Getty Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers could be getting another weapon
The Green Bay Packers are starting to figure out their weapons on offense. However, one NFL insider believes that the team could make a move for another veteran playmaker if the opportunity arises.
In his latest mailbag for SI.com, NFL insider Albert Breer was asked about the possibility of the Packers making a move for another wide receiver. While Breer made sure to emphasize that the Packers are focusing on developing their younger playmakers like Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson, he didn’t rule out a move for a star, either.
“That said, I think the Packers signing or trading for a receiver will come down to opportunity—it’ll be who is available, rather than just plucking from those that are,” Breer said. “I could see Odell Beckham Jr. as an option when he gets healthy. But I don’t think you’ll see an overreach, where they do something just to do something.”
Breer isn’t the only one who thinks Green Bay could use OBJ. The Packers currently rank just 27th in the NFL with only 16 points scored per game. While they’ll have an opportunity to bring that number up over the next few weeks, adding a star receiver like Beckham could help accelerate that process once he’s fully healthy.
When Will Odell Beckham Jr. Be Ready to Play?
As one of the most recognizable stars in the NFL, Beckham has fans across the league wondering when he’ll be ready to play and where he’ll end up going. Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell what the 29-year-old’s recovery timeline looks like.
Beckham went down with a non-contact knee injury in the Super Bowl against the Cincinnati Bengals. Although the initial reporting was that Beckham had torn his ACL during the game, the former Los Angeles Rams wide receiver tweeted this offseason that he had played the entire second half of the year without an ACL.
That makes Beckham’s recovery timeline hard to predict. If he did tear his ACL earlier in the year, he could possibly return sooner, but that’s also assuming that he didn’t damage his knee more by playing on it. If he actually was injured in the Super Bowl, then it’s likely he won’t be ready until the second half of the 2022 season at the earliest.
Regardless, plenty of teams are still preparing to make an offer to Beckham. The Rams are making a hard push to bring him back, even leaving his locker open with the nameplate still on it.
Fortunately for Beckham, he has time to make his decision, and he’ll likely wait to see which teams are the true Super Bowl contenders before committing to play anywhere.
Green Bay’s Newest Playmaker
The Packers made an effort to bring in some weapons for Aaron Rodgers, including a veteran in Sammy Watkins and two rookies in Doubs and Watson. With Watkins placed on injured reserve and Watson missing Week 3 with a hamstring injury, it was Doubs who was the breakout star against the Buccaneers.
Doubs turned heads in the Week 3 win, catching all eight of his targets for 73 yards and his first career touchdown. The Packers got him involved in different ways with screens, in-breaking routes, and even some play-action rollouts to get him out to the flat in space with momentum.
Defenses will be forced to respect the other rookie’s speed once Watson returns. Once that happens, it’ll likely open up the field even more for Doubs, who has a real chance at being Rodgers’ top target for the 2022 season.