Green Bay Packers: 3 Most Disappointing Players at the Bye
By Paul Bretl
Jace Sternberger
About two weeks ago, I wrote an article telling Packers fans that despite the slow start, there is no need to hit the panic button when it comes to Jace Sternberger. And I still believe that. However, for a player who was considered by many to be the team’s breakout star in 2020, for the most part, he has been a non-factor.
Throughout training camp, we rarely heard Sternberger’s name, and in Week 1 against Minnesota, the only week that Green Bay had Marcedes Lewis, Robert Tonyan, Josiah Deguara, and Sternberger all active, it was Jace who took the least amount of snaps from this group. And while his snap count will likely increase a little without Deguara, he still remains TE3.
When Aaron Rodgers has thrown his direction this season, we’ve seen some brutal drops from Sternberger. That certainly isn’t going to help him see more playing time, although it’s worth pointing out he had some nice receptions against New Orleans and he’s a willing blocker as well.
The transition from tight end to the NFL is an extremely difficult one, so as I said, there’s no need to panic when it comes to Sternberger. After all, this is essentially his rookie season after he missed over half of 2019 with an injury. But he makes this list because of the hype surrounding him this offseason and the fact that entering Week 5, he is the third option at tight end.