The Green Bay Packers are coming off an ugly loss to the Denver Broncos where their offense was clearly lacking. Heading into a matchup against the undefeated Carolina Panthers and they need their wide receivers to begin to step up and help Aaron Rodgers. As injuries continue to be an issue for the team going forward, will the Packers be forced to sign someone for help?
According to ESPN Insider Mike Sando, the Packers need another offensive weapon. They simply cannot make a run to the Super Bowl run with what they are working with. Randall Cobb is struggling. Davante Adams is coming back from injury. Ty Montgomery is dealing with an ankle injury. With Jordy Nelson out for the year, the Packers need another playmakers they can try and work with. The free agent market holds talent as Reggie Wayne, Jacoby Jones and Hakeem Nicks highlight the players available.
For now, the Packers are going to be aiming to try and get more out of their tight ends who have been quiet this year. According to ESPN's Rob Demovsky, Richard Rodgers is going to be getting more and more looks from Rodgers. Since the loss of Andrew Quarless, Rodgers is second on the team in catches while playing 220 of the 241 snaps in the past four games. Head coach Mike McCarthy is hopeful his production can increase.
"Richard's playing a lot of football," McCarthy said, via ESPN.com. "He's being asked to do a lot of different things, and I think that's something that we have to take an honest look at from a coaching staff standpoint."
The return of Quarless will help. The tight end is out with a knee injury, but is eligible to return on Thanksgiving against the Chicago Bears. He will be an asset down the road, but another deep threat would be the best addition for Rodgers and company. According to offensive coordinator Tom Clements, Rodgers is going to have to start throwing his receivers open as they struggle to get separation from the defense. With a quarterback like Rodgers, getting players open should not be hard and Clements believes that is what the key is moving forward.
"It's hard to get open in the NFL, but you have to try to create separation using fundamentals," Clements said, via ESPN.com. "When there's a little bit of separation, then you also have to try to throw the guy open. And we're just -- it just hasn't worked out as well as it can. And we're working to get better."
