At the right price, free agent WR Robert Woods makes sense for Packers

The Green Bay Packers need a veteran presence at wide receiver, but once again, they will not have much operating room with the salary cap, which limits who they can bring in, especially if they hope that player can make an impact. However, at the right price, the recently released Robert Woods makes a lot of sense for the Packers on paper.

Woods was released by Tennessee on Wednesday in favor of cap savings after spending just one season there. He was traded from the Los Angeles Rams to the Titans last offseason and was coming off an ACL injury. He would end up playing in all 17 games with Tennessee and produced 527 yards and two touchdowns in an offense that very much struggled to move the ball through the air. From 2018 to 2020, Woods recorded three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons with the Rams and was on pace again in 2021 prior to his injury.

There are a few reasons why this move makes sense for the Packers. The obvious is his experience as a 10-year NFL veteran – which Green Bay needs at receiver – along with production and reliability as a high-volume target. Woods also played under Matt LaFleur in 2017 when he was the offensive coordinator with the Rams and spent five seasons in total with Sean McVay, who has an offense that mirrors LaFleur’s, which should result in an easier transition for him.

Woods has also been moved around the formation frequently, playing roughly 59% of his career snaps from the boundary along with 41% from the slot. On top of that, and for what it’s worth, Woods has graded out very well as a run-blocker throughout his career by PFF. This versatility to line up all over the field, coupled with his blocking ability, are two important factors in playing receiver in LaFleur’s system.

Of course, and as alluded to, the contract value will be important, given that the Packers will have limited spending power again in free agency. Woods’ previous contract that he had signed with the Rams and that the Titans inherited was a four-year deal worth $65 million, with an average annual value of $16.5 million. If his next deal is anywhere, even remotely close to that ballpark, this isn’t going to work for the Packers. Realistically, Green Bay is probably looking to spend half that amount at the most, and then can lower the current year’s cap hit by either signing the player to a multi-year deal or by using void years.

At the moment, Green Bay has a very young wide receiver room. In fact, in terms of snap counts, Romeo Doubs is the most experienced receiver on the roster, with 529 career snaps. He is then followed by Christian Watson, Samori Toure, Jeff Cotton with one snap, and Bo Melton with none. As we saw in 2022, young players can be very inconsistent, so a veteran addition – whether Woods or someone else – would hopefully provide some stability at the position, not to mention the potential impact on the practice field and in the film room.

With that said, a veteran addition should in no way affect how the Packers approach the draft at the receiver position–it should still be a priority, with additional playmaking a must. On top of that, whoever the veteran signing may be, they, in all likelihood, won’t be a long-term solution at the position, which is something that the draft can provide.

Free agency begins on March 15th, but before then, the Green Bay Packers have to be under the salary cap. At the moment, they are still $9.66 million in the hole. In the coming weeks, we can anticipate several contract restructures to help get them out of the red but to also provide them with some cap space to make a free agent signing.