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The Green Bay Packers could be working with a skeleton crew of wide receivers when they face the Arizona Cardinals for Thursday Night Football.
One day after placing All-Pro wideout Davante Adams on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst added another pass-catcher to the list in Allen Lazard, putting the team at risk of playing an unbeaten team on the road without three of their top receivers.
Technically, Lazard could still play against the Cardinals if he is able to produce two negative tests 24 hours apart and show no symptoms, but the window is closing for either him or Adams to do so with kickoff set for 8:20 p.m. ET on October 28. If neither of them returns before the game, the Packers will be left with Randall Cobb, Amari Rodgers and Equanimeous St. Brown as their only three rostered receivers.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur also said Monday, October 25, that there was “hope” that Marquez Valdes-Scantling could be activated from injured reserve in time to play against the Cardinals on Thursday night. He has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since the beginning of the month, but he is eligible to return to practice at any point now and would offer a substantial boost to their depleted receiver room.
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‘Current Expectation’ is MVS Will Be Activated
The Packers may luck out when it comes to the timing of Valdes-Scantling’s recovery. According to Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus, a source told him that the “current expectation” is for MVS to be activated off injured reserve this week and suit up against the Cardinals on Thursday night after missing four consecutive games.
Aaron Rodgers would certainly appreciate the return of his biggest deep-threat weapon. A year ago, Valdes-Scantling had led the NFL with 20.7 yards per reception and was just starting to pick up where he left off prior to getting injured, recording three catches for 59 yards and a touchdown in Week 3’s win over San Francisco. Suffice it to say that if Lazard and Adams are not able to be cleared in time, the Packers would benefit tremendously from his re-insertion into the lineup.
What Other WR Options Exist for Packers?
Even if Valdes-Scantling is not medically cleared for action this week, the Packers can still be expected to do something about their dwindling receiver room. Their options are relatively limited, though, unless they have a trade or free-agent signing up their sleeve.
One positive step for the Packers is the return of third-year wideout Malik Taylor. According to the NFL’s transaction wire for October 26, the team officially welcomed him back on Tuesday following his 11-day stint on the COVID list and were granted a roster exemption that allows them to wait until game day to decide on adding him back to their active roster. While Taylor only has seven career receptions for the Packers, he would certainly give them the benefit of depth against the Cardinals.
The Packers could also — and seem likely to — elevate either Juwann Winfree or Chris Blair from their practice squad for depth purposes. Winfree was already called up once this season as a COVID replacement in Week 6 against Chicago and received elevation opportunities a few times last year, but he has yet to be targetted in the passing game in any of those situations. Meanwhile, Blair is even greener and has never spent any amount of time on an active or game-day roster since coming into the league as a UDFA in 2020.
Depth is still depth, though, and the Packers desperately need some right about now.
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