The Green Bay Packers had to reshuffle their return game against the Chicago Bears after Skyy Moore exited Sunday’s Week 5 matchup with an ankle injury.
Jason B. Hirschhorn of The Leap reported during the game that the Packers announced Moore had an ankle injury and was questionable to return.
Ryan Wood of USA Today Network added that Moore was in the locker room being evaluated, with Matthew Golden taking over as Green Bay’s deep man on punt returns.
Moore has been one of Green Bay’s most productive special teams players through the opening month, giving the Packers a field-position weapon they specifically targeted during the offseason.
Update: Moore won’t return for the rest of the game, via Wood.
Moore Had Emerged as Packers’ Return Weapon
Green Bay signed Moore to a one-year deal in March after making an upgrade in the return game an offseason priority. ESPN’s Rob Demovsky noted at the time that the Packers had finished last in the NFL in punt-return average in 2025 at 5.6 yards and tied for 22nd in kickoff-return average at 25.2.
Moore arrived with a much stronger recent action. He averaged 27.5 yards on 33 kickoff returns for the San Francisco 49ers in 2025, sixth-best in the league, and averaged 11.6 yards on 25 punt returns, seventh-best. The Packers highlighted those numbers when announcing his signing.
That production carried over quickly. Per NFL.com, Moore has 302 yards on 11 kickoff returns, a 27.5-yard average, and 128 yards on eight punt returns, averaging 16.0 yards per attempt. He had also produced a 63-yard punt return this season.
His offensive role had expanded, too. Moore entered Sunday with six catches for 35 yards while working primarily from the slot. His receiving numbers were modest, but his value to Green Bay was increasingly tied to the combination of offensive snaps and return duties.
Golden Takes Over Punt Return Duties
Golden was the logical next man up once Moore left the game.
The Packers’ official depth chart heading into Week 5 listed Moore as the No. 1 punt returner and Golden as the backup. Golden handled six punt returns as a rookie in 2025, totaling 28 yards, so the assignment is familiar even though Green Bay had not needed him there through the first four games of this season.
The wrinkle is that Golden already carries a much larger offensive workload than Moore. The second-year wideout went into Sunday with 18 catches for 274 yards and two touchdowns through four games, via NFL.com. Asking him to handle punts adds another responsibility for a player who has become one of the Packers’ primary receiving threats.
Green Bay can live with that arrangement in the short term, especially during an NFC North game, but Moore’s status could affect how the Packers divide special teams work if the ankle injury lingers past Sunday.
The Packers brought Moore in largely because he could stabilize an area that had been a problem the year before.
Four games into the season, he had done exactly that. Golden hands Green Bay an experienced emergency option, but the injury occurence also underscores why Moore’s injury is more significant than his receiving totals alone suggest.
Packers’ Weapon Exits Bears Game With Ankle Injury, Matthew Golden Steps In