The AFC Championship game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs does not involve the Green Bay Packers, it doesn’t even involve the NFC, but GM Brian Gutekunst may be watching a pair of Bills free-agents-to-be Bills on Sunday evening.
Both players would help the Packers at positions that season’s end diminished in one way or another. Namely, Green Bay is looking to fortify the roster at cornerback and wide receiver.
Green Bay Packers Moving on from One Player Could Bring in a Familiar Face from Buffalo Bills
Jaire Alexander’s continued injury liability has led the team to seek a trade involving the 7th-year defender. The past four years, he has played in just 34 of 68 games. In 2024, the Packers shut him down in November due to a nagging knee injury that limited him to seven contests.
Further thinning out the depth chart, CBs Eric Stokes and Carrington Valentine have hit free agency. Luckily for Green Bay, the upcoming class of free agent defensive backs is a strong one featuring the likes of the Jets’ DJ Reed, the 49ers’ Charvarius Ward, and the Bills’ very own Rasul Douglas.
Ranked 15th among all FAs and 3rd at CB, the ex-Packer had something of a down year, posting a mediocre 59.4 PPF grade in his first full season with Buffalo. Nonetheless, Douglas tied a career-high with 6 stuffs and he remains a savvy veteran with a solid track record.
If the Packers don’t plan on keeping Alexander, they will have just one CB on the roster, Keisean Nixon, who played more than 75 snaps in 2024. They could always add a cornerback in the draft, but even if they do that and re-sign one of Stokes or Valentine, they will need someone to replace Alexander if they do indeed trade him.
Ward and especially Reed represent the best available, but if the the Packers lose out on either of them, bringing back Douglas, if he is so willing, is not a bad alternative.
Next Best Option for Watson Replacement
Fans knew it wasn’t good when, in Week 18 against the Bears, Christian Watson tumbled to the turf untouched, grasping his knee. The next day revealed that he had torn his ACL, barring him from the playoffs and likely holding him out for part of 2025.
Green Bay had a decent receiving corps last season led by Watson, Jayden Reed, and Romeo Doubs, plus tight end Tucker Kraft, but no pass-catcher broke 60 receptions or 900 yards. Reed led the team in both marks with 55 and 857.
Although the Bengals’ Tee Higgins is every team’s dream signing, only one suitor will get him. After that, there is not a tremendous amount of separation between available names. Among those, Buffalo’s Amari Cooper ranks 3rd at his position and 7th overall on PFF’s top 100 list.
As with Douglas, Cooper did not have an impressive season, compiling 44 catches for 547 yards and 4 TDs in 14 games between the Browns and Bills. The silver lining, of course, is that he will be cheaper because of it.
Each of the past two seasons in Cleveland, stuck with an abysmal rotating door of quarterbacks (the best of which was probably Joe Flacco), Cooper registered 70+ receptions and over 1100 yards, totals he had eclipsed in four of five seasons before 2024.
Although Cooper can still play WR1 when healthy, it is unclear whether he would assume that role in Green Bay. What seems more likely is that he and Reed would share WR1 duties with Doubs, Kraft, Dontavion Wicks, and Watson (upon his return) as the supporting cast. He would also provide veteran experience to the Packers’ young group (none of the aforementioned are older than 25).
With Higgins and Chris Godwin the only receivers ranked above him, Cooper is the next best thing.
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