Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers might have at least one starting wide receiver available for Sunday’s season-opening showdown against the Chicago Bears.
Romeo Doubs, who missed Wednesday’s practice and has been out of practice for the better part of two weeks due to a hamstring injury, returned to practice on Thursday, per Tom Silverstein of PackersNews.com. His return to the practice field keeps open the door for Doubs to play in Week 1.
While Doubs returned, Christian Watson remained out with own hamstring injury to open Thursday’s practice, potentially pushing him closer to doubtful for Sunday. Coach Matt LaFleur said the Packers will give both Doubs and Watson the full week to get physically ready to play, and Friday’s practice participation might provide a better look at whether or not Watson can get healthy in time for Sunday.
Hamstring injuries are notoriously tricky and teams often exercise caution, given the potential for a setback. Watson had lower-body injuries during his rookie season and is reliant on his world class speed, so the Packers might take the cautious route and give him time to make sure the injury doesn’t linger during the regular season.
Doubs’ injury popped up before the preseason finale. He’s had two weeks to recover and is likely far closer to 100 percent than Watson.
Doubs, a fourth-round pick in 2022, caught 42 passes for 425 yards and three touchdowns over 13 games as a rookie. He was a standout during the preseason before his hamstring injury cost him a few series against the Seahawks in the preseason finale.
While the Packers would prefer to have both Doubs and Watson, having one of the two available beats the scenario in which neither can play against the Bears and the offense’s passing game is forced to rely on rookies Jayden Reed and Malik Heath and second-year receiver Samori Toure. In the event Doubs can go and Watson can’t, Heath — an undrafted rookie out of Ole Miss — would be the most likely option to replace Watson as a perimeter receiver.