Packers WR Randall Cobb has ankle surgery ahead of free agency

Aaron Rodgers’ favorite third-down security blanket just went under the knife. According to Ian Rapoport, Green Bay Packers receiver Randall Cobb had surgery on his ankle “to fix a persisting issue.”

Cobb was originally brought back by the Packers in 2021 when Rodgers allegedly demanded to play with the receiver. With Rodgers uncertain about retirement and Cobb set to be a 2023 unrestricted free agent, who knows if the duo will ever record another NFL throw and catch again?

Last season, Cobb missed about a month of the regular season due to a high ankle sprain, which is likely what led to this surgery. Rapoport stated that the surgery “will help him be pain free.” High ankle sprains are famously one of the more painful injuries that football players commonly face.

Cobb joins the likes of tight ends Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis and fellow receiver Allen Lazard as significant contributors from the 2022 season who are currently set to hit the open market. With free agency starting in a little over a week, the Packers have finally enough cap space to start considering re-signing their own.

The biggest name in their free agency class might actually be return man Keisean Nixon, who would be the team’s fourth cornerback if brought back. Earlier this week, general manager Brian Gutekunst said the team is “working on something” with left tackle David Bakhtiari to bring his cap charge down in 2023, which would give Green Bay more available dollars to spend this year.

Gutekunst also mentioned that kicker Mason Crosby could come back next season, which could cut into the Cobb fund. One would assume that Cobb returning to the team would be highly correlated to Rodgers, a close friend and the reason he’s been a Packer for the last two years, deciding to not retire. We’ll find out soon as the “legal tampering period” of free agency begins on March 13th.