The Packers did not trade for a receiver at the deadline

Despite all of the clamoring that fans and the media have done about a potential wide receiver trade, the trade deadline came and went without the Green Bay Packers making a move. The Packers, obviously, were rumored to be involved in some talks with specific players, but no such deal was able to be made.

Josina Anderson of CBS Sports reported earlier that the Packers looked like “the best deal” for receiver Chase Claypool, the former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver who was traded to the Chicago Bears for a second-round pick. It’s uncertain if Green Bay offered their second-round pick or less in draft compensation, but it’s worth noting that the Bears traded their original second-round selection not the second-round selection of the Baltimore Ravens, which they own after they traded linebacker Roquan Smith to the Ravens on Monday.

On The Pat McAfee Show, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers stated, “I’m not surprised to hear that maybe we were in on Claypool,” when McAfee referenced Anderson’s report. Rodgers then went on to say that he was hoping that news would break on the show so they could speak on it live. That news never came.

Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported with about an hour left before the trade deadline that Houston Texans receiver Brandin Cooks was not an option for Green Bay due to his cap situation. Cooks recently signed a two-year extension with the Texans that has his 2023 salary set at $18 million (along with $500,000 in roster bonuses) and is fully guaranteed. The Packers, already over the cap in 2023 as it stands today, couldn’t afford to take on that salary.

Cooks doesn’t seem happy with the lack of a trade, though, and it’s something worth monitoring. He didn’t report to practice today due to “personal reasons” and tweeted out, “Don’t take a man’s kindness for granted. Covered for the lies for too long those days are done. Crossed the line with playing with my career,” shortly after the deadline passed.

According to Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated, the Denver Broncos had no real interest in trading receiver Jerry Jeudy, which crossed another name off of the list. The Broncos, though, were willing to part with pass-rusher Bradley Chubb at the cost of a first-round pick.

Aside from Claypool, the only other receiver who was traded on the day of the deadline was the suspended Calvin Ridley, who was sent to Jacksonville in a deal for two draft picks that get triggered by various clauses. Ridley, who is serving a suspension that will last through at least 2022, obviously wouldn’t have been able to help this 3-5 Packers squad.

The one receiver who got moved at the deadline and can play this season was the one player who Green Bay had an inside track on until the Bears came in and paid a likely top-40 pick for his expiring contract. Just as we’ve heard every year under general manager Brian Gutekunst, the Packers were close to a deal but couldn’t see eye-to-eye on value.

Update:

According to Silverstein, the Packers did offer their second-round pick in the 2023 draft for Claypool. The Steelers chose Chicago’s pick over Green Bay’s.