The NFL’s trade deadline is on Halloween, and the Green Bay Packers are a spooky 2-4 with the deadline on the horizon.
The team plays Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings at noon. This game could serve an important purpose for the Packers, as it could decide if the team will be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline.
The Green Bay Packers haven’t made a deadline deal since 2018, when they traded away Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to Washington and Ty Montgomery to Baltimore. Both those trades were for good reason. Clinton-Dix publicly said in the press he likely wasn’t going to be in Green Bay next year, which isn’t something you say in the press. Ty Montgomery got traded because he ignored the coach’s instructions when they told him to take a knee, and he didn’t. Instead, Montgomery took the ball five yards out of the endzone and promptly fumbled a chance for Aaron Rodgers to have a signature comeback win.
The point is that GM Brian Gutekunst doesn’t make mid-season trades unless he views those players as an issue in the locker room.
Ted Thompson went about it the same way. He didn’t view the trade deadline as a way to improve the Green Bay Packers. Gutekunst has taken a slightly different approach than Thompson. Since Brian Gutekunst took over, the team has been more active in free agency but has taken Thompson’s approach of drafting and developing young players.
What are the chances the Green Bay Packers trade for a wide receiver at the deadline?
What odds are less than zero? The Green Bay Packers will not trade for a receiver before or during the October 31 deadline. They have a model that works for them, and it’s not making short-term deals to ensure team success. The Packers prefer to draft and develop players and to get a receiver at the deadline. The team would have to give up premium draft picks, which is not something Green Bay has a track record of doing.
The names that have come up in recent weeks are Jerry Jeudy and Marquise Brown, but those players would be traded for premium players and picks. It’s not something Green Bay should look to do, as they have good complimentary receivers around Jordan Love. Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Jayden Reed are young, but they have shown flashes this year of being consistent offensive performers.
A month into the season, the offense has yet to find its stride, but unlike last year, the skill position players aren’t the issue in Green Bay this year. It’s a young team trying to find its footing, and how to close out winnable games has been the issue with the team this year, especially in the last two games.
The Green Bay Packers should stand pat at this year’s trade deadline and try to build a winning culture with this young team.
