Romeo Doubs injury: Packers WR has high-ankle sprain, likely to miss a few weeks

The hits just keep coming for the Green Bay Packers after their week 9 loss to the Detroit Lions. The artificial turf at Ford Field sent several players to the locker room, the first of which was rookie wide receiver Romeo Doubs.

Doubs made an 18-yard reception on the first play of the game for the Packers’ offense, but his right ankle appeared to get caught up under him as he was being tackled. He hobbled off the field under his own power, but was quickly sent to the locker room for evaluation. Doubs did not return to the game, instead being spotted afterwards by media members in a walking boot and on crutches.

That confluence of facts led to speculation that Doubs suffered a high-ankle sprain, a diagnosis that was confirmed on Monday in a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Thankfully, this report confirms that there were no fractures in the injured ankle, which could have been a season-ending injury.

Instead, as Rapoport notes, high-ankle sprains often have return timelines in the 4-6 week range, indicating that Doubs will definitely miss a few games. The Packers have four games before their week 14 bye, and they could elect move Doubs to injured reserve to give him a full six weeks before they host the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night in week 15. That would give him a chance to contribute in the Packers’ final four games of the season, whether for evaluation and development purposes or for a theoretical playoff run should the team find a way to win a handful of games in the meantime.

Doubs’ injury, combined with Christian Watson leaving Sunday’s game for a concussion evaluation, left the Packers with just four receivers for the second half of Sunday’s game: Allen Lazard, Sammy Watkins, Samori Touré, and Amari Rodgers. With Randall Cobb still on injured reserve for at least one more game, the Packers will surely need to add a receiver to the roster for next Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, whether via a practice squad elevation or a promotion to the 53.