The Green Bay Packers are trying to do something that they have not accomplished since the days of Vince Lombardi and Bart Starr: defeat the Los Angeles Rams on the road in California. The last time a Packers team beat the Rams in Los Angeles was in 1966. They are 0-14 against Los Angeles since then (but did go 4-2 against the Rams in St. Louis between 1995-2015).
Green Bay’s attempt to break their 58-year draught in Los Angeles against the Rams is going to require them to overcome much more than just an interesting bit of history, though. The Packers are also going to be missing both of their starting wide receivers.
Green Bay Packers Wide Receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs Will Not Play vs the Los Angeles Rams
Packers wide receiver Christian Watson was injured during Green Bay’s Week Four loss to the Minnesota Vikings at home in Lambeau Field. When the injury first occurred, many fans and analysts feared the worst. However, Watson escaped with a high ankle sprain and will even avoid going on injured reserve. However, he will be out on Sunday against the Rams.
Earlier on Saturday, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst announced that Green Bay’s other starting wide receiver, Romeo Doubs, was being suspended by the team for their Week Five game against the Rams:
“Unfortunately, we had to make the difficult decision to suspend Romeo for this week’s game. His decisions and actions during the week negatively impacted the team and required us to take this action. While we are certainly disappointed, we are confident that we will be able to move forward in a positive manner. Romeo is a valuable member of our team and we look forward to welcoming him back next week.”
Doubs skipped practice on Thursday and Friday. According to Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated, the third-year wide receiver is unhappy with his role on the team (even though he is third on the team in targets and second in receptions).
He also reported that team representatives performed a well-fare check on Doubs during his absence because they were concerned about his well-being.
The Green Bay Packers Have No Plans to Trade Romeo Doubs
The news of Doubs’ discontent with the Packers immediately spurred trade rumors around the NFL. Several teams even called Gutekunst to gauge his market.
According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Green Bay’s general manager informed them that Doubs is not on the trading block at this time:
As one can see from Jones’ post, the Packers are hopeful that they can put this situation behind them early next week.
While it may be easy for fans to be angry at Doubs, one must realize that teams do not perform wellness checks on players that are simply angry about playing time or their role on the offense.
There is something else going on that no one outside of 1265 Lombardi Avenue knows about, and that is okay. Hopefully Doubs is okay and comes back better than ever next week.
