GREEN BAY – It’s rare for the Green Bay Packers to pass on re-signing a drafted receiver as productive as Romeo Doubs.
The closest case of them doing so was when they chose not to compete with Kansas City’s three-year, $30 million offer to 2018 fifth-round draft pick Marquez Valdes-Scantling when he hit free agency in 2021.
Dating to when Ted Thompson was general manager, the Packers have crushed the draft when it comes to wide receivers and just about everyone who produced was rewarded with a second contract.
In Thompson’s reign, those players who got paid in their second go-around were Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, James Jones, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams. All but Jones (third round) were second-round picks.
Since he took over in 2018, general manager Brian Gutekunst has drafted 12 receivers and the only two worthy of second contracts have been Christian Watson and Doubs. Watson signed a one-year extension last year after tearing his ACL in 2024 and will become the first of Gutekunst’s receivers to get a second long-term deal.
Doubs easily could have joined him given he has more career touchdowns (21) than anybody Green Bay has drafted since Valdes-Scantling (21 in eight seasons). Over the past four seasons, Doubs leads the Packers in catches (202), yards (2,424) and touchdowns.
But when Gutekunst drafted Matthew Golden in the first round (23rd overall) and Savion Williams in the third last year, he wrote himself an insurance policy for ’26 and beyond. Doubs was coming off a ’24 season in which he dropped eight passes and was suspended a week for skipping practice because he was upset with the number of targets he was getting.
In addition, Doubs suffered two concussions during the 2024 season, resulting in him wearing a Guardian cap over his helmet after suffering the first in a game against San Francisco. The Packers may have taken that into account with everything else.
When it came to the ’25 draft, Gutekunst also had to take into consideration Doubs’ free agency in ’26 as well as Watson’s injury, which was going to cost him half of the ’25 season. He had the opportunity to add two top-level athletes in Golden and Williams and he went for it.
The Packers were never going to come close to the $17 million per year Doubs reportedly received from the New England Patriots, in part because they need to spend their salary-cap dollars in other areas and in part because Golden appears to have a much higher ceiling.
Maybe in another circumstance Doubs would have been re-signed. But $17 million is a lot for a No. 2 receiver who has had multiple concussions. Golden showed flashes of how good he can be and would have been far more productive as a rookie if the coaches hadn’t been so cautious with him.
Now, with Doubs gone, there are no obstacles for Golden getting on the field.
If he plays the way he did in the wild-card playoff loss to Chicago and stays healthy, he should be at least as productive as Doubs was last year (55 catches for 724 yards and six touchdowns). Doubs excelled at high-degree-of-difficulty catches but Golden’s vice-like hands and 4.29-second speed in the 40-yard dash make him a big-play threat.
The top three receivers will be Watson, Golden and Jayden Reed. Williams is more of a hybrid running back/slot receiver than a true wideout, so Gutekunst will probably bring back Dontayvion Wicks – despite his base salary jumping to $3.7 million due to fourth-year playtime escalator – as the No. 4.
Gutekunst has a lot of needs to address in the draft, but he probably will have to take a shot at another receiver in the top four or five rounds because he’s lacking depth at the position. There should be some veteran options available between now and the start of training camp, so he has multiple ways he can build numbers.
Doubs was a fourth-round pick who produced right away. Reed and Watson also had success as rookies, so the Packers know how to draft guys who can play right away.
The full circle part of the Doubs signing is that the Packers should get a fourth-round compensatory draft pick in ’27 for losing him in free agency. As Reed and Wicks approach free agency, Gutekunst will have multiple third- and fourth-round picks to restock his receiver room.
There are no guarantees the Packers’ success rate with picking wideouts will continue, but if it does, they won’t regret letting go a receiver as productive as Doubs.
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Matthew Golden made it possible for Packers to pass on re-signing Romeo Doubs
Reporting by Tom Silverstein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Packers News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
