Bill Barnwell of ESPN recently published a list of fifteen trade suggestions, one of which called for the Green Bay Packers to acquire Denver wide receiver Jerry Jeudy in exchange for Romeo Doubs and the teams to trade draft picks.
Don’t count on that to actually occur, though.
The NFL trade deadline, which falls on October 31st, aptly, is in a few weeks.
The complete trade proposal from Barnell to the Packers and Broncos is listed below.
Jerry Jeudy and the 2024 fourth-round selection go to the Packers.
Romeo Doubs and a 2024 second-round selection are given to the Broncos.
To help an offense that just can’t get going, it makes sense on paper to land a former first-round pick at receiver. Jeudy caught 61 percent of 289 pass attempts in his first three seasons, averaging 14.1 yards per catch and nine touchdowns.
He exceeded 100 targets in every season in 2020 and 2022. Jeudy has caught 17 passes for 208 yards so far this season.
When Jeudy joined the Packers, he immediately became the most skilled pass catcher on the squad.
But as I mentioned at the beginning, don’t get your hopes up, particularly regarding that trade package.
In order to allow those receivers and tight ends to develop alongside Jordan Love, Brian Gutekunst and Green Bay determined during the offseason to start young at the skill positions.
Such an action would be entirely at odds with that line of thinking.
Months ago, I would think, if the Packers had wanted a veteran to be a part of the receiver mix.
During offseason programs and training camp, Doubs and Love have forged a strong bond.
At the moment, Doubs leads all Packers wide receivers with 21 receptions for 228 yards and three touchdowns.
There would undoubtedly be a learning curve for Jeudy as he adjusted to a new offense, and nobody can claim with certainty that his arrival would give the Green Bay offense the spark it needs right away.
Doubs is regarded highly by the Packers as well, so it is improbable that they would be open to trading him. Matt LaFleur stated during the offseason that Doubs possesses a “unique skill set,” adding in the disclaimer that Doubs is obviously not Davante Adams but does have some “Davante Adams-type movement” in his route running style.
Last but not least, in terms of the salary cap, Doubs is in the second year of his rookie contract and will make slightly more than $3 million between 2023 and 2025.
While in the final year of his rookie contract, Jeudy does have a $13 million option to extend his contract for a fifth year in 2024.
But, in order to avoid the $13 million cap hit and to keep Jeudy under contract for the long term, Green Bay would almost certainly have to extend him if they made this trade.
This would be necessary given the explosive growth of the receiver market over the previous two seasons.
The Packers are currently 20th in terms of available cap space, even with Aaron Rodgers’ contract expiring in 2024.
In addition, Gutekunst is known to place a high value on draft picks, so giving up a second-round pick in exchange for this deal does not seem like a Packers-esque move.
It’s understandable that the thought of bringing a former first-round pick with some success to this struggling offense of the Packers makes sense.
It’s not feasible, though, for the reasons outlined above, particularly if trading away Doubs is involved.