Packers Don’t Make Any Deals at NFL Trade Deadline

The Green Bay Packers didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline, meaning a struggling offense will have to grow from within.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Minnesota Vikings, 6-1 and running away with the NFC North, made a big addition. The Chicago Bears, 3-5 and not just planning for the future, made a big addition.

The Green Bay Packers, 3-5 after going a combined 39-10 the last three seasons and with the window slamming shut on Aaron Rodgers’ window of opportunity to win a second Super Bowl, didn’t make a move as the NFL trade deadline came and went on Tuesday afternoon with typical silence at 1265 Lombardi Ave.

After the offseason trade of Davante Adams, everyone from Rodgers to coach Matt LaFleur to general manager Brian Gutekunst acknowledged the offense would be a work in progress. That progress has been minimal. Imperceptible. Maybe even nonexistent.

Through eight games, the Packers are 26th in scoring, 26th in passing yards per play, 22nd on third down and 32nd on fourth down. Rodgers is next-to-last in air yards per completion.

The veteran receivers – Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Sammy Watkins – haven’t stayed healthy and provided only inconsistent production when on the field. The young receivers – Amari Rodgers and rookies Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Samori Toure – haven’t emerged as reliable threats, either.

That led to Sunday night’s 27-17 loss at Buffalo. Even with the Packers down by three scores, LaFleur came out of halftime running the football because all he had at receiver was Watkins, Doubs, Rodgers and Toure.

Allen Lazard tries to make a catch between two Jets defenders. (Photo by Wm. Glasheen/USA Today Sports)

Does the lack of a trade signal the white flag of surrender on the Packers’ championship hopes this season? Does it show unbounded faith in the rookies? Were the Packers “in the mix” but the price was just too high? No doubt, when LaFleur has to discuss Gutekunst’s inactivity, no, yes and yes will be the answers.

However, with the Packers one game out of the final playoff spot in the NFC and in 11th place in the conference standings after a fourth consecutive loss, it might be a hard sell to the veterans in the locker room.

It was one thing to not make a trade in 2019, when they were 7-1 at the deadline, or 2020, when they were 5-2, or last year, when they were 7-1. The 2020 and 2021 teams, in particular, had the ingredients to get to the Super Bowl.

This team, which hasn’t put it all together for most of a game, let alone the full 60 minutes, appears to be going nowhere fast. Its three wins came against rebuilding Chicago, struggling Tampa Bay and in overtime against New England’s rookie third-string quarterback.

So, same as it was since the Packers traded Adams, moved up in the second round to select Watson and added Doubs in the fourth round and Toure in the seventh, the fate of the season will rest in the hands of the rookie receivers. That’s where there’s upside in finding a legit duo alongside Lazard, who has 26 receptions for 340 yards (13.1 average) and four touchdowns in five-and-a-half games.

Watson can’t stay on the field, a concussion on Sunday following a pair of hamstring injuries. Doubs, who is first among the team’s receivers with 30 receptions, has been incredibly inconsistent but made two big-time catches vs. the Bills. Toure, a healthy inactive the first six games, made one of those second-reaction plays that Rodgers loves for a touchdown against the Bills.

The Packers will need someone from that group to step to the forefront. Otherwise, a roster built by Gutekunst to win today with the restructure of Aaron Rodgers’ contract and a series of moves meant to build a rugged defense, could be facing a string of meaningless games in December and January.

“Brian and I have had a number of conversations,” Rodgers said of the trade deadline after the loss to the Jets. “I trust him and his staff. If they feel like they need to add that, they will. I think there’s enough on this team to be a successful team. There’s the possibility if certain guys emerge of us having a chance to make a run. I know Brian believes the same thing. But if there’s an opportunity, I would expect that Brian will be in the mix.”

The Vikings acquired top tight end T.J. Hockenson from the Lions and the Bears made a surprising slash by landing Chase Claypool from Pittsburgh. Brandin Cooks, probably the best player on the market with six 1,000-yard seasons in a span of seven years, remains with the Houston Texans. Jerry Juedy was not being shopped by the Denver Broncos.

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