The Green Bay Packers are going to be without wide receiver Christian Watson in their Week One matchup on the road against the Chicago Bears. The second-year pass catcher is dealing with a hamstring injury. Romeo Doubs, too, is listed as questionable with a hamstring injury. However, Doubs was able to return to practice in a limited capacity towards the end of the week whereas Watson was not.
With Watson certainly out and Doubs questionable, there were serious questions surrounding the effectiveness of the Packers’ offense. If Doubs is unable to play, that would leave Samori Toure and three rookie wide receivers as Love’s main weapons, in addition to two rookie tight ends.
However, the Packers’ roster moves on Saturday indicate that Doubs will almost certainly be playing.
The Green Bay Packers Roster Moves Did Not Include a Wide Receiver, Indicating Romeo Doubs Will Play
If Doubs were unable to play on Sunday, that would have left the Packers with Toure, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, and Malik Heath at wide receiver. To provide some depth in case one of them went down, Green Bay probably would have elevated Grant DuBose or Bo Melton from the practice squad.
However, earlier today, the Packers announced that running back Patrick Taylor and safety Innis Gaines were being elevated from the practice squad. With Doubs healthy, Green Bay has five wide receivers without Watson. They must be feeling pretty confident that Doubs will play if they elected not to bring up an extra wide receiver.
Last season, Doubs played just one of the Packers’ two games against the Bears. In their Week Two meeting, Doubs played just 37% of the offensive snaps, catching two passes (on three targets) for 27 yards.
Things will almost certainly be different on Sunday. Without Watson, Doubs is Green Bay’s number one wide receiver, and given how much he worked with Jordan Love this offseason, the chemistry between the two may have made him wide receiver one anyway.
Why Did the Green Bay Packers Elevate Innis Gaines and Patrick Taylor?
Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
The Packers made the popular decision to keep fan-favorite running back Emanuel Wilson on the 53-man roster instead of Patrick Taylor. So why is Taylor (along with Innis Gaines) getting elevated now?
There has been no injury news on Wilson. He was not on the injury report, so we know there is nothing wrong with him. However, Taylor is a proven special teams asset whereas Wilson is not. At least for the first couple of weeks of the season, it will not be a surprise to see Taylor and other elevated for special teams purposes.
NFL teams are allowed to elevate an individual from their practice squad three times. After the third time, that player is returned to the practice squad as usual. However, if the team wishes to elevate them again after that, the player must be signed to the 53-man roster.
It makes sense that Taylor and Gaines are being elevated already, but it will be interesting to see how soon they are elevated again following Week One.
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