3 Free Agent Returners for Green Bay Packers to Target
By Paul Bretl
Green Bay Packers Free Agent Target: Jakeem Grant
I’m sure Green Bay Packers fans all remember Jakeem Grant after his performance against the team last season while he was with the Chicago Bears. During that Week 14 matchup, Grant recorded 131 punt return yards, including 97 on a touchdown run, which ended up being the only punt return allowed in the NFL all season.
Prior to being traded to the Bears early on in the 2021 season, Grant had spent his entire career in Miami, where he was drafted in the sixth-round in 2016. He has a career punt return average of 10.3 yards on 119 attempts. In 2021 specifically, Grant finished tied for fifth, averaging 11.9 yards per punt return.
However, unlike Berrios and McCloud, that has been Grant’s primary special teams responsibility as he has only two career kick return attempts–and the most recent one took place in 2019.
As a receiver, Grant has a good mix of lining up out wide as well as in the slot–although he has spent more time on the boundary. His most productive season came in 2020, when he had 373 yards on 52 targets. This past season, however, Grant was targeted just 17 times between Miami and Chicago.
It’s worth noting that Grant also has 17 career rushing attempts, including a season-high five in 2021, and is averaging 4.5 yards per rush. In LaFleur’s offense, he could help fill that gadget role.
After playing 2021 on a one-year $2.3 million deal, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network projects that Grant could make as much as $5 million per year on the open market. While that may take some financial maneuvering from Green Bay, that figure shouldn’t deter them either.