Saturday’s Packers Transactions: What They Mean vs. Commanders

The Green Bay Packers made four moves on Saturday, including activating Sammy Watkins from injured reserve but putting Randall Cobb on IR.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers made a series of moves on Saturday, including activating receiver Sammy Watkins from injured reserve. Here’s what it all means.

Activated: WR Sammy Watkins

Sammy Watkins is back after his four-week stint on injured reserve. He practiced all week and, while he was added to the injury report as questionable, the transaction means he’s going to play – albeit on perhaps a snap count.

Watkins’ return is important. With Randall Cobb (ankle) and Christian Watson (hamstring) ruled out on Friday, the Packers entered the day with four healthy receivers on the roster:

- Allen Lazard has 20 catches for 285 yards and four touchdowns, the latter two figures leading the team. In his five games, he’s scored in four of them and topped 100 yards in the other.

- Rookie Romeo Doubs has 26 catches for 234 yards and two touchdowns. He’s averaged less than 10 yards per catch in five of six games.

- Amari Rodgers has one catch for 14 yards. Of his 29 snaps, 24 came against the Jets.

- Rookie Samori Toure has been inactive for every game.

“He’s gotten through practice the last couple days,” coach Matt LaFleur said of Watkins before Friday’s practice. “So, we’ll see how he responds. Certainly, I think we’d like to get him out there but, at the same time, you don’t want to put a guy at further risk. So, we’ll just kind of see where he’s at.”

In his last game, Week 2 against Chicago, Watkins caught three passes for 93 yards. His 55-yard catch in that game remains the team’s longest of the season.

“His presence, his energy, having him back out there on the field making explosive plays and everything helps,” Lazard said.

Injured Reserve: WR Randall Cobb, C/G Jake Hanson

The Packers placed receiver Randall Cobb (ankle) and interior offensive lineman Jake Hanson (biceps) on injured reserve. They’ll miss, at minimum, the next four games.

Cobb felt fortunate to escape the loss to the Jets with merely a high-ankle sprain. He was in tears as he was carted to the locker room.

“I felt something pop and I thought, ‘This is the way it ends,’” Cobb said on Friday. “It’s nice to have the good news and to know that I’ll be able to come back.”

Cobb put a timeline to return of “two to six weeks.” Going on IR means the soonest he’ll be able to play is the Nov. 17 home game against the Tennessee Titans. It was a tough blow for Cobb and the Packers, given how the 31-year-old had emerged as a key weapon. Cobb and Lazard are tied for the team lead with six third-down-converting receptions.

“This has been my career, unfortunately,” Cobb said. “Break my leg in 2013. I dislocated a big toe when I was in Houston. I have injuries that you don’t normally see, but at the same time also, obviously a high-ankle sprain that happens a lot of time throughout the league, so you just keep playing through, keep prying through. It’s like I’m in the loop, just try to continue to push through the injuries and have the same mentality -- attack my rehab and get back as fast as I can.”

It was a tough blow for Hanson, too. He was given his shot at right guard at the end of the first half against the Jets. At some point during that five-play series, which resulted in a field goal, he suffered the injury. After an interview on Monday, he winced as he reached out to shake the reporter’s hand.

“We’ll definitely bounce back, that’s for sure,” Hanson said of the offensive line. “We’re definitely a group of resilient guys. It’s something that we want. We’re not accustomed to or OK with losing. It’d be one thing if it was just a bunch of guys that didn’t care and were here to collect checks. We’re here to win and we want to compete and play and win a Super Bowl. That’s what we’re here to do, so everybody’s locked in and ready to go.”

Elevated: OLB La’Darius Hamilton

With Tipa Galeai going on injured reserve last week, La’Darius Hamilton will give the Packers a fifth outside linebacker to face the Commanders’ run-heavy attack. He’ll join Jonathan Garvin and Kingsley Enagbare as the backups to Preston Smith and Rashan Gary.

Here’s more on that transaction.

Injury Report

In updates to Friday’s injury report, Watkins, left tackle David Bakhtiari (knee) and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt (illness) are questionable for Sunday.

No Move: RB Kylin Hill

Running back Kylin Hill, who missed the second half of last season with a torn ACL, has practiced the last two weeks but was not activated from injured reserve. That’s not a surprise: His three-week practice window is serving as his training camp.

“I think anybody’s out there practicing on a regular basis, you don’t want to totally shut the door on that,” LaFleur said on Friday when asked if Hill could be activated. “He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. He’s coming off a big injury and we want to make sure it’s right for everybody.”

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It's #Packers at Commanders tomorrow in what's pretty darned close to a must-win game.
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— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 22, 2022

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