Packer Central

Packers Activate Reed for Third Practice of Training Camp

Green Bay Packers receiver Jayden Reed, who led the team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns as a rookie, was activated from the non-football injury list in time for Wednesday's training camp practice.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed at minicamp.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed at minicamp. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have activated standout receiver Jayden Reed from the non-football injury list in time for him to participate in Wednesday’s training camp practice.

Reed will be limited to individual drills on Wednesday. After the team’s off-day on Thursday, the hope is he can take some 11-on-11 reps on Friday, coach Matt LaFleur said before practice.

When the Packers placed Reed on the NFI list on Sunday, a source said Reed is “totally fine” and would be back soon. Sure enough, the second-year player missed only the first two days.

Reed injured a toe while leading his youth football camp.

“A little freak accident. Wasn’t wearing the right attire,” Reed said after Monday’s practice. “Kind of jammed my foot up a little bit, but I’m good. Nothing to worry about.”

A second-round pick last year, Reed led the Packers in receptions, receiving yards and total touchdown and was tied for first in receiving touchdown last season. Reed broke Sterling Sharpe’s franchise record for most receptions by a rookie. Reed joined Packers legends Sharpe, James Lofton, Billy Howton, Don Hutson and Joe Laws as the only rookies to lead the team in receiving yards.

The numbers showed Reed’s dominance.

Sharpe is one of the best receivers in NFL history; Reed crushed his rookie record of 55 receptions by catching 64.

Among NFL rookie receivers last year, only the Colts’ Josh Downs had more slot receptions than Reed. While Downs had 51 receptions to Reed’s 44, Reed crushed Downs in yards (653 to 594), yards per catch (14.8 to 11.6) and touchdowns (seven to zero).

Heading into Year 2, Reed said he’s much more comfortable.

“I would say the nerves are down much lower,” he said. “Just walking in, know what I’m doing, knowing the playbook, it just feel way more confident being out there.”

Among all NFL receivers, Reed in the slot ranked seventh in receptions, third in yards, second in touchdowns, eighth in passer rating when targeted and 10th in yards per route, according to Pro Football Focus.

Whether lined up in the slot or on the perimeter, only Tyreek Hill (14), D.J. Moore (12), George Pickens (11) and DK Metcalf (11) had more 30-yard catches than Reed (10).

“He is a dog. He’s a war daddy,” LaFleur said after Reed had 92 total yards and a touchdown in a win vs. the Chargers.

What’s a war daddy? Reed didn’t know, either, but “it’s got to be something good,” he said.

Reed used his explosiveness and route-running ability to consistently get open. He displayed consistently strong hands and showed toughness by playing through injuries for most of the second half of the season.

After a dominant set of offseason practices, Reed emerged as perhaps the best bet to become Green Bay’s No. 1 receiver.

“I always got higher standards for myself,” Reed said during OTAs. “I want to go for 1,000 yards this year plus and have more catches. That’s just for me. That starts with me knowing the offense better and being in the right position. That can make a huge difference because I wouldn’t even feel like I was fully confident last year. So, I think that will make a big difference this year.”

After a strong Year 1, what is the outlook for Year 2?

“Just continue to improve upon what he’s already done. He’s laid a foundation,” LaFleur said at the start of camp. “He is super-deliberate in terms of how he goes about his offseason. Obviously, he put in great work, he was somewhere down in South Florida with (Dontayvion) Wicks.

“I just think he’s so much further ahead mentally from where he was a year ago, just knowing the offense, knowing what the expectations are and working on his craft. I think that showed up throughout the course of OTAs.”

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.