler A.J. Green, most recently of the Arizona Cardinals.
Green caught 54 passes for 848 yards in Arizona last season, per Pro Football Reference, both of which are season-high totals since he was last selected to a Pro Bowl in 2017. Green also hauled in three touchdown catches last year.
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Green Could Bring Value to Packers on One-Year ‘Bargain’ Deal
GettyFormer Arizona Cardinals wide receiver A.J. Green lines up against the Kansas City Chiefs during a preseason game on August 20, 2021 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Green, 33, spent the entirety of his first 10 years in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals. He sat out all of 2019 with an injured ankle, though the wide receiver appeared in at least 10 games every other season, save for 2018 when he played in nine contests.
Despite a significant injury history over the last half-decade and a moderate decline in his skill set with age, Green could prove a bargain for Green Bay on a one-year deal.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report laid out the scenario in a piece published on Saturday, March 26:
While Green has been durable recently, he hasn’t been the same dynamic playmaker he was before the injury bug bit him.
Pro Football Focus projected a one-year, $7.25 million deal for Green. [But] this feels high, given the recent middle-tier receiver market.
While he has lost a step in the speed department, Green remains a capable perimeter receiver. … He’s not well-suited for a rebuilding team, but the veteran would be a fine addition to a win-now squad. The Packers could consider Green as a complementary piece.
Packers’ Big WR Moves Figure Now to Come By Trade or in NFL Draft
GettyWide receiver DK Metcalf (right) of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates his touchdown catch with wide receiver Tyler Lockett (left) during the third quarter against the Detroit Lions at Lumen Field on January 2, 2022 in Seattle, Washington.
Along with Green, both Fuller and Beckham Jr. appear likely candidates to sign one-year contracts this offseason. Fuller is coming off of a broken finger that kept him sidelined for most of his lone campaign with the Miami Dolphins, while Beckham tore an ACL during the Rams’ Super Bowl win in February.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported Saturday that the big-money market for wide receivers has mostly dried up after Adams netted $140 million from the Raiders and Tyreek Hill secured a four-year, $120 million extension from the Dolphins.
It would hardly be a surprise if the Packers decided to sign a player like Green or Fuller or Beckham Jr. to a one-year “prove-it” deal at a value number. However, after extending four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers for three years at $150 million, and with most of the marquee wideout names already gone from the free agent market, Green Bay’s big move at wide receiver will likely take the form of a trade sometime between now and the start of the NFL season in early September.
In fact, it appears the Packers have already started down that path with the Seattle Seahawks. According to a Wednesday, March 23 report from Jack Settleman of Snapback Sports, Green Bay had reached out to Seattle to inquire about the availability of wideouts DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.
Sources tell me the Packers and Chiefs have inquired about DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett’s availability.
Seattle is open to listening to offers for their star WRs but nothing is imminent.
“Sources tell me the Packers and Chiefs have inquired about DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett’s availability,” Settleman tweeted. “Seattle is open to listening to offers for their star WRs but nothing is imminent.”
Metcalf and Lockett have each been selected to one Pro Bowl during the course of their three-year and seven-year NFL careers, respectively. Neither was expected to be available on the trade market heading into the offseason until the Seahawks chose to hit the reset button and deal long-time QB Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos.
The Packers are now in position to benefit from Seattle’s potential rebuild, assuming they can figure out a trade. As of Sunday, the Packers had a little more than $15 million in cap space to work with, per Spotrac. The two starting wide receivers on Green Bay’s depth chart are currently Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb.