Packers Place All-In, Make-or-Break $142.25 Million Bet on Potential

GREEN BAY, Wis. – It’s been a whirlwind few months for the Green Bay Packers’ receiver corps. The results very well could determine whether or not they make a run to the Super Bowl over the next handful of years.

After letting Romeo Doubs sign with the Patriots in free agency and dealing Dontayvion Wicks to the Eagles, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst signed Jayden Reed to a three-year contract extension worth $50.25 million in April and Christian Watson to a four-year contract extension worth $92.0 million last week.

Essentially, the Packers are going all-in on Watson and Reed to the tune of $142.25 million that they will be good enough to carry a leaner-and-meaner receiver corps to new heights. Either the Packers will hit the jackpot with Watson, Reed and 2025 first-round pick Matthew Golden helping lead the passing game to greatness, or they’ll wind up in the offensive poor house.

There’s really no middle ground. It’s not as if there’s another group of young receivers waiting in the wings. Heck, the Packers didn’t even draft a receiver this year.

Watson is under contract through 2030, Reed through 2029 and Golden through 2028 or 2029, depending on his fifth-year option. For the next three-plus seasons, it’s Watson, Reed and Golden.

Or bust.

“Yeah, that’s a great group of guys right there,” quarterback Jordan Love said after practice at minicamp on Tuesday. “To have those guys, knowing that they’re going to be here for the next couple years, it’s great. It’s great for us as an offense to keep building on the continuity we got together as a group, keep building the chemistry and just trying to find ways to get better and better every year.

“They’re great players. I think for M.G. – obviously, he’s the youngest – but I can’t wait for him to keep building and attack this year. I’m excited about just having that group and the things we’ll be able to do.”

Delivering his best sustained stretch of games while coming off a torn ACL, Watson called the extension “surreal.” The $23 million average is tied for 19th at the position, two spots ahead of Davante Adams. Reed’s $16.75 million average ranks 30th, one spot behind Doubs.

It’s an enormous investment, with two receivers in the top 30 in annual pay who have never finished in the top 30 in yards.

Of course, a contract isn’t only about past production. It’s supposed to be a forecast of future production.

Green Bay Packers receivers Christian Watson (9), Matthew Golden (0), and Savion Williams (83) at minicamp on Tuesday. | Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“It means the world to me, honestly,” Watson said. “I mean, just J-Love locked in, J-Reed locked in, M.G. locked in for the next couple years, hopefully 8-5 (Tucker Kraft) over there will be locked in, too.

“Just to have the foundation of our offense locked in for the next couple of years I think will be huge for us just in terms of finding consistency in our offense and just having those go-to guys available for the long-term I think will definitely be big for us in the flow of our offense.”

Reed also is bullish on what the new receiver corps can do together as it grows into its bigger roles.

“I think there’s no limit, man,” he said. “We can go above the sky. That’s what I believe. We’re not talked about a lot but I think we work as hard if not harder than any group in this league. We’re willing to do all the dirty work – the blocking, the picking up our teammates and playing together. I think that’s what’s going to take us a long way.”

The intangibles are a big part of what gives coach Matt LaFleur confidence.

“Yeah, those guys are A-plus,” he said before the start of minicamp on Tuesday. “You can’t ask for better guys. Both of those guys are equally deserving of what they got. We’re definitely excited about that whole nucleus of having them around for a while, M.G., hopefully get, obviously, Tucker’s coming up soon. All those guys to build around Jordan, I think, is critical.”

Watson and Reed will be entering their fourth seasons with Love. They know each other well, and the chemistry should only strengthen with more targets thrown their way.

“There’s a lot of time on task together,” LaFleur added. “The continuity piece is, I think, critical. It’s been a good offseason having everybody healthy and available – or those two guys, in particular. I think they continue to build on what they’ve done in the past.”

The passing game, obviously, isn’t limited to Watson, Reed and Golden. Kraft was on his way to blowing past 1,000 yards last season before he suffered a torn ACL the week following his blockbuster performance at Pittsburgh.

Kraft is an elite player who can be just as much of a focal point of the passing attack as Watson, Reed or Golden.

“We put it all together, it can be very dangerous,” Reed said. “It’s really no limit to it. Tuck’s a dog, man. It’s on tape. I really don’t got to explain what’s understood. You can watch the tape. You can tell what kind of players we are, what kind of teammates we are. Yeah, we can go a long way.”

Of course, a contract is barely worth the paper it’s written on. The Packers can hit the ejector seat on both after the 2027 season and save month on the salary cap. That, obviously, wouldn’t be ideal. A lot of signing bonus would go up in smoke and there’s no next wave of receivers waiting in the wings.

The Packers need Watson and Reed to live up their big contracts. And they’ll need the same from Kraft once he gets his extension.

The bets on Watson and Reed total more than $140 million. Once Kraft puts pen to paper, it almost certainly will soar past $200 million. That’s an all-in bet on their potential to lead the Packers to greatness.

That they have the right men provides confidence they have the right players to do what Greg Jennings, James Jones and Jordy Nelson did when the Packers won Super Bowl XLV.

“Just approaching the game the same way,” Watson said. “I know that regardless of how much money I make doing this, there’s still plenty of things I have to get better at. There’s still plenty of things I want to continue to get better at. And there’s a bunch of things I want to continue to prove to myself I can do.

“I think it’s just having the right mentality moving forward of not getting complacent, knowing there’s still a lot of things I can work on. There’s still a lot of things I can achieve regardless of how much money I’ve made.”

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