The Green Bay Packers are expected to be without wide receiver Jayden Reed for some time after he suffered an upper-body injury in the early goings of Week 2's Thursday Night Football matchup at Lambeau Field against the visiting Washington Commanders, according to Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated.
“It's a big blow to us,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said of Reed following the game, shared Huber in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “He's a guy that's a catalyst to our offense and the football team.”
Before he left the contest, Reed didn't get a catch or a target, but the Packers came away with a 27-18 win.
Jayden Reed hurt his shoulder while trying to score a touchdown that was later nullified by a penalty. As mentioned by LaFleur, Reed is a key cog in Green Bay's offense. In fact, Reed led the Packers in the 2024 NFL season with 857 receiving yards to go along with six touchdowns on 55 receptions and 75 targets through 17 games.
With Reed likely to miss multiple weeks, the Packers will have to operate with a thinner wide receiver room. Green Bay may find someone to elevate from its practice squad or sign a free agent, but such moves remain to be seen at the moment.
Against the Commanders, the Packers heavily relied on tight end Tucker Kraft, who had an absolutely fantastic performance downfield. Kraft erupted for a career-high 124 receiving yards to go with a touchdown on six catches and seven targets. Among wide receivers, Dontayvion Wicks paced the Packers with 44 receiving yards on four receptions and six looks from Jordan Love. The quarterback went 19-of-31 for 292 passing yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions and two sacks.
The Packers improved to 2-0 after taking down Jayden Daniels and the Commanders. Up next for Green Bay is its first road game of the season, with a scheduled showdown against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field on Sept. 21.
