The Green Bay Packers inked Sammy Watkins earlier this month, signing the former Clemson wide receiver to a one-year, $4 million deal to help fill the void at receiver left by the departures of Davante Adams (traded to the Las Vegas Raiders) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent).
Watkins had career lows in catches (27), receiving yards (394) and touchdowns (one) while playing in 13 games and making nine starts with the Baltimore Ravens in 2021 after he signed a one-year deal with the team last offseason. Since being selected by the Buffalo Bills with the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, the former Clemson All-American has posted only one 1,000-yard receiving season, which came in 2015 with the Bills (1,047 yards).
Still, Watkins has had a productive career in the NFL, totaling 348 receptions for 5,059 yards and 34 touchdowns in 99 games (91 starts) from 2014-21, and he was a member of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV championship team in 2019.
Since 2014, Watkins ranks No. 7 in yards per reception among NFL players with 300 or more catches. He is one of five wide receivers in the league with 300-plus receptions, 5,000-plus receiving yards, 30-plus receiving TDs and an average of 14.5-plus yards per catch since 2014.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst believes Watkins, who will be 29 years old during the 2022 season, can be an asset to Green Bay’s receiving corps.
“I think, obviously, Sammy’s had a pretty good history in this league,” Gutekunst said to the media this week. “He’s got some juice still left in him, I think. Adding a veteran receiver was just kind of something we wanted to do.”
Gutekunst was asked if the Packers are still in the market, whether it be free agency or a trade, for potentially another veteran wide receiver.
“I think across the board at every position, I think we’re kind of looking at everything right now,” he said. “So, I think this draft’s going to be really important, and then we’ll see where we sit after the draft and we’ll move forward at that point.”
–Photo for this article courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
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