BREAKING: Packers Face Tough Decisions on Wide Receivers Potential Second Contracts

Each of the Green Bay Packers top six wide receivers are on their entry-level contracts as we enter the 2025 NFL season. But that situation won’t last long. After the upcoming campaign, two of the team’s wideouts could reach free agency unless GM Brian Gutekunst decides to sign them to a second contract with the team. Two additional wideouts will be in the same situation after the 2026 season. Gutekunst faces some difficult decisions regarding the two receivers who are up for extensions after 2025.

The first receiver who is entering the final year of his contract in 2025 is Romeo Doubs. The Packers selected him in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The former Nevada star has provided the team with a solid target in his first three NFL seasons.

Doubs has been the most consistent of the team’s young receivers. He has caught 147 passes for 1,700 yards and 15 touchdowns. His best season came in 2023 when he caught 59 passes for 674 yards and eight touchdowns.

While Doubs is not considered a dangerous deep threat by NFL standards, he has developed excellent chemistry with quarterback Jordan Love. Love often looks for Doubs on key third-down situations and in the red zone.

Last season, Doubs had some struggles. While he was always considered a team player, the team suspended Doubs for conduct detrimental to the team after he didn’t show up for practice because he was unhappy with his role in the offense. That seems to have been resolved. At OTAs this week, Doubs indicated he would have done things differently if he had the chance to do them over again.

Doubs clearly knows what’s at stake for him this season. He has shown up for OTAs in great shape. In fact, Matt LaFleur praised Doubs for his work ethic and the condition he’s in.

“He looks great out there,” LaFleur said. “I don’t know if you guys can tell a difference in his physique. He does look like a specimen out there. But he does, he does a great job. He’s come in, and he’s just worked. And obviously he’s played a lot of snaps for us and has had a lot of production. So, I’m excited about where he’s at.”

If Doubs has a productive 2025, he will get paid well in 2026, whether it’s with the Packers or elsewhere. If he struggles, his next contract will be substantially less, and his career will take on a very different trajectory.

The other wideout entering the final year of his contract is Christian Watson. Gutekunst’s decision on Watson will be even more difficult than the one he has to make on Doubs. While Doubs has been more consistent and productive, Watson has more athletic gifts and more potential upside but has struggled to play consistently and to stay healthy and on the field.

Watson has a rare combination of size and speed. He averaged 21.4-yards per catch last season but caught only 29 passes in 15 games. Watson hasn’t caught more than 41 passes in any of his three NFL seasons. Still, he is capable of drawing attention away from teammates because opposing defenses need to be wary of his ability to get deep on any play.

Watson suffered a serious knee injury in the 2024 season finale against the Bears that required surgery. Although the LaFleur indicated that Watson was ahead of schedule in his rehab, he is still expected to miss at least the first half of the 2025 season as he rehabs from the operation.

Watson will likely only play a handful of games this season and probably won’t be 100 percent in any of them. Will that be enough to show Gutekunst that he deserves a second contract with the team?

One alternative could be to sign Watson to a one-year, incentive laden, prove-it contract. That way, Watson could show what he’s still capable of and set himself up for a bigger contract the following season either with the Packers or elsewhere.

Is Watson’s potential worth the gamble on a second contract despite his lack of consistent production?

Gutekunst has some other young and talented receivers on the roster. He will have to make some tough decisions regarding Watson, Doubs, and many others in the coming months. Cap considerations may also limit how many receivers will receive a second contract with the team. How well these receivers play this season will go a long way towards determining their futures.