Randall Cobb Misses Packers Practice—Sunday’s Status Unknown
By Paul Bretl
The Green Bay Packers have battled numerous injuries this season. In fact, it’s become quite difficult to keep track of all the players who have missed time at some point. And unfortunately, there is another name to watch as this week unfolds.
On Wednesday’s injury report, Randall Cobb was on there as a non-participant with a core injury. If you recall, he left the game against Los Angeles early with what was called a groin injury at that time.
Regardless of whether it’s a core or a groin injury, both take some time to heal and can linger if not handled properly–which leads me to believe that Cobb’s status for Sunday could be in jeopardy.
Although Cobb hasn’t played a prominent role in this offense with only 38 targets this season, he has been incredibly reliable and a security blanket for Aaron Rodgers on third downs and in the red zone.
If Cobb can’t go on Sunday, his presence will be greatly missed by Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers offense.
Overall, Cobb has caught nearly 74 percent of his 38 targets at 13.4 yards per catch. Of those 38 targets, almost half, or 17 to be exact, have come on third downs, with Cobb catching 12 of them at 16.9 yards per catch with two touchdowns. And of those 12 receptions, 10 have moved the chains.
In the red zone, Cobb has just four receptions, but all four have gone for touchdowns–he has only one touchdown outside the opponent’s 20-yard line this season.
"“But the things that he does that you can’t really teach is that feel [such as] the third-and-10 where he had inside leverage and made kind of an out move, and I put a good ball down the seam to him,” Rodgers said of Cobb via SI following the Week 4 win over Pittsburgh. “His angle on the touchdown on that route, just a feel. Having guys who can do it like that, and we have a lot of guys like that. Davante is as good as it gets with his feel. Both Allen (Lazard) and Bobby (Tonyan) have a good feel. But Cobby’s been doing it for a long time at a high level, and tonight was really fun.”"
Although this offense may predominantly go through Davante Adams, Aaron Jones, and the run game, you can bet that if Cobb misses any time, this group will be affected. Rodgers will be without one of his most trusted pass-catchers and adjustments will have to be made.
While more snaps for Amari Rodgers in Cobb’s absence may seem like the logical move given their similar skill-sets, I have my doubts about that. Instead, I tend to believe that it would equate to more opportunities for Allen Lazard and Equanimeous St. Brown.
Lazard has struggled with drops as of late, but over the last two seasons, he has been a favorite target of Rodgers on third downs–in 2020, he caught 10 of his 12 targets with 10 first downs. Meanwhile, St. Brown has only six receptions this year, but five of them have come over the last three games.
Sure, having a true slot receiver in this offense and someone who can fill that role as the motion man certainly helps, but as we saw all of last season, it’s not an absolute requirement for Matt LaFleur either. He will have no issue using players like Lazard or St. Brown in a Cobb-like role.
Again, this is all speculation on my part, and we will have to wait and see if Cobb does return to practice at all this week. But with that said, I do have some concerns about his upcoming status, and if the Green Bay Packers are without him, Rodgers will be missing one of his favorite targets.