Getty Jeff Cotton worked out for the Packers on October 18 along with two other wide receivers.
The Green Bay Packers have begun the process of trying to fortify their receiving corps after losing another veteran to an injury in Week 6’s loss.
According to the NFL’s official transaction wire for October 18, the Packers hosted three wide receivers — Ty Fryfogle, Jeff Cotton Jr. and Charleston Rambo — for roster workouts on Tuesday along with former Detroit Lions practice-squad quarterback Steven Montez and onetime Packers safety Innis Gaines.
While Mike Garafolo of NFL Network had previously reported Fryfogle would be working out for the Packers on Tuesday, the presence of both Cotton and Rambo suggests the Packers could be looking to add another pass-catcher to their practice squad in the coming days. They already have Juwann Winfree and Travis Fulgham on their practice squad, but they may choose to sign one of them to the active roster to help compensate for the injuries to their receiving corps.
The Packers are currently without veterans Randall Cobb (ankle) and Sammy Watkins (hamstring) and second-round rookie Christian Watson (hamstring) due to injuries. While Watkins is eligible to be activated off of injured reserve in Week 7, it remains unclear whether he will be ready to suit up against the Commanders on Sunday.
The Packers also announced a few roster moves on Tuesday, including the signing of Gaines to their practice squad. They also waived cornerback Benjie Franklin and inside linebacker Ray Wilborn from the practice squad, leaving them with one available spot (for now) to potentially add another wide receiver to the mix.
Could Packers Soon Promote Juwann Winfree?
With three receivers dealing with injuries, the Packers are currently set to head into their next game with just four healthy receivers in their rotation: Allen Lazard, Romeo Doubs, Amari Rodgers and seventh-round rookie Samori Toure, who has been a healthy scratch in all six games this season. A move — even if only a small one — is bound to happen at some point before they take on the Commanders at 1 p.m. ET on October 23.
The most likely scenario? An active-roster promotion for Juwann Winfree.
Winfree was impressive throughout the Packers’ 2022 training camp and would have likely made the roster as their seventh receiver if not for general manager Brian Gutekunst giving his draft selections (i.e. Toure) priority. He has been someone that Rodgers has talked up a few times since the start of camp and is also a receiver the Packers have trusted in a pinch with three game-day elevations in the first six weeks.
If the Packers believe Winfree can help them through some of their injury troubles, it could be a no-brainer to sign him up to the active roster on a permanent basis. Clearing a roster spot for him could be as simple as either Cobb or Watson going on injured reserve, but they would absolutely have to make a spot for him since they have already used all three of his allotted game-day elevations for the season.
Are Packers Concerned About Rodgers’ Thumb Injury?
The Packers oftentimes bring in players for workouts in order to update their list of available free agents in case they need to make a move down the line. They also tend to work out players at positions where injuries are currently bothering them, such as they did at wide receiver on Tuesday. Could their decision to work out Montez, the former Colorado quarterback, have something to do with Rodgers’ thumb injury, though?
Based on what Rodgers said during his October 18 appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, the four-time MVP quarterback does not think his thumb will be an issue forward even though he admitted it impacted “a few” of his throws in Week 6’s blowout loss.
“I felt fine taking snaps from Josh [Myers] and then throwing the ball,” Rodgers said on Tuesday afternoon. “I was doing pretty good. There was a hit early in the game — the one you are talking about — where we’re running a screen pass to the right and we had some miscommunication on the backside and I got hit and the natural reaction when you get hit is to kinda put your hands out. That kinda banged it up a little bit. So, I felt it, but it wasn’t a major issue and it’s not going to be an issue. I’m still gonna play.”
“I’m not wearing a glove @OfficialAJHawk” 😂😂 ~@AaronRodgers12
The Packers, however, have to be prepared for something to change at a moment’s notice in the event that the injury to Rodgers’ throwing hand worsens at all. That doesn’t mean they will rush to sign a fourth quarterback, but we also know from last year roughly how they would go about dealing with a game without Rodgers.
When Rodgers spent 10 days on the reserve/COVID-19 list in 2021, the Packers elevated Kurt Benkert from the practice squad to the active roster to serve as Love’s backup and re-signed Danny Etling — their current No. 3 — to the practice squad as an emergency option. It would be understandable if they were working out Montez for the same type of reasons, just in case they needed to break the glass on an alternate QB plan.