There are very few things guaranteed in the world. Death and taxes are two of them and a close third could be the Green Bay Packers failing to add some weapons around Aaron Rodgers. This trade deadline was far from the first time that the Packers didn’t address a glaring need on the offensive side of the ball.
Green Bay has been struggling mightily on offense to replace the production of Davante Adams, who was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders during the offseason. Replacing an All-Pro is virtually impossible, but the route that the front office decided to take was questionable, at best.
Now, they are reaping the repercussions of their decision. Rodgers has no trust in the wide receivers he has to throw the ball to and the results have been abysmal. One assistant general manager that spoke to Jordan Schultz is surprised that the Packers didn’t make a move to get Rodgers some help but believes that it could be a signal of how confident the franchise is in turning things around.
“I was a little surprised they didn’t get Rodgers more help. Do they not think they can make a run at it? I always thought having Rodgers meant you were in the hunt. This signaled to me that they don’t believe they are.”
Green Bay did try and make a move. They were reportedly in on Chase Claypool of the Pittsburgh Steelers but he was traded to their NFC North rivals, the Chicago Bears. Veteran Brandin Cooks was another player that was reportedly available but ended up remaining with the Houston Texans, much to his chagrin.
Rodgers could make a case to free agent Odell Beckham Jr. to join the team, but at this point, what do the Packers have to offer? They are 3-5 on the season, 3.5 games behind the Minnesota Vikings for first place in the division. There were winning teams that would line up to sign Beckham once he is healthy enough to return to the field.
How things were handled at the wide receiver position was a miscalculation by ownership and the front office. Expect this to be a position the Packers look to overhaul again in the offseason as this offense badly needs an impact playmaker to go along with running back Aaron Jones.
