Green Bay Packers News

The Green Bay Packers released veteran kicker Brandon McManus on Friday after drafting University of Florida kicker Trey Smack in the sixth round last month, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN. McManus' run in Green Bay comes to an end after two seasons with the Packers, in which he made 44 of his 51 field-goal attempts (6-for-8 from 50-plus yards) and 62 of his 63 extra-point attempts in 25 regular-season games. The 34-year-old, 12-year veteran and former Super Bowl champion with the Denver Broncos is nearing the end of the line in the NFL after a solid career that has seen him make 82% of his field-goal attempts in 186 regular-season games. With McManus gone, the Packers figure to have a kicking competition this summer between Smack and Lucas Havrisik. McManus wasn't 100% healthy last year in Green Bay and was successful on 24 of his 30 field-goal tries and 32 of his 33 extra-point attempts in his 14 regular-season games. Fantasy managers in 12-team leagues will want to avoid the Packers' kicking situation in 2026.

Across 15 starts in 2026, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love completed 66.3% of his pass attempts for 3,381 yards, 23 touchdowns, and six interceptions. On arm talent alone, Love's fantasy upside appears to be higher than his QB17 and QB15 finishes of the past two seasons. However, Green Bay has been one of the most run-heavy offenses in the NFL in recent years and seems likely to profile similarly going forward. Love could also be working with a diminished group of pass-catchers in 2026. The Packers let wide receiver Romeo Doubs walk in free agency, and star tight end Tucker Kraft (knee) is working his way back from the torn ACL that ended his 2025 season. Love still carries some degree of dynasty upside as he enters his age-28 campaign, but he may be settling in as more of a fringe starter in single-QB formats.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson has the potential to be a weekly fantasy starter when healthy, but injuries have derailed the first four years of his career. He has missed 20 of 68 games since being drafted, and he has never finished a single season higher than WR41 in PPR leagues. The talent is undeniable, though, and we're confident that a Christian Watson and Jordan Love duo could eclipse 1,000 yards together over a healthy 17-game stretch. The crowded receiver room is another factor to consider, although it's not a major obstacle. Players like Watson, Jayden Reed, the now-departed Romeo Doubs, and even Matthew Golden have shown that they can produce in this crowded position group. There are enough targets to go around to support a top-30 finish from Watson. Now, he just needs to stay on the field. We're encouraged by the fact that he played 10 consecutive games without being inactive in 2025, so perhaps that's a sign that he'll be able to stay healthy in 2026. Purely based on upside and his relatively low cost, Watson is an intriguing dynasty trade target this offseason.

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said on Sirius XM NFL Radio that All-Pro pass-rusher Micah Parsons (knee) is expected to return "early in the season." Gutekunst also said that Parsons is "a little bit of a freak" and that he's "doing really well." Obviously, Parsons is a big part of the Packers' plan going forward on defense after they sent two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark to the Dallas Cowboys for Parsons before the start of last season. The 26-year-old five-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro selection was on pace to set a new career high in sacks in 2025 in his first year with Green Bay before tearing his left ACL late in December against the Denver Broncos. Parsons still managed to finish with 41 tackles (19 solo), 12.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 27 QB hits, and two forced fumbles in 14 games played. Because Parsons' injury occurred so late last season, fantasy managers in IDP formats should expect him to miss the start of the 2026 campaign. Still, the former 12th overall pick will be rostered in all IDP formats as a high-upside sack artist at defensive line.

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said on Sirius XM NFL Radio that tight end Tucker Kraft's (knee) rehab from a torn right ACL is "going great," and he's expected to return "early in the season." Kraft was on his way to a career breakout in 2025 before tearing his ACL, catching 32 of his 44 targets for 489 yards and six touchdowns in eight starts. Gutekunst said in mid-January that the 25-year-old was ahead of schedule in his recovery, so barring a setback during training camp this summer, it's safe to assume that he'll be ready for Week 1 of the 2026 regular season. Kraft is entering the final year of his rookie deal, but the Packers have already engaged him in talks on a potential long-term extension. Despite tearing his ACL in 2025, Kraft is expected to be a big part of Green Bay's offense again this year, making him an easy top-10 fantasy TE. Right now, RotoBaller has Kraft as the No. 6 overall player at his position.

The Green Bay Packers have made a move to upgrade their backup quarterback situation, signing veteran signal-caller Tyrod Taylor and releasing Desmond Ridder. Green Bay will be Taylor's eighth NFL team as he enters his 16th season in the league. He logged six games (four starts) for the New York Jets in 2025, completing 59.7% of his pass attempts for 779 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions. The 36-year-old still brings some juice with his legs as well, as he rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown on 27 attempts. Should anything happen to Packers QB1 Jordan Love, Taylor could have some streaming appeal as a dual-threat fantasy quarterback in 2026. As for Ridder, he'll be looking to latch on with a new team before the start of the upcoming season. The 26-year-old did not appear in an NFL game in 2025, spending time on the practice squads of both the Packers and the Minnesota Vikings.

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs put together another highly productive season in 2025, recording 1,211 scrimmage yards and 14 touchdowns across 15 games. Since joining the Packers in the 2024 offseason, Jacobs has collected over 2,800 scrimmage yards and has hit pay dirt 30 times. Entering 2026, Jacobs projects to dominate backfield touches in Green Bay for a third consecutive season and should see plenty of red zone opportunities while playing for a potent Packers' offense. Still, dynasty managers may want to consider selling high on Jacobs. He dealt with calf, knee, and ankle issues in 2025, and his average yards per carry dropped to 4.0, down from 4.4 in his first season with Green Bay. Jacobs is also entering his age-28 season and has functioned as a true workhorse running back for most of his NFL career, averaging over 300 touches per season since entering the league in 2019. Jacobs projects as a borderline top-12 running back for 2026, but his dynasty value could be slowly declining with age.

A first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden failed to establish a consistent role in his team's offense as a rookie. Across 14 games, the 22-year-old recorded 29 receptions for 361 yards and zero touchdowns on 44 targets. Despite the underwhelming production, there's reason for dynasty managers to be optimistic about Golden heading into 2026. The Packers let wide receiver Romeo Doubs walk in free agency and traded away wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks to the Philadelphia Eagles. Green Bay still has a pair of talented wideouts ahead of Golden on the depth chart in Christian Watson and Jayden Reed. Still, Golden should have an opportunity to step into a far more prominent role in the Packers' passing game. In dynasty formats, managers may want to seek out buy-low opportunities on Golden ahead of 2026.

The Green Bay Packers will have former Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears wide receiver Chase Claypool present at their rookie minicamp this weekend for a tryout, according to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team. Claypool last played in the NFL in 2023 with the Bears and Miami Dolphins, catching eight of his 21 targets for 77 yards and one touchdown in 12 games played (two starts). Claypool, now 27 years old, was a second-round pick by Pittsburgh in 2020 out of Notre Dame. The best season in his four NFL seasons came in his rookie season in the Steel City, when he caught 62 passes for 873 yards and nine touchdowns on 109 targets across 16 games (six starts). Claypool also had over 800 receiving yards in his sophomore campaign with the Steelers, but he was never the same after being acquired by the Bears in the middle of the 2022 season. Green Bay lost Romeo Doubs in free agency and traded Dontayvion Wicks to the Eagles this offseason, so they could use some depth at the position behind Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Matthew Golden after ignoring the position in the NFL draft recently.

The Green Bay Packers picked up the fifth-year option for edge rusher Lukas Van Ness (foot) on Thursday, a source told Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. It will guarantee Van Ness a 2027 salary of around $13.8 million. Despite missing around half of last season with a foot injury, the Packers appear confident that he'll be able to rebound this year and next year. The 24-year-old was taken by Green Bay with the 13th overall pick in 2023 out of Iowa, and he contributed 84 tackles (58 solo), 8.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, and 23 QB hits in 43 games (two starts) in his first three NFL seasons. Van Ness played in only nine games in 2025 due to his foot injury, finishing with 19 tackles (12 solo), 1.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, and seven QB hits. The Packers will be relying on two edge rushers coming off major injuries last year, as Micah Parsons (knee) attempts to recover from a torn ACL that he suffered in late December.

Veteran free-agent running back Austin Ekeler (Achilles) is 100% fully medically cleared for all football activities after suffering a torn right Achilles last September against the Green Bay Packers, a league source told Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Sports. Ekeler intends to play in 2026 and is expected to draw plenty of interest. The 30-year-old was one of the premier pass-catching backs in the NFL in his seven seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers before he signed a two-year deal with the Washington Commanders before the 2024 season. He appeared in 12 games (six starts) for Washington in 2024, carrying the ball 77 times for 367 yards and four touchdowns while catching 35 passes for 366 receiving yards. Ekeler missed some time due to a concussion that year before playing in just two games in 2025 before tearing his Achilles. Ekeler might not be the same shifty back in space after his season-ending injury, but he could still give a team some solid pass-catching depth out of the backfield as he nears the end of his career.

A third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd has not factored at all in his team's offense. Thanks to myriad injury issues, Lloyd has played in just one game and owns six career carries across his first two NFL seasons. Heading into 2026, star running back Josh Jacobs remains firmly atop Green Bay's running back depth chart. However, the Packers lost 2025 RB2 Emanuel Wilson in free agency, and the team did not add a running back with any of its 2026 draft picks. As a result, Lloyd figures to enter training camp in a battle with Chris Brooks and Pierre Strong Jr. for the backup running back role in Green Bay. Lloyd's injury history and his complete lack of NFL production to this point are both major red flags. Still, in deep dynasty leagues, Lloyd may be worth taking a chance on just in case he wins the Packers RB2 job and emerges as a priority handcuff running back.

The Green Bay Packers have selected Florida kicker Trey Smack with the 216th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, making him the first kicker off the board. Smack has made 82.8% of his field goal attempts across three seasons with the Gators, and his only missed extra point came on the final kick of his collegiate career, ending a streak of 100 straight makes. A two-time Lou Groza Award semifinalist, Smack owns the Florida record with nine made field goals of 50+ yards. Veteran kicker Brandon McManus made 35 of 37 field goals in his second season with the Packers, but at almost 35 years old, he likely faces a preseason competition with the rookie, and the winner should have fantasy value with what figures to be another competent Green Bay offense.

Wide receiver Jayden Reed and the Green Bay Packers agreed to a three-year contract extension on Friday worth $50.25 million in new money, including $20 million guaranteed, agents Drew Rosenhaus and Ian Grutman told Adam Schefter of ESPN. The 25-year-old former second-rounder (50th overall) in 2023 out of Michigan State had 119 receptions on 169 targets for 1,650 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns in 33 games in his first two NFL seasons for the Packers, adding three rushing touchdowns. Reed only played in seven games in 2025 due to injuries, though, and finished with a 19-207-1 line during the regular season. He's now locked in for several more seasons and will be a big part of Green Bay's offense in 2026 alongside Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. If healthy, Reed will have even more fantasy upside as a WR3/flex target with Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks out of town. Reed might not have the big-play abilities down the field like Watson and Golden, but he's more versatile and has proven to have a nose for the end zone in his first 40 NFL games.

After arriving on the scene as the QB5 in his first year as a full-time starter in 2023, Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love has ended back-to-back seasons in the middle of the fantasy pack. While lingering early-season injuries were thought to affect his play in 2024, he remained relatively healthy until an end-of-season concussion in 2025, finishing respectively as the QB17 and QB15 with strikingly similar numbers across both years. In 2025, his path to the middle was relatively straight. He finished four different weeks as a top-10 fantasy quarterback, tying for 15th in that regard and providing a mostly healthy floor by keeping the ball out of harm's way. He was one of 11 players with two finishes as the QB2 or better, but he also finished with fewer than 10 fantasy points at a rate slightly higher than the top-24 players at the position. With Green Bay saying goodbye to two of its leading receivers from 2025 and expecting a return to health from Josh Jacobs, the team will likely skew run-heavy enough to again cap Love's fantasy ceiling. Tucker Kraft should also be back and healthy early in the season, and the team is expecting significant growth from last year's first round pick, Matthew Golden, so there are legitimate reasons to believe the 27-year-old Love could return to his 2023 form, but the safer presumption is that he's closer to what he's shown over the past two seasons: a strong QB2 in superflex leagues who is just as likely to win you a week as he is to cost you.

The Green Bay Packers are "clearing the way" for wide receiver Matthew Golden to move up the depth chart as he heads into his second season in the NFL, writes Rob Demovsky of ESPN. The Packers let Romeo Doubs walk in free agency and then recently traded Dontayvion Wicks to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Packers never made Golden, a first-rounder (23rd overall) in 2025, a focal point of the offense last year, and he finished with just 29 catches for 361 yards and no touchdowns in 14 regular-season games. Golden caught four passes for 84 yards and his first career touchdown reception in the playoff loss to the Chicago Bears. "I think his ceiling is very, very high. We're very, very excited about what he's going to do for our football team moving forward," general manager Brian Gutekunst said. Christian Watson will be the Packers' No. 1 wideout and big-play threat, but he's also been very injury-prone in his career. Jayden Reed is also expected to have a bigger role, but with both Doubs and Wicks out of town, Golden should be much more involved in 2026 after he let his frustration with his rookie role be known. In single-year leagues, Golden will be a WR4/flex option with big-play abilities and still plenty of upside.

Injuries have forced Packers wide receiver Christian Watson to miss 21 games across his first four seasons, but when healthy, he's shown continued flashes of game-breaking ability, and with Green Bay recently thinning its receiver ranks, he could have a path to fantasy greatness. After tearing his ACL in the final week of the 2024 season, Watson missed the first seven games of 2025, but upon his return, it didn't take long for him to endear himself to his fantasy managers. From Weeks 8 through 17, Watson was the WR9 in Half-PPR formats, finding the end zone six times across his final seven outings and once more in a Wild Card playoff loss to the Bears. Green Bay has since allowed Romeo Doubs to leave in free agency and has traded away Dontayvion Wicks, opening up a combined 127 targets from 2025. Health and a competing cluster of talent at wide receiver have been the biggest obstacles to Watson's sustained fantasy success, but with at least one hurdle seemingly cleared, he will enter the season 20 months removed from his ACL tear and atop the depth chart. Tight end Tucker Kraft, who was the team's best pass-catcher through the first half of the 2025 season is rehabbing his own ACL injury and could be limited to start the year, leaving Matthew Golden and Jayden Reed as Watson's greatest target competition one year after combining for 539 receiving yards and one touchdown, numbers exceeded by Watson in fewer than half the games played.

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (knee) is still an intriguing dynasty option as he works his way back from a torn ACL. Kraft ranked as the overall TE1 in PPR leagues last year before suffering the season-ending injury in Week 9. He had carved out a prominent role in the Packers' offense, emerging as Jordan Love's favorite target over an uninspiring group of wide receivers. We could see Kraft have an equally large workload in 2026, especially after the Packers traded away Dontayvion Wicks and watched Romeo Doubs depart in free agency. Health is the biggest concern for Kraft, and while it seems like he should be ready for the season opener, it's unclear if the effects of his recovery will have any impact on his mobility or production. We wouldn't be surprised if he picks up right where he left off, and even if he isn't the TE1 overall, he certainly has top-five value at the tight end position going forward. Given that Kraft has tremendous upside and is just 25 years old, he's a very appealing option in dynasty fantasy football leagues. The aforementioned ACL tear has dropped his price in dynasty trade talks, so managers might be able to buy low on Kraft this offseason.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed suffered through a lost season due to injuries in 2025, as foot and collarbone ailments caused him to miss 10 games. Still, the 25-year-old was a productive player across his first two NFL seasons from 2023 to 2024, recording over 1,900 scrimmage yards and 17 touchdowns in the two years combined. Despite the production, Reed has always struggled to carve out a high-volume role in Green Bay. Across his last 24 NFL games, Reed is averaging just over four targets per game. However, so far this offseason Green Bay has lost veteran wideout Romeo Doubs to free agency and traded away wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks. As a result, Reed currently projects for a prominent role in the team's offense alongside wide receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. If Reed sees more touches in 2026, he could re-emerge as a solid wide receiver option for fantasy managers.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden had a relatively quiet rookie year in 2025, recording 29 receptions for 361 yards and zero touchdowns on 44 targets across 14 games played. However, offseason movement around the former first-round pick in Green Bay may be clearing a path for Golden to take on a much larger role in 2026. Former Packers wideout Romeo Doubs signed with the New England Patriots in free agency, and Green Bay traded wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks to the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday. While the Packers still have a pair of talented pass-catchers in wideouts Christian Watson and Jayden Reed, Golden should be in line for more playing time as a result of the moves. In dynasty formats, Golden's value is trending upward despite his underwhelming production as a rookie.