The Green Bay Packers are 5-1-1 on the season after they overcame a halftime deficit on Sunday Night Football to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-25 and their former quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.
In this contest, the Packers benched cornerback Nate Hobbs in favor of Carrington Valentine. It was a move that was praised by fans, and head coach Matt LaFleur gave him some public support on Monday.
"[Valentine] went out there and I thought he played really competitively the entire game," LaFleur said of Valentine, via Zach Jacobson of 247Sports. "Even on the touchdown catch, I love how he competed for the football. I thought that was big time. It didn't go our way in that moment, but I thought, all in all, he showed physicality, and he was challenging guys. There was just no gimmes, and I thought that was big time."
Despite giving Valentine some love, LaFleur added that it's still a competition at cornerback, and he still has faith in Hobbs.
Packers Won’t Hand Starting Job to Carrington Valentine After Week 8
Hobbs was a big-time free agent addition for Green Bay in March, as they signed him to a four-year, $48 million deal this past offseason. While he was hyped up during the lead-up to the 2025 campaign, Hobbs' play has been underwhelming this season.
In six games, he has logged 19 total tackles with one pass deflection. In addition to those lackluster numbers, Hobbs has allowed 13 catches (20 targets) for 180 receiving yards and two touchdowns. His inconsistent production is why the Packers elected to go with Valentine in Week 8.
In the contest against the Steelers, Valentine gave up three catches on five targets for 31 yards and a touchdown. Regardless of the lone score he allowed, Valentine battled throughout the game and played better than what Hobbs put on tape this season.
This season, via Pro Football Focus, Valentine has graded out with an overall mark of 72.9 (16th among 113 graded cornerbacks) and a 76.1 coverage grade (9th among 113 graded cornerbacks).
Considering that Valentine has been in Green Bay for the last three seasons, he has been a player this coaching staff has leaned on. Given how Hobbs has performed this far in 2025, it would be wise to continue rolling with Valentine. That's easier said than done, though, after the Packers handed Hobbs that hefty contract in March.
While it's never easy to bench a big-money addition, this is something Green Bay needs to think about making permanent. The fact that they said it's still a competition shows they are giving Hobbs another chance. Whether or not he'll be able to recapture the job after being put on the sideline remains to be seen, but Green Bay is leaving that door open.