Getty Wide receiver Marquise Brown of the Arizona Cardinals.
After a fast start by quarterback Jordan Love, the Green Bay Packers offense has been a problem the last two weeks and the team has a less than a month to address it.
There have been issues on the offensive line and in the run game, but the place the Packers can make the most noise ahead of the trade deadline is in a young wide receiver room.
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report contended on Wednesday, October 4, that Green Bay “must target” wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown of the Arizona Cardinals.
Adding one more deep threat could be enough to really unlock this passing game, which is good because the run game has struggled behind an offensive line that is beat up.
Marquise Brown is a name to track as the trade deadline approaches. He’s in the final year of his contract and the Cardinals still don’t have Kyler Murray in the lineup. He could be available. At 26, he could wind up being a part of the young core the Packers already have lined up.
Marquise Brown, Christian Watson Would Provide Packers Explosive WR Duo
GettyWide receiver Marquise Brown of the Arizona Cardinals carries the ball during an NFL game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in December 2022.
A first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2019 (No. 25 overall), Brown’s top skill is his ability to stretch a defense with explosive verticality. Brown has amassed 283 catches for 3,309 yards and 26 touchdowns across 62 career games, including 55 starts, per Pro Football Reference.
The Packers already have a big-play threat in wideout Christian Watson, who returned to the field in Week 4 against the Detroit Lions after missing the first three games of the season with a hamstring injury.
Pairing Watson and Brown would create matchup issues for most secondaries around the league and help quarterback Jordan Love get back to the player who threw for 6 touchdown passes across the first two contests of the year.
The Ravens traded Brown and a 2022 third-round pick to the Cardinals for a 2022 first-round pick in April of that year.
Marquise Brown Trade Must Be Long-Term Play for Packers
GettyWide receiver Marquise Brown of the Arizona Cardinals runs with the football during an NFL game.
If Green Bay decides to pursue a trade for Brown, it would only make sense as a long-term play that includes a multiyear contract extension.
The wideout is currently playing on the fifth year of his rookie deal and earning $13.4 million in 2023. Brown’s initial four-year contract paid him $11.8 million before the Cardinals exercised their team option, which franchises have as a path to hold onto former first-round picks for an extra year.
Spotrac projects Brown’s market value at $18.1 million annually over a new three-year deal ($54.3 million total). The Packers are projected to have $18.9 million in salary cap space next offseason, though they will have several options to clear more room.
Green Bay can save more than $21 million just by cutting or trading left tackle David Bakhtiari next summer, who is scheduled to cost $40.5 million against the team’s cap in 2024 and is currently on IR with a knee injury.