Packers Rumors: Romeo Doubs' status for Week 1 is in question
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur refused to comment on Doubs' health status after Doubs missed practice on Wednesday, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky.
Doubs will have one more chance to take the field on Thursday before the league-mandated three days off prior to the start of regular season practices.
LaFleur doesn't have to release an official injury report until the Wednesday before the Packers' Week 1 game against the Bears, and he has nothing to gain from telling reporters how much Doubs has recovered from his hamstring injury.
Doubs missed the Packers' final preseason game due to his hamstring issue with the team erring on the side of caution. Hamstring injuries are notoriously fickle, and it's difficult to predict whether the 2022 fourth-rounder will be ready to go for Week 1.
This offseason, Doubs looked like one of the best receivers in Packers camp, catching all four passes thrown his way including one touchdown in preseason. He built off of last year's solid rookie campaign in which he recorded three games with five or more catches and two games with a PFF game grade of 88.4 or higher.
If Doubs isn't healthy enough to start the season, rookie Jayden Reed could absorb some snaps alongside projected WR1 Christian Watson.
Packers Rumors: Backup quarterback Sean Clifford could be a regret waiting to happen
After Tuesday's round of roster cuts, the Packers revealed, to no one's surprise, that rookie Sean Clifford was going to back up Jordan Love.
The Penn State product impressed this preseason with the caveat being, of course, that it's only preseason. Still, Clifford made quick work of his main competition, Danny Etling, who was released in early August.
By carrying Clifford as a QB2, are the Packers making the wrong choice? Should they have sought a more proven veteran option?
Lombardi Ave's Sayre Bedinger wrote that the Packers will regret their backup quarterback decision in 2023.
Bedinger's main worry was that the Packers could roll to six or seven wins in the first half of the season, lose Love to injury, and then be forced to rely on Clifford to win meaningful games to salvage the remainder of the season.
What happens if Love goes down? How are the Packers planning on getting, at the very least, a decent evaluation on their tremendous talent at the offensive skill positions? Sayre BedingerGreen Bay could still shore up the backup quarterback position during the season, looking for an emergency plug-and-play option in the event of injury, but heading into 2023, it's hard to admit that the QB room inspires much confidence.
The Green Bay youth movement could be viewed two entirely different ways: the start of building something new in the post-Rodgers era, or a full-on disaster waiting to happen.
Packers Rumors: GM Brian Gutekunst responds to Jonathan Taylor rumors
The Packers were revealed to be the mystery team in Jonathan Taylor trade talks earlier this week, but general manager Brian Gutekunst wanted to clear up some of the intrigue.
According to ESPN's Stephen Holder, the Packers had "legitimate interest" in acquiring Taylor, though it's unknown what the team might have offered in a potential trade.
In a Wednesday presser, Gutekunst didn't specifically address the Taylor rumors and said he didn't want to talk about players on other teams. Instead, he did his best to reinforce confidence in the team's current running back room. Gutekunst sang the praises of Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon, calling them a veteran duo capable of leading a young offense.
We have a great running back room. Really excited about it. I think they're a strength of our football team. Brian GutekunstWhen probed further about the media's perception of the Packers perhaps trying to upgrade at RB, Gutekunst brushed it off and said people were "pulling things out of air."
Those glass-half-full Packers fans can take away another snippet from the presser: the fact that Gutekunst admitted the Packers will look at any and all opportunities when "good players" are "available to us."
Taylor to the Packers doesn't feel like the wildest proposal anymore. Crazier things have happened.
