Getty Romeo Doubs suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter of Week 9's game against the Lions.
The Green Bay Packers have already suffered another loss to their receiving corps just one quarter into their Week 9 matchup with the Detroit Lions.
Packers fourth-round rookie wide receiver Romeo Doubs was carted into the locker room early in the first quarter after taking a low hit on the team’s first offensive play of the game and sustaining an ankle injury. Aaron Rodgers had tagged him with an 18-yard strike off of play action, but the rookie took a low hit to his right leg from Lions safety Kerby Joseph at the end of the play and was in visible pain on the sideline after.
After a brief stint in the blue medical tent, Doubs was carted away into the locker room and was initially ruled questionable to return, but he was declared out for the remainder of the game partway into the third quarter of Sunday’s game.
Things have been rough for the Packers’ receiving corps throughout the first half of the 2022 season. Veteran Randall Cobb is still on injured reserve with his own ankle injury, while Allen Lazard, Christian Watson and Sammy Watkins have all missed multiple games due to injuries through the first eight games of the season (even though all three are playing against the Lions in Week 9). The only other receivers on their roster are struggling second-year slot receiver Amari Rodgers and rookie Samori Toure.
The Packers were trailing 8-0 against the Lions at halftime, the first time they have been shut out in the first half this season.
Packers Also Lose Two Other Starters to Injuries
The Packers have caught some bad luck with injuries throughout the first nine games of the 2022 season, and the misfortunate on Sunday didn’t end with Doubs. Not long after the rookie wide receiver was taken away with his injury, the Packers saw starting right guard Jon Runyan Jr. go down with a knee injury and were forced to replace him with rookie Zach Tom — who has played both left tackle and left guard so far in 2022.
Runyan has been deemed questionable to return but did not play again in the first half.
Meanwhile, the Packers also had to bring out the medical cart for another player — 2021 first-round cornerback Eric Stokes — before the end of the first half. Stokes suffered a knee injury toward the end of the first quarter, and while he was immediately ruled questionable to return, the Packers changed his status to “out” before halftime.
Without Stokes, the Packers still have two of their best cornerbacks available in All-Pro Jaire Alexander and veteran Rasul Douglas, but they are a little shorthanded otherwise with Keisean Nixon the only other healthy cornerback available. The Packers also have 2021 fifth-rounder Shemar Jean-Charles on their 53-man roster, but he did not practice all week due to an ankle injury and was ruled out prior to the game in Detroit.
More Injuries Plague Packers in Second Half vs. Lions
To borrow a term from the Fox broadcast of the Packers-Lions game, Green Bay became something of an infirmary throughout the course of Sunday’s game with more injuries mounting in the second half of the game. By the midway point of the third quarter, they had seen three more contributors come out of the game due to injuries, including All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari, rookie wide receiver Christian Watson, running back Aaron Jones and pass rusher Rashan Gary — the latter of whom was carted off the field.
In Bakhtiari’s case, there was no evident play or incident that resulted in his injury, but the Packers declared him questionable to return with a knee injury, which could suggest he is having trouble again with the knee that was surgically repaired after his ACL tear. Bakhtiari missed Week 7’s game against the Washington Commanders due to the comfortability of his knee after playing four straight games and has been in a constant day-by-day mode in terms of his availability.
As for the other injured Packers, Watson took a shot to the head after making an 18-yard catch in the third quarter and is being evaluated for a concussion yet again. The second-round rookie sustained a concussion in Week 8’s loss to the Buffalo Bills and had just cleared the protocol in time to play against the Lions. He has also missed three previous games (Weeks 3, 6 and 7) with recurring hamstring issues.
Meanwhile, Gary suffered a knee injury that forced the Packers to bring out the cart for the third time on the afternoon. Then, later in the third quarter, Aaron Jones was taken into the locker room to be evaluated for an ankle injury. Both of questionable to return.