Acme Packing Company
After the Green Bay Packers extended wide receiver Christian Watson to a one-year deal, it seemed like the team was poised to move on from Romeo Doubs, who is in a contract year. With Watson, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Matthew Golden and Savion Williams all under contract for 2026, it sort of made sense that the team would move on from Doubs, who has had a series of concussions, to earn the team a much-needed compensatory draft choice.
That is not the case, though, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Here’s what Fowler had to say in his Week 5 notebook on Wednesday:
The sides have had cursory talks, keeping in contact about the future. Doubs staying in Green Bay beyond 2025 is at least a possibility. But getting a bargain deal for an emerging receiver without a 1,000-yard season — think Buffalo’s four-year, $53-million pact with Khalil Shakir — is getting increasingly harder. Doubs is building a case as the No. 1 free agent option. Mike Evans, Jakobi Meyers and Jauan Jennings are in the class but aren’t entering their second contract like Doubs, who is 25. Youth always pays. Indianapolis’ Alec Pierce will also be in the free agent mix as a potent vertical threat.
The Shakir deal will hold a lot of weight in the Doubs negotiations. That was the contract comparison we brought up back in March. At the moment, there are only seven second-contract receivers making between $5 million per year and $20 million per year in the NFL, including Watson and Shakir. Most receivers are either getting top dollar or are on their way out of the league by Doubs’ point in his career, so he’s in this interesting middle ground position that most receivers don’t find themselves in. Obviously, injury history is a factor when it comes to Doubs, too.
Teams have called the Packers about a Doubs trade per multiple reports, including here at Acme Packing Company. To my knowledge, though, Green Bay has never initiated these conversations, and they certainly haven’t said yes to an offer; otherwise, Doubs would already be in another uniform.
Interest from other teams might make it difficult for the Packers to land Doubs at that $13.25 million per year figure that the Buffalo Bills were able to sign Shakir to. The longer this process goes, the more risk Doubs has put behind him. If there’s no deal by the end of the year, what risk does he have by hitting the open market, where his price will almost certainly be driven up? That’s the tightrope Green Bay is having to walk right now, especially if they aren’t comfortable with giving a player with concussion concerns a multi-year contract when they’re already projected to be over the cap in 2026.
