Playing time hard to come by for Amari Rodgers at bottom of Packers depth chart

Green Bay Packers second-year wide receiver Amari Rodgers was the team’s kick and punt return man Week 1 against Minnesota; however, it doesn’t sound like his role will be expanding any time soon.

The Packers traded up for Rodgers in the third round of the 2021 draft, and his role on offense that first season was quite small–especially once the team traded for Randall Cobb, who brings a similar skill-set and fills a similar role.

According to PFF ($$), Rodgers was on the field for only 103 total offensive snaps in 2021, including just 16 against Arizona, when several members of the Packers wide receiver unit missed that game on the reserve/COVID list.

This offseason, however, Rodgers appeared to be taking a step forward. He came into training camp about 16 pounds lighter than a season ago, and that added speed, along with comfortability in the offense, was apparent.

Rodgers also filled that gadget role well in the preseason, even taking snaps as a ball carrier. In fact, in early August, GM Brian Gutekunst would tell reporters that the team was “very bullish” on the second-year receiver.

Things seemed to be trending in the right direction for Rodgers, but those sentiments we just mentioned don’t match how the first week of the regular season has gone.

Where does Amari Rodgers fit in this 2022 Packers offense?

With question marks at the receiver position and only two running backs on the 53-man roster, Rodgers didn’t see any offensive snaps against Minnesota. Then when Aaron Rodgers was asked about where Amari fits into the offense, his response was quite short:

"“Yeah, he’s returning for us now. That’s all I got on it.”"

Whether good or bad, Aaron Rodgers is typically one to elaborate when answering a question, which is why this short response from him is noteworthy. After spending much of Wednesday’s media session building up Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, the reigning MVP didn’t have the same endorsement for Rodgers.

Head coach Matt LaFleur was also asked about where he sees Rodgers fitting into this offense, and he told reporters that it is going to vary week to week.

"“I think it’s going to be game by game. When he gets those opportunities, he’s going to have to maximize them in order to get more, and unfortunately, he didn’t get any this last game. But it’s definitely going to be week to week.”"

Perhaps there are still trust issues between the young receiver and his quarterback. As Zach Kruse of Packers Wire would mention, Aaron Rodgers would point out that Amari Rodgers ran a bad route during the preseason that resulted in an interception.

Regardless of the reasoning, playing time has been hard to come by for Rodgers as he finds himself buried on the depth chart. Even Juwann Winfree, who was a practice squad elevation for Week 1, saw nine offensive snaps on Sunday.

As a true wideout, there just aren’t any snaps to go around, especially if Rodgers is still having issues with the offense–which is only speculation. Where he could potentially contribute is in that gadget role, just as we saw during the preseason. However, those snaps were given to Watson and Doubs, both of whom were utilized on end-arounds against the Vikings.

So if there are no slot or gadget snaps to be had — or at least very few — as we look ahead to the rest of the regular season, where exactly does Amari Rodgers fit on this team? Well, Aaron Rodgers may have said it best, he’s the return man.