The Green Bay Packers offense lacked a lot in 2015. Well some blame can be placed on the injury to Jordy Nelson, Aaron Rodgers simply struggled to make something out of nothing. Following the loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the Packers enter the offseason needing to make a few upgrades, especially at the wide receiver group. While Nelson is expected to return in 2016, the Packers still need another weapon to work with.
ESPN's Rob Demovsky writes that most NFL scouts believe the Packers need another weapon and one with some experience. Injuries hit the Packers hard. Losing Nelson was simply too much to overcome. Ty Montgomery, a rookie the team was very high on, ended his year early with an ankle injury. Young additions in Jeff Janis and Jared Abbrederis showed something, but not enough to be relied upon full time. Then there is Davante Adams.
The second-year wide receiver showed some signs of progress, but overall was a disappointment in 2015. When Nelson went down, Adams was expected to step up. An ankle injury hurt his time on the field and resulted in just 483 yards on the season. That was not enough to cut it and now the Star Tribune reports that if someone is getting cut this season it might be him.
"Obviously it sucks to feel like you can't do anything to help the team," Adams said, via ESPN.com. "But [I] still learned a lot and had a lot of fun with this team. You figure out a lot about yourself going through adversity. Having two [injuries] that really stopped me from playing, I've never really had to deal with that before, but you learn to put up with it, you learn to stay mentally tough throughout that process and I think that's something that could help me [going forward], as a guy who plans on playing a long time in this league."
The Packers have some decisions to make. James Jones is a free agent this offseason. While he certainly showed more than most people thought he would in 2015, he cannot be relied upon as a long-term option. Adams might not be either. The Packers could try and go big and sign a free agent like Jermaine Kearse, Travis Benjamin or Rishard Matthews to help add one more player to the receiver group. They would certainly be an upgrade over what Adams did in 2015, but they would cost money. Or the team can hope players like Montgomery or Abbrederis come back and step up in the new year.
The Packers' window for a championship is closing. The team must capitalize now and that means getting a guaranteed threat on the field for Rodgers to work with. If another big injury happens in 2016 and there is a lack of talent on the depth chart, Green Bay will be in trouble.
