{"id":376875,"date":"2025-09-18T05:10:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T05:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/376875\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T05:10:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T05:10:10","slug":"flying-high-without-bird-packers-receivers-aim-to-fill-void-created-by-jayden-reeds-broken-collarbone-top-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/376875\/","title":{"rendered":"Flying high without \u2018Bird?\u2019 Packers receivers aim to fill void created by Jayden Reed\u2019s broken collarbone | Top Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

GREEN BAY \u2014 Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed see themselves as brothers from other mothers<\/a>. The two Green Bay Packers wide receivers always say they are more than just friends or teammates.<\/p>\n

So when Wicks was asked \u2014 or, more accurately, started to be asked \u2014 Wednesday about the viral post-op video his brother\/fellow wideout put on Instagram Live a day earlier after undergoing surgery to repair his broken right collarbone and fractured left foot, Wicks didn\u2019t even wait for the question to end.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. Hahahaha. Yeah, my dog [was] on there trippin\u2019, man,\u201d Wicks said of the way Reed was rambling \u2014 and predicting that the Packers will reach Super Bowl LX<\/a> \u2014 as his anesthesia was wearing off. He [was] on there out of his body.\u201d<\/p>\n

#Packers<\/a> WR Jayden Reed confirms he underwent successful surgery on his broken right collarbone and the Jones fracture in his left foot. \ud83e\ude7b Also thanks folks for their prayers \ud83d\ude4f and confirms that the #Packers<\/a> are going to the Super Bowl \u2026 bruh. \ud83c\udfc8 pic.twitter.com\/g9hK0b1ad9<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) September 17, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Reed will also be out of the lineup for the foreseeable future. And therein lies the Packers wide receivers\u2019 collective challenge: Filling the void left by having one of their top passing-game targets sidelined.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think J-Reed’s a 1-of-1. Definitely a guy that will be missed out there on the field,\u201d quarterback Jordan Love said after Wednesday\u2019s practice. \u201cBut we\u2019ve got a lot of guys in that receiver room who can step up, who’ve played a lot of good minutes. This won’t be their first time getting in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last time a prominent Packers skill-position player sustained a broken collarbone \u2014 other than quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who broke his left collarbone in 2013 and his right one in 2017 \u2014 it was Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Charles Woodson, who did it during Super Bowl XLV and again during the 2012 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Woodson missed nine games that year, returning just in time for the playoffs.<\/p>\n

While every injury is different, and Woodson confessed that year that he returned to action when he was deemed safe enough to play but not 100% healed, missing nine weeks would put Reed, who was injured in the Packers\u2019 win over Washington last week, in position to return around the team\u2019s Thanksgiving Day game at Detroit on Nov. 27.<\/p>\n

The Packers will also be without Christian Watson for at least another two games, as Watson must remain on the physically unable to perform list for Sunday\u2019s game at Cleveland and the Sept. 28 game at Dallas. After that, he\u2019s eligible to have the team open a 21-day practice window after the bye week and start practicing around Oct. 6.<\/p>\n

But at least the Packers knew they\u2019d be starting the season without Watson, who tore the ACL in his right knee during last year\u2019s regular-season finale against Chicago on Jan. 5.<\/p>\n

In Reed\u2019s case, the Packers were counting on the guy who led them in receptions and receiving yards in 2023 and 2024 to be their Swiss Army knife on offense, with his ability to line up in the slot and catch balls in traffic, line up outside and make plays down the field, and run jet sweeps and pop passes with a running back-like skillset.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s kind of a sparkplug for us. He does a lot of different things,\u201d head coach Matt LaFleur said earlier this week. \u201cI just love the way he plays the game, the energy he brings on a daily basis. He\u2019s tough. He\u2019s gritty. We\u2019re definitely going to miss him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut other guys, there\u2019s going to be opportunities for some of these guys to step up and make some plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are other guys, and together they can pick up the slack by doing all the things Wicks can do individually.<\/p>\n

Rookie third-round pick Savion Williams can be the gadget guy. Rookie first-round pick Matthew Golden can line up inside or outside and certainly is able to run downfield routes. Wicks and Romeo Doubs run intermediate routes as well as anyone. And Malik Heath, the best blocker of the bunch, showed he can also be a big-play guy with his 37-yard circus catch on the sideline in their win over the Commanders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, when you\u2019ve got a guy like \u2018Bird\u2019 and he goes down, it hurts us. But then again, we\u2019re all in the league for a reason, and we all know stuff like this is going to happen,\u201d Heath said. \u201cWhen your opportunity is there, you have to make the most of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Wicks: \u201cWe believe in everybody in our room. We know everybody in our room can make a play. We\u2019ve got a ton of talent in our room.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith \u2018Bird\u2019 being out, I think it gives more people the chance to step up and show what they can do. And I think once he gets back, we\u2019re going to be on a roll and he’ll be able to step back in and just do what he do. [But] he\u2019s a difference-maker. And it feels different without him around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wicks said he expects Reed to still be around the team while sidelined because of his leadership responsibilities \u2014 \u201cThe leader Bird is, you can\u2019t really [replicate] that with him not being here,\u201d he said \u2014 but first, he needs to get over his surgery and the embarrassment of his video.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know he\u2019s seen it, because we sent it to him. He knows what\u2019s going on and that he\u2019s all over the media,\u201d Wicks said, laughing. \u201cI\u2019ve really talked to him every day [since the injury].<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been in good spirits. He just believes in all of us. He knows we\u2019re going to step up and make that play for the team and for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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