The Green Bay Packers have sustained another injury loss to their receiving corps just one day before their NFL playoff game against the Chicago Bears.
According to the team’s injury report, the Packers officially downgraded wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks (concussion) from questionable to out on the injury report for their wild-card game against the Bears, further limiting their depth at the receiver position.
Wicks is still dealing with symptoms from the concussion that he sustained in Week 17’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens on December 28 and has not cleared the league’s protocol. While he will have a chance to clear it again next week, the Packers must first advance.
The Packers will still have all three of their primary receivers — Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Christian Watson — available against the Bears, but losing Wicks limits their depth options to first-round rookie Matthew Golden and UDFA Jakobie Keeney-James.
The Packers will kick off against the Bears at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 10.
Will Matthew Golden Play Bigger Role vs. Bears Now?
The Packers will have fewer options available in the passing game against Chicago with Wicks no longer in the rotation, but does that mean Golden will finally get his moment?
Potentially, but not likely.
The Packers have been reluctant to push Golden to the forefront of their offense in 2025 despite selecting him No. 23 overall in the draft. Part of the reason is that the Packers have several established receivers who have done nothing to lose their starting roles, while another part is the injuries that slowed Golden in the second half of the year.
So, while the Packers are encouraged about Golden’s future, they are not expecting him to play a “premier” role for their offense throughout their run in the 2025 NFL playoffs.
“He’s very talented and his time will come, but I think, right now, with the room the way it is, he’s not gonna be in that premier role when the playoffs come around,” Stenavich said last week on New Year’s Day. “But, again, if you told me that he’s the No. 1 receiver on a play, I’d be very excited about it, too. We have a lot of really good options when it comes to wide receiver right now, which is a blessing.”
Now, could that change without Bo Melton and Wicks in the picture? Maybe, but Wicks only received five targets combined in his last three healthy games. It is just as likely that the Packers turn up the workload for their more reliable hands in Chicago.
Packers Have 5 Other Players Listed With Injuries
The Packers have decided on Wicks’ availability against the Bears, but they still have five other players listed as questionable who will need determinations before kickoff.
The injury report also includes quarterback Malik Willis (right shoulder/hamstring), right tackle Zach Tom (back/knee), linebacker Nick Niemann (pectoral), defensive lineman Warren Brinson (foot) and nickel/safety Javon Bullard (knee). All of them spent the entire week as limited participants in practice, except for Tom — whom the Packers downgraded to a non-participant for January 8’s final practice of the week.
Tom is likely the most important decision that the Packers will need to make before Saturday night’s kickoff, but Bullard is also a key member of Green Bay’s defense.
While the Packers won’t be required to release their inactives for the game until about an hour before kickoff, they could provide clues as to which players will be available earlier in the day if they make any roster moves before the 4 p.m. ET deadline.
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