The Green Bay Packers will be without Jayden Reed for an as of yet undetermined period of time after he suffered a frightening injury against the New York Jets in Week 2, which leaves an opening on the roster for a wide receiver addition.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the latest update on Reed and his health via a social media post on Monday, September 21.
“Packers WR Jayden Reed injured his back Sunday, per source,” Schefter wrote. “After spending the night in New Jersey, he soon will be returning to Green Bay, with the team still evaluating the best treatment and recovery time frame.”
Green Bay has the duo of Christian Watson and Matthew Golden on whom the offense can lean, though it is now short a WR3. A high-upside swing, albeit somewhat risky, involves a trade offer for embattled pass-catcher Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers.
49ers Looking to Trade Brandon Aiyuk, Have no Plans to Bring Him Back to Active Roster
Aiyuk spent the offseason railing against the 49ers front office and coaching staff, which arguably led to a lack of interest in the former second-team All-Pro around the league.
San Francisco consistently hoped to trade Aiyuk rather than cut him, and the wideout remains with the franchise through two weeks of this season on a four-year, $120 million contract that runs through 2028.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters following his team’s victory against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday that the 49ers have no plans to bring Aiyuk back into a playing role for the franchise.
As such, San Francisco would clearly welcome a deal to move on from the WR, and the Packers may be interested with Reed sidelined — assuming the price is right.
Packers May Not Find WR Brandon Aiyuk Worth the Risk
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report listed Aiyuk as among the top-10 trade candidates in the NFL heading into Week 2.
He mentioned a conditional seventh-round draft pick as the asking price in a trade for Aiyuk, which is about as little as the Packers could hope for.
“The San Francisco 49ers have been practically begging teams to bid on disgruntled wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk since the offseason began,” Knox wrote on September 16. “Although Aiyuk hasn’t played since suffering a significant knee injury in 2024, he is still only 28 and surpassed 1,300 receiving yards when he was last healthy in 2023. He could draw interest from teams who have experienced critical injuries at receiver.”
Green Bay’s two remaining issues, should Aiyuk come available for a seventh-round pick, would be the WR’s contract moving forward and how he might impact the locker room dynamic given his recently erratic behavior.
The Packers and 49ers could likely work out some kind of deal on the money that would render Aiyuk affordable enough this season (and easily cuttable if things go south) to get a deal done.
Green Bay has a strong locker room culture and could use a spike of talent after a rocky 1-1 start to the season, but Aiyuk still may not be worth the potential headache to the Packers.
Packers Trade Pitch Replaces Jayden Reed With $120 Million WR