The Green Bay Packers have the youngest group of pass catchers in the long, long history of their team. None of their current wide receivers have even played a full NFL season. Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Samori Toure all played less than the full 17-game regular season last year.
Related: The Green Bay Packers Will Not Sign Free Agent Wide Receiver Jarvis Landry (Nor Should They)
For this reason, fans and analysts have been attempting to link the Packers to veteran wide receivers for months. This trend continued as one writer suggested that Green Bay could be a good landing spot for Dante Pettis, who is almost surely going to be released by the Chicago Bears.
The Green Bay Packers Could Sign Dante Pettis When/If He Is Released by the Chicago Bears
Writing for A to Z Sports, Evan Winter proposes that, due to the Packers’ young group of wide receivers, Pettis would be an ideal fit for the young team after the Bears cut him:
“Sure, Watson and Doubs played a ton of snaps last year – they’re not your typical second-year players because of that. But it would not be good if one of them were to go down for an extended period of time. Another guy can always step up and fill the void, but that’s nowhere near guaranteed when look at the WR room in Green Bay.
“Adding a veteran option before training camp wouldn’t be a bad idea. The problem is there aren’t many options out there. Plus, unless the player has had experience in a LaFleur-like offense, there will be a steep learning curve since said player missed all of the Packers’ offseason program.
“That’s why a guy like Chicago Bears wideout Dante Pettis makes a lot of sense to keep an eye on. Yes, he’s currently on the Bears, but early impressions are he won’t make the 53-man roster after having his best year since 2018 – his rookie year.”
For reference, Pettis had 19 receptions for 245 yards and three touchdowns last season. It was, indeed, his best season since his 2018 rookie season with the San Francisco 49ers when he had 27 receptions for 467 yards and five touchdowns.
Between 2019 and 2021, Pettis played for the 49ers and New York Giants and totaled 27 receptions for 272 yards and four touchdowns. Oh, and he only played in 21 games in those three seasons.
The Green Bay Packers Will Not Be Signing Dante Pettis or Any Veteran Wide Receiver
As Winters noted, the three wide receivers from last year, Watson, Doubs, and Toure, are strong locks for the 53-man roster. What he ignores, however, are the rookies that Green Bay drafted and the organization’s comments about going with their young group without signing a veteran.
The Packers drafted Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, and Grant DuBose in this year’s NFL Draft. Reed is projected to be the team’s primary slot receiver and Wicks, well, as a fifth round pick he has an inside track to the 53-man roster.
Including Reed and Wicks along with the three wide receivers from last year bring the total to five. There simply is no indication, one way or another, that the Packers will take more than five wide receivers onto the 53-man roster. And if they do take more than five, that sixth needs to be able to play special teams well, and Pettis does not play special teams often.
Last season, Pettis played just 9% of the Chicago Bears’ special teams snaps. It was the most special teams he played in his entire career. He will not cut it in Green Bay.
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