The Green Bay Packers entered the 2025 NFL season with true aspirations of bringing home another Super Bowl to the city. Thanks to a blockbuster trade to bring in Micah Parsons, the defense was expected to continue its upward trajectory from the previous season, with their franchise quarterback, Jordan Love, taking care of things on the other side of the football. Add in the brilliance of Matt LaFleur, and the recipe for success was clear.
However, the biggest hurdle to their quest to reach the elites of the league has been the lack of a true alpha wide receiver. While they have a deep receiving core leading to some excellent offensive numbers, the team lacks a truly elite playmaker. Jayden Reed was likely supposed to take that next step forward, especially with the addition of Matthew Golden in the draft. But he has been limited to just two games all year. What went wrong for the third-year wide receiver?
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What Is Jayden Reed’s Injury?
Taken in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Reed became a consistent weapon for Love almost instantaneously. Tallying 793 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in his rookie season, he showed immediate promise to become a long-term partner for the young quarterback.
In his second season, though, although his numbers improved, they did not take a substantial jump. With one more game played, the Michigan State product had 857 yards and six touchdowns under his belt.
Both years, he ranked near the same on PFSN’s WR Impact, finishing 24th and 22nd in 2023 and 2024, respectively. This year, as the Packers hoped to go from a wild-card playoff team to a legitimate contender, the offensive load was going to rely heavily on Reed.
In the first game of the season, as Green Bay routed the Detroit Lions 27-13, he added 45 yards and a touchdown on the board. Against the Washington Commanders, though, is when tragedy struck.
Trying to make an explosive 39-yard touchdown catch, he crashed hard out of bounds, breaking his collarbone in the process. Already dealing with a Jones fracture in his left foot that kept him out for most of training camp, the injury required immediate surgery.
Paying off two bills for the price of one, he underwent surgery on both his clavicle and foot to come back 100%. At the time of the injury, LaFleur confirmed that it would be a long recovery process for the talented wide receiver, as he was placed on the injured reserve list.
“He’s going to miss a lot of time. We’ll see how fast he can recover and heal, and certainly I would expect him back at some point this season, but obviously it’s a big blow to us.” The timeline placed him back in time for a return in Week 8.
However, so far, there hasn’t been an update on that end, and he is expected to miss their clash against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. With a potential recovery time of eight weeks, fans in Titletown need to wait a little longer before he’s back in the mix.
