Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs has served his one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team and is back in the fold. Now, head coach Matt LaFleur and the coaching staff need to figure out how to put this incident past them and to iron things out with Doubs. If they can’t, serious changes will be needed before the NFL trade deadline.
Romeo Doubs Back at Packers Practice: His Career So Far
The Packers selected Doubs in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He was one of three receivers the team took that year as they sought to retool the position after they traded Davante Adams to the Raiders.
Doubs started seven games as a rookie and played in 13. The Nevada alum caught 42 passes for 425 yards and three touchdowns in 2022. He was a fast learner and stood out immediately in training camp.
In 2023, Doubs developed outstanding chemistry with Jordan Love. When the new starting quarterback needed a key pickup on third down or in the red zone, Doubs would usually be his first target.
Doubs finished 2023 with a career-high 59 catches for 674 yards. He also tied for the team lead with eight touchdown grabs.
A Rough Start to 2024
In training camp for 2024, Doubs continued to play well. LaFleur praised Doubs for his work ethic and performance. “How he prepares, [he’s] very deliberate,” LaFleur explained. “[He] takes coaching, you can coach Romeo very hard. Night and day better than when as a rookie. Ability to get off the ball, he’s a great route runner, takes a lot of pride in his routes, very strong hands, he catches more balls than anyone in this building, pre and post practice. He’s always working. It’s not a shock to me. The guy puts in the work and you’re seeing the benefits of that.”
Most experts expected Doubs to be among the team’s starting three wide receivers again in 2024. He did earn that distinction and started each of the first four games of the season.
In those four games, he caught 12 passes on 20 targets for 169 yards. That included a career long 39-yard catch. In two of those games, the Packers threw much less frequently as Malik Willis was starting in place of the injured Love.
Romeo Doubs Back at Packers Practice: The Suspension
While he didn’t make his feelings public, Doubs was unhappy with his role in the offense in the first four games or about the game plan for the Week 5 contest against the Rams.
He didn’t show up for practice Thursday or Friday in protest. The Packers suspended him for one game due to conduct detrimental to the team. The Packers were already without the injured Christian Watson, but still managed to defeat the Rams 24-19 despite missing two of their top three receivers.
Doubs Returns
Doubs and LaFleur met on Monday to clear the air. Initial reports indicate the meeting went well.
“I’m not going to get into the specifics of it, but I think it was productive and we look forward to getting him back on Wednesday,” LaFleur said.
He also explained he wanted to put the incident behind him. “What’s done is done,” LaFleur added. “We’re moving forward. I expect us collectively as a team to continue to move that way.”
The task at hand now is to keep Doubs happy and to have him regain the trust of the coaches and teammates. The Packers will need Doubs going forward with Watson’s status still uncertain due to injury and Dontayvion Wicks battling inconsistency.
Last season, the Packers had a similar incident with Jaire Alexander. The team suspended him for conduct detrimental to the team after he took a coin flip in Carolina despite not being designated as a captain. There were also rumors he was unhappy with the defense played by Joe Barry. LaFleur was able to work things out with Alexander who came back with a better attitude. There have been no issues with Jaire since then.
If the Packers cannot make things right with Doubs, there is the possibility they would trade Doubs by the NFL trade deadline. But the team would be much better off mending fences with Doubs who has proven he can be a valuable part of the offense. Doubs and the Packers are now at a crossroads. Where they go from here will be vital to both their futures.
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