Three Wide Receivers The Green Bay Packers Should Consider Acquiring

On Oct. 14, 1996, Green Bay Packers No. 1 wide receiver Robert Brooks suffered a heinous knee injury. During an overtime win over San Francisco on Monday Night Football, Brooks tore his anterior cruciate ligament, the patellar tendon, the medial collateral ligament and fractured a bone.

His career was never the same.

Two weeks later, Antonio Freeman — a rising star — broke his left forearm and missed a month.

Packers general manager Ron Wolf — who knew he had the makings of a Super Bowl team — rolled the dice and signed talented, but troubled wideout Andre Rison. And sure enough, Green Bay went on to win the 31^st Super Bowl two months later.

The 2020 Packers are in a similar predicament. And we’ll now see if general manager Brian Gutekunst — who worked under Wolf for three years in the late 1990s — has the same moxie as his former boss.

Packers Pro Bowl wideout Davante Adams suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2, missed last week’s win over New Orleans and will be questionable for Monday’s game against Atlanta. ESPN reported that No. 2 wideout Allen Lazard underwent core muscle surgery this week and is out indefinitely.

That leaves the Packers’ receiving group of Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Darrius Shepherd and Malik Taylor as one the thinnest in football.

“We have people at every position, multiple people at every position that can get it done,” Adams said Thursday.

It remains to be seen if Gutekunst feels the same way. If not, here are a few wideouts the Packers could pursue:

1. Jake Kumerow

Kumerow, who’s currently on the Buffalo Bills practice squad, spent the last two years with Green Bay. He caught 20 passes for 322 yards (16.1) and a pair of touchdowns in that time, but was released earlier this summer.

For the first time ever, NFL teams are allowed to protect up four practice squad players every week from being signed to another team’s 53-man roster. The Bills protected cornerback Dane Jackson, defensive tackle Justin Zimmer, and OL Jonotthan Harrison and Jordan Devey this week, meaning Kumerow would be available for Green Bay to sign.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers loved Kumerow. And if Green Bay signed him away from Buffalo, he could jump back into the Packers’ lineup immediately.

“Jake Kumerow has been such a solid performer for us for the last couple of years. I love his reliability,” Rodgers said on Sirius XM NFL Radio one day before Kumerow was released. “I think he’s a fantastic, steady player, who’s very heady on the field. He makes plays … and he’s a guy who you love having on the squad.”

2. A.J. Green

The NFL’s trading deadline is Oct. 29, and Green will likely be on the move.

Green is playing on a one-year contract with Cincinnati. And while he’s been a nice security blanket for rookie quarterback Joe Burrow, he has virtually no future with the Bengals.

Tyler Boyd has become the Bengals’ go-to wide receiver. And Cincinnati will undoubtedly expand the role of prized rookie Tee Higgins as the year goes on.

Green has 13 catches through three weeks and can still be a reliable possession receiver. Gutekunst could probably land the veteran receiver for a late round pick.

3. Kenny Stills

Stills has fallen out of favor in Houston and has just five catches for 51 yards in three games. He’s currently stuck behind Will Fuller V, Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb for the 0-3 Texans.

That doesn’t mean Stills couldn’t help a contender, though.

Stills has 304 career catches for 4,750 yards (15.6) and 36 touchdowns. Stills — whose father played safety in Green Bay from 1985-89 — ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds coming of college and can still motor.

Stills, 28, is in the final year of his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent in March. The Texans would undoubtedly welcome the opportunity to add a mid-to-late round draft pick for Stills.