Packers Lose WR to Season-Ending Injury, Promote Bo Melton

Getty Packers wide receiver Bo Melton.

With the playoffs on the line, the Green Bay Packers are making a few changes to their receiving corps ahead of their regular-season finale.

According to the team’s official transaction wire, the Packers signed Bo Melton from the practice squad to their 53-man roster on January 1 following his breakout 105-yard game in their 33-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football.

To free up a roster spot for Melton, the Packers also placed second-year wide receiver Samori Toure on injured reserve, bringing his 2023 season to a forgettable end. According to Packers Wire, he suffered an undisclosed injury against the Vikings after catching one pass and fumbling a punt return in the fourth quarter.

The Packers could still find themselves shorthanded at the receiver position depending on how their injury situation unfolds leading up to Week 18. Christian Watson has missed four consecutive games with a hamstring injury while rookie Dontayvion Wicks did not play against the Vikings in Week 17 due to a combination of chest and ankle injuries.

Packers star rookie wide receiver Jayden Reed also spent New Year’s Day undergoing tests for a chest injury that sidelined him for the entire second half of the win over the Vikings. Even with Melton on the roster, the Packers are running thin on healthy receivers.

In other roster moves, the Packers also signed third-year strong safety Tyler Coyle to their practice squad to fill the open roster spot that Melton previously occupied.

Bo Melton Shined in Prime Time Against Vikings

Melton made the most of his third and final practice-squad elevation opportunity in Week 17 against the Vikings. He caught six passes for 105 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first Packers receiver all season to record a 100-yard receiving game. He also combined for five catches and 51 yards in his previous two call-up opportunities.

“From Day 1 that Bo got here, just an unbelievable attitude, an unbelievable approach,” LaFleur said on December 31. “He’s been team-first all the way. Brings great energy, takes great pride in his work, does a really good job when he wasn’t up, just giving great looks and performing well on the show teams. Giving great looks to the defense, preparing our corners, preparing our defense for whoever the receiver may be that the defense needs to take away. Just really happy for him, man, because he’s earned it.”

Now, Melton will get a chance to prove himself again as the Packers head into Week 18’s regular-season finale with the Chicago Bears seeking a win to clinch a playoff berth. The NFL has announced that kickoff will be at 4:25 p.m. Eastern Time on January 7.

Samori Toure Finishes Year 2 in Disappointing Fashion

Things did not go as expected for Toure during his second season with the Packers. He entered the 2023 season as one of just three non-rookie receivers on the active roster and appeared to have a chance at earning a meaningful role in the rotation given the youth around him. Instead, he caught just five passes over the first seven games before the Packers started to make him a regular healthy scratch on their game-day inactives.

Even when Toure did see the field, he struggled to make the right kind of impression. He delivered just eight catches and 78 yards on 18 targets over his 11 games in 2023. In Sunday’s win over the Vikings, he lost six yards on his only reception and fumbled the ball away on special teams as the stand-in punt returner for the injured Reed.

A rough second season puts Toure in a vulnerable spot heading into the 2024 offseason. He remains under contract for another two seasons with the team, but the emergence of guys like Reed, Wicks and Melton alongside Watson and Romeo Doubs could put him on the chopping block next year, especially if the Packers add to the position group.