The Packers brass wanted to trade for a wide receiver
Tuesday’s trade deadline came and went. No blockbuster trade was announced for the Green Bay Packers. Packers fans were furious with management as the team failed to get help at the wide receiver position their reigning league MVP begged for. While the Packers brass never pulled the trigger, they were active in the trade hunt. There will be plenty of arguments in the coming weeks about whether or not they were aggressive enough.
Two successful trades were seen in the NFC North. The Minnesota Vikings added tight end TJ Hockenson. The Packers and Chicago Bears were both in the market for Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool. Claypool went to the Bears as both divisional rivals were willing to part with their second-round draft pick. The Steelers assumed the Bears would have a worse record at the end of the year and traded with Chicago to set themselves up with the highest draft choice possible.
The Packers were looking at other wide receivers Tuesday
Claypool wasn’t the only wide receiver the Packers brass was looking at before the deadline. According to Ian Rapoport with the NFL Network, the Packers were on the phone all day trying to squeeze a deal that would help their wide receiver room that looks evermore like a MASH unit before Week 9. After the Steelers chose the Bears as a trade partner for Claypool, Rapoport said other wide receiver had their interest.
“I know there were several receivers they took a look at, and there were several receivers available, including Brandin Cooks,” Rapoport said on Good Morning Football Wednesday morning. “But just contractually, that one was brutal, 18 million dollars fully guaranteed the next year. No team obviously wanted to take that on, so it’s not just the Packers. It’s really no team. So the Packers ended up doing a lot of work and making a ton of calls trying to get a playmaker and ended up holding with what they have. It is what it is. We’ll see how the team responds.”
From @GMFB: A lot went on in the NFL North, including an intra-division trade and the #Packers being in on a WR. pic.twitter.com/rjf5CcWP8a
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 2, 2022
The Packers still need help at wide receiver
It appears the Packers wanted other wide receivers, but those teams didn’t budge. Not landing Cooks is understandable, as his contract would put the Packers in trouble next season. The rebuilding Texans must not have wanted to eat more of his salary, although Cooks is upset with Tuesday’s turnout. It’ll be interesting to see what other wide receivers the Packers failed to reach a deal on. The Packers brass missed out on wide receivers like Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore, Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, and multiple other confirmed playmakers.
It’s possible those teams had ridiculously high asking prices. But for a 3-5 team with Super Bowl aspirations and a waning future Hall of Fame quarterback, one wonders if the Packers were not aggressive enough in the trade market.
2 Comments
What’s the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again, while expecting a different outcome during each attempt.
I think the front office of the Packers we’re just going through the motions trying to get a wide receiver to make it look to the fans like they were really serious, but they really weren’t. I think it’s time for the packer fans to demand a change at the front office. Get somebody in there that’s really serious about making this team great again.