Packers looking to add a WR at the trade deadline?

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported on Friday that the Green Bay Packers are one of several teams that are believed to be monitoring the wide receiver market at the trade deadline.

Fowler would go on to say that Jerry Jeudy, Terrace Marshall, and Hunter Renfroe are potential trade candidates.

The Packers and rumors of trading for a wide receiver at the deadline have gone together like peanut butter and chocolate—and, apparently, that trend continues even with a change at the quarterback position.

GM Brian Gutekunst and the organization made the decision in the offseason to embrace the youth movement at the receiver position. Heading into the 2023 season, Romeo Doubs with 529 career snaps was the most experienced player at the position.

The Packers’ receiver position is filled with speed, versatility, and upside, but when relying on so many inexperienced players, there will be growing pains, which Green Bay is experiencing through the first five games this season.

Contributing to Jordan Love’s low completion percentage and the issues on offense is the lack of attention to detail by the receivers at times, which results in routes not being as precise as they need to be or the timing being thrown off. This group has also struggled to make contested catches and dealing with physical cornerbacks.

Doubs is the Packers leading receiver this season with 228 receiving yards, which ranks 51st across the NFL, at 10.9 yards per catch, three touchdowns, and 21 receptions.

Sure, on paper, it makes sense to add a receiver, especially a veteran one, to Green Bay’s current receiver room. However, that goes against what the Packers’ supposed approach is for the season. Not that adjustments can’t be made depending on what the results are, but to a degree, I have to imagine that what the Packers are experiencing at the receiver position they expected.

This also isn’t a team that is on the cusp of making a Super Bowl run, or perhaps, maybe not even a playoff run, where trying to bolster the roster in that regard makes sense. Of course, the Packers want to win games this season, but the two primary objectives in 2023 are to figure out what they have and can build around in 2024. Taking valuable practice and in-game reps away from the young receivers does not help accomplish that.

Also along those lines, for a team that is either in rebuild or reload mode, whichever phrase you want to use, parting with draft picks doesn’t make much sense either. If you are going to hold out hope that the Packers are going to make a deal, be mindful of the contract they are getting in return. How many years does that player have left on the current deal? Do they require an extension? Currently, Green Bay is projected to rank 20th in available cap space next offseason, per Over the Cap. They’ll be in better shape than where they were in 2023, but relatively speaking, they still won’t have an abundance of operating space.

As always, adding some firepower to the receiver position sounds great. But given the path that the Packers have set forth on, coupled with what the real purpose of the 2023 season is, reports of Green Bay acquiring a receiver – or really any position for that matter – doesn’t pass the smell test.

The reality is that, as Guetkunst often does, he may be monitoring what is taking place around the league as the deadline approaches. As he has said, he wants to be in on every conversation, but that doesn’t mean anything will materialize.