The Green Bay Packers are facing some uncertainty at the receiver position ahead of their Week 15 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Always,” said coach Matt LaFleur when asked about the challenge of game planning with uncertainty at a position group. “But that’s the nature of our business. You’ve got to get other guys ready to play, and we’re not the only team who goes through that. Tampa was missing a bunch of guys last week, multiple people on the defensive side of the ball. We all have our similar issues.”
Coming out of Monday’s game, rookie Dontayvion Wicks is dealing with an ankle injury that kept him out of Wednesday’s practice. He told reporters that they think he’s dealing with a high ankle injury, which could keep him out weeks.
If that’s the case, and we haven’t gotten confirmation that that’s the specific injury, Wicks would be very unlikely to play on Sunday. When LaFleur was asked about Wicks’ injury Wednesday, all he would say is that “he’s getting better.”
After missing all three practices last week, Christian Watson was again held out of Wednesday’s practice while dealing with a hamstring injury. When meeting with reporters a week ago, Watson said that he didn’t think this hamstring injury was as severe as the previous one that kept him out of three games at the beginning of the season, but the timetable for his return is still unknown.
Some good news, however, is that Jayden Reed is not dealing with a concussion, which he was evaluated for during Monday’s contest. Instead, he was a limited participant in practice with an ankle injury but told reporters on Wednesday that “he’s fine” and “good to go.”
Even with it sounding like Reed is going to be available Sunday, the Packers could find themselves short-handed at receiver if both Watson and Wicks are unable to go.
Prior to Watson’s injury, he was playing his best football of the season over the previous two weeks. The Packers very much missed his presence on the field against New York, not only for the big play ability he brings but also for the opportunities he creates for others with the attention he draws. Wicks has quickly become a favorite target of Jordan Love’s and, since Week 9, has been one of the most efficient receivers in football, ranking third among all receivers in yards per route run.
If neither player is able to go, the Packers’ top three receivers will be Reed, Romeo Doubs and Malik Heath. Samori Toure will again be thrust into a bigger role as he was against the Giants, playing 18 snaps and seeing four targets. The Packers would also have to elevate Bo Melton from the practice squad for depth and may also choose to do the same with Grant DuBose as well.
Similar to other opponents that the Packers offense has faced recently, this is an aggressive Bucs’ defense under Todd Bowles, ranking second in blitz rate this season. Tampa is allowing 20.8 points per game this season, which ranks 13th, and is allowing just 3.9 yards per carry in the run game. Opposing offenses have found success attacking the Bucs through the air, averaging 7.2 yards per pass attempt against them.
“When you couple good scheme with really good players, that’s usually a problem,” said LaFleur. “Todd Bowles does a great job, and they do a great job of deploying a lot of different pressure looks. They want to get pressure on the quarterback, and they’ve got playmakers at every level of the defense.
“From the D-line, the linebackers have obviously been doing it a long time and the back end. I think they do a great job of attacking the football. Generate takeaways. They’re always punching at the football. When you look at the guys on the back end, they’ve got great ball skills. So I just think every level of their defense is dangerous.”
