The Packers have spent the opening stretch of the season sorting through a thinner receiving group than they expected when camp broke. Injuries, including the season-ending injury suffered by Jayden Reed, have forced coaches to lean harder on the players who stayed healthy, and the weekly plan has reflected that.
Matt LaFleur’s offense still wants to spread the ball around and keep defenses guessing on the edges. Without a full complement of options, those plans have looked a little more predictable in the first month.
Depth at the position was always going to matter once the schedule turned tougher. Green Bay has already had to manage absences that limited the rotation and put extra snaps on the players who remained available.
Coach Matt LaFleur said Wednesday that Savion Williams will return to practice today. The second-year wide receiver had been on injured reserve for the first four games of the season.
Williams, a third-round pick in 2025 out of TCU, had been sidelined with a high-ankle sprain. The Packers placed him on injured reserve before the opener with a designation that allowed him to return once he was eligible.
That window opened this week. Opening his practice window does not guarantee he will be activated right away, but it is the first formal step toward getting him back with the team.
LaFleur has not ruled out the possibility that Williams could be available as soon as this week’s game. Other reports from the building indicated he has been working off to the side and ramping up his activity in recent weeks.
Williams appeared in 12 games as a rookie last season. He finished with 10 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, added 37 rushing yards, and averaged 25.6 yards on kickoff returns.
At 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, he brings a bigger frame than most of the receivers currently on the active roster. The Packers drafted him in part because he can line up in different spots and contribute on special teams.
His absence left Green Bay with a shorter list of options behind Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. Bo Melton, Skyy Moore and rookie J. Michael Sturdivant have handled much of the remaining work. Reed is out for the season with a neck injury, which has made the need for another reliable body even clearer. Coaches have said they like to rotate receivers, and the current group has been stretched thin.
Williams is not a finished product. He saw limited targets as a rookie while working behind a crowded depth chart and dealing with his own health issues late in the year.
Still, the Packers have viewed him as a player who can help in situational packages once he is healthy. Getting him back on the practice field gives the staff a chance to evaluate where he stands.
Any decision on activating him will depend on how he looks in the coming days and how the rest of the roster shakes out. For now, the simple fact is that he is no longer limited to the side work he has been doing while on injured reserve.
The timing lines up with a stretch in which Green Bay could use another option who can catch the ball and contribute on returns. Whether that help arrives this week or a little later remains to be seen.
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