The Green Bay Packers lost starting slot receiver Jayden Reed to a scary neck injury early on in Week 2, and after he spent the night in hospital was ruled out for Week 3’s Thursday Night’s loss against the Atlanta Falcons.
There had been little word on his status moving forward from the coaching staff, but on Wednesday the team took the step that many were expecting in placing him on injured reserve, ruling him out for at least the next four games.
In the wake of this move, Reed posted an emotional message on Instagram just a couple of hours before the move was officially announced.
“God will use the unusual to do the unexpected… 11 out🙏🏾”, Reed captioned a photo of him with taking a knee in Packers uniform, followed by a black-and-white picture of him in a Packers jersey.
Will Jayden Reed Miss the Rest of the Season?
It has yet to be revealed exactly how much time Reed is set to miss, although neck injuries notoriously require long recovery times. Former Packers running back A.J. Dillon suffered a neck injury in training camp in August 2024, and ended up being placed on season-ending injured reserve.
With that historical example combined with the perhaps not-so-subtle linguistic hint of “11 out”, it is hard not to read through the lines that Reed will more likely than not miss the remainder of the 2026 season.
If he does, the team will continue to move forward with Matthew Golden and Christian Watson as their top two targets on the perimeter, both of whom have had blistering starts to the season.
And with second year pro Savion Williams also currently residing on IR, Green Bay are in place to start former Chiefs second round pick Skyy Moore in the slot. Second-string veteran tight end Jonnu Smith is also likely to see additional snaps on offense.
Jayden Reed Posts Emotional Instagram Message Amidst IR Placement