Green Bay Packers receiver Romeo Doubs skipped practice on Thursday and wasn’t present on Friday because he is upset with his opportunities in the passing game, sources told Packers On SI.
Because he didn’t practice the last two days, he is officially doubtful for Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Rams.
“It’s still day-to-day,” coach Matt LaFleur said after practice.
Doubs practiced on Wednesday but didn’t show up on Thursday. Worried about Doubs’s well-being, team representatives found him at his home.
After that practice, LaFleur said “I would hope so” when asked if Doubs would practice on Friday. He was not on the field, though, for a second consecutive day.
What’s odd is Doubs is third on the team with 20 targets—only two behind Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks, who have 22 apiece—and more than twice as many as Christian Watson’s eight. Against the Minnesota Vikings, Wicks had 13 targets—tied for the most during the Jordan Love era —tight end Tucker Kraft had nine and Doubs and Reed had eight apiece.
Last year, Doubs had a team-high 96 targets—two more than Reed and well ahead of Wicks (58) and Watson (53), who were third and fourth.
Averaging five targets per game to start the season, Doubs is on pace for 85 this year, which is not far off last year's number. The start comes after the Packers played two games without Love and Malik Willis threw just 33 passes when starting against the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans, which at least partially explains the slight downturn in opportunities. With Watson out for at least this week with an ankle injury, Doubs figured to be in line for more opportunities on Sunday against the Rams.
A source close to Doubs declined to comment.
One of the strengths of the offense last year during its run to the playoffs was the all-for-one, one-for-all mindset of the receiver corps. The youngest group in the NFL was also one of the league’s deepest and most talented. Everyone seemed to understand that one receiver might have a big game one week and someone else might be the focal point of the passing game the next week.
How would the team keep that mentality, now that everyone had proven they could be an impact player?
“Just being there for each other,” Doubs said during training camp. “The answer’s real simple. If anybody’s ego gets in the way, we know better. That’s just not how the game is. You stay poised and keep each other up and play ball how we’re supposed to.”
Doubs agreed that might be easier said than done.
“I believe that we have that buy-in,” he said. “We have a really, really good receiver room and our goal is to play ball and just be there for each other.”
Last year, Reed led the team with 64 receptions as a rookie and Doubs was next with 59. Doubs and Reed tied for No. 1 on the Packers with eight touchdown catches, and Doubs ranked among the NFL leaders with seven touchdowns in the red zone.
This year, Doubs has not scored. Packers quarterbacks have thrown 21 passes in the red zone. Doubs has been targeted on three—two against Philadelphia and one last week against Minnesota, when he bobbled the ball and was ruled down just outside the goal line. Last year, his red-zone target share was 18.0%. This year, it’s 14.3%.
Doubs and Watson are in their third seasons. While perhaps not at the forefront of their minds, second contracts are on the horizon, whether it’s an in-season extension next year or in free agency after next season. While the tape’s the tape, numbers equate to dollars.
Six receivers are making at least $30 million per season and 23 receivers are making at least $20 million per season.
After two superb playoff games against the Cowboys and 49ers to end last season—his first career 100-yard game came at Dallas—the stage seemingly was set for Doubs to at least take a step toward stardom. However, through four games, Doubs has caught 12 passes for 169 yards and zero touchdowns. That’s a 17-game pace of 51 receptions for 718 yards.
Reed, meanwhile, has burst onto the scene and entered the week ranked sixth in receiving yards. Wicks is tied for fourth with three touchdown catches.
“My opinion is the ball finds good energy,” Reed said during training camp. “If you support your teammates and your teammates support you, if you’ve got a good group that all care for each other that want each other to do great, everybody’s going to eat. That’s how I look at it.
“The ball is always going to find the good energy. I don’t care if I had zero catches for three weeks straight. If we’re winning, I’m happy. That’s just my mindset.”
Packers running back Josh Jacobs, who’s still looking for his first touchdown with the team, had 32 touches (all carries) in the Week 2 victory over the Colts. The last two weeks, he had 15 touches against the Titans 13 against the Vikings. That’s just part of the game, he said on Friday.
“For me, personally, I’ve played a lot of football. I know how things go,” he said. “It might be a few weeks where you don’t see it and then there might be one game where you get three (touchdowns) in a game. It’s kind of the flow of the league.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sources: Packers WR Romeo Doubs Skipped Practices Over Frustration With Role.
