The Green Bay Packers failed to make any moves by the Nov. 1 trade deadline. For that reason, the Packers are the biggest losers in the NFC North this week.
It’s been a tough week for the Packers.
First, there was losing in primetime to the Buffalo Bills in what was a must-win game for Green Bay. The Commanders loss was frustrating enough, but being defeated by the Bills pushed the Packers into unfamiliar territory. While Rodgers said he was seeing “Packers football” in the team’s resilience, their losses are uncharacteristic.
In any other year, it wouldn’t be wrong for Rodgers to assume the NFC North would be theirs. But this year, it isn’t, and the NFL trade deadline on Nov. 1 only crystallized that truth.
Hours before the deadline struck, the 6-1 Minnesota Vikings made a strong postseason push by trading for Detroit Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson. It’s a logical trade for both sides, even more for the Vikings, who electrify their offense with the former first-round pick to replace an injured Irv Smith Jr.
With the Vikings and Lions both benefitting from the trade, the Chicago Bears made their own play and scored Chase Claypool from the Pittsburgh Steelers. The worst part? Apparently the Packers were in the running to land Claypool, yet lost to their divisional rival.
Understandably, onlookers couldn’t help but wonder why the Packers weren’t able to land Claypool, or perhaps Houston Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks, for themselves.
Sadly, the Packers tried, but nothing came to fruition.
With Aaron Rodgers on a two-year deal and the offense clearly not effective enough without Davante Adams, now was the time to push for a big-name wide receiver. The Packers tried, but was a second-rounder too high? Are they hoping that Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs can turn it around? Or will the team finally lean a little heavier on the run game?
Perhaps the Packers are cautiously waiting to go all in for Rodgers’ last year on his current contract, or maybe there’s still hope Odell Beckham Jr. will sprint north. The thing is, Beckham Jr. will undoubtedly sign with a playoff contender. Have the Packers done enough to inspire confidence in Beckham Jr., or did they last chance for a roster rebuild slip away to their rivals?
Packers face burning questions on Odell Beckham Jr. after entire NFC North makes moves
At this point, the New York Giants reunion could be a more likely move than a Green Bay adventure for OBJ. Giants general manager Joe Schoen said he would “consider” it.
Adam Schefter reported that the San Francisco 49ers were interested last year, and after trading for Christian McCaffrey, it wouldn’t be surprising if they splurged for Beckham Jr.
There are a number of other teams in the mix, including the Kansas City Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens, to name a few.
From what’s been shared thus far, there seems to be a lot more competition in the market for Beckham Jr. than Claypool, and Beckham Jr. turned down the opportunity to play for Green Bay last season based on location. And that was with Adams and Rodgers enjoying an MVP season.
That being said, the best the Packers can hope for is that they can now offer Beckham Jr. the top spot on the team, and they can make sure they up their offer so they’re not beat out by any competing team.
“Whether or not we need an OBJ, who knows, but I like the person, love the player and just want him to be healthy, honestly,” Rodgers said at the beginning of last month. The situation has changed considerably since then, and with Beckham Jr. looking to sign somewhere mid-November, Rodgers should join in trying to sway Beckham Jr. to sign up north.
Based on the way the season’s been going so far, and how the trade deadline unfolded, Odell Beckham Jr. remains the Packers’ last hope at landing a top-notch wide receiver to bolster their offense. Hopefully, the Packers will get the message and go all in to make the most of one of Rodgers’ last seasons in Green Bay.