Aaron Rodgers Puts Sammy Watkins Career With Packers On Notice

Sammy Watkins was an essential addition to the Packers’ offense

The Green Bay Packers have an interesting bunch making up their wide receiver corps this season. A lot of them are banged up. Injury news coming Saturday afternoon was not good for the group unit or the Packers as Sammy Watkins was put on the injured reserve. It came just days after Rodgers hinted about where he sees Watkins in the Packers offense in the future.

The injury to Watkins also came a week after his 93-yard receiving performance in Week 2 against the Bears.  His play helped Rodgers get through another week in the regular season with an inexperienced wide receiver unit that he doesn’t trust.

Watkins was brought in as a potential veteran weapon for Rodgers this season. The former first-round pick was with the Baltimore Ravens in 2021 and has been in the league since 2014. He has amassed over 5,000 receiving yards and 34 receiving touchdowns. The trio of Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, and Watkins would add veteran depth as opposed to the Packers’ rookie trio of Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Samori Toure. (We can put second-year wide receiver Amari Rodgers in with the inexperienced group.)

Now on the Packers IR, Watkins will have to wait at least weeks before playing again. The injury is frustrating for a receiver trying to prove his worth in the NFL. Watkins came out of the 2014 NFL Draft with high expectations placed upon him. He’s never made a Pro Bowl or been nominated as an All-Pro in his NFL career.

Rodgers hinted at how he sees Watkins a few weeks into the season

Rodgers was asked this week about how he views Sammy Watkins. The back-to-back MVP sent a clear message about he feels about Watkins as a Packers wide receiver after seeing him in action.

“I knew of Sammy, and I watched him a little bit, but I didn’t have a real familiarity with him, so I didn’t have any expectations or projections when he came in,” Rodgers said in an interview that was published on the Packers Youtube channel.

“He’s just come in and been a fantastic teammate and a great guy and a really deep thinker and an interesting guy and has interests outside of football, and very well-spoken and curious. Just a fantastic guy. I’ve loved our conversations together. He loves ball. He cares about it. He realizes how special this opportunity is for him, and we want him to have success and for this to be a trampoline to the second half of his career.”

Rodgers fully expects that Watkins can use his abilities with the Packers to be more successful here than he was previously. Hopefully, Watkins can overcome his early injury this season and build more rapport with Rodgers. Watkins has always had the talent to be a great wide receiver. It’s possible with Rodgers that he can become the Packers’ number one wide receiver like he was in Week 2.