Key Packers WR returns to practice after IR stint

The Packers’ short-handed receiving corps received a breakthrough performance from Christian Watson in Week 10, helping the team upset the Cowboys. Green Bay may have another weapon available soon.

Randall Cobb returned to practice Tuesday, per Field Yates of ESPN.com. While expecting the veteran to return off IR in time for Thursday’s game against the Titans might be a tough ask, he is eligible to do so. The Packers have three weeks to activate Cobb, who has gone through a midseason IR stay for the second straight year.

An ankle injury has sidelined Cobb this season. The 12th-year wideout was feared to have suffered a broken ankle, but additional testing confirmed a less severe injury. With the subsequent exams opening the door to Cobb coming back, this stands to bolster a Packers passing game that has seen all of its key principals miss time.

Romeo Doubs is currently out due to a high-ankle sprain; the rookie remains on Green Bay’s 53-man roster. The Packers already used one of their injury activations on Sammy Watkins, who went on IR early this season. The team waived 2021 third-round pick Amari Rodgers earlier Tuesday. Watson and Allen Lazard have also missed time, but neither has gone on IR.

Plagued by injuries and inconsistency throughout his first year with the Packers, Watson emerged for a three-touchdown game — Green Bay’s first rookie-year game featuring three receiving TDs since Hall of Famer James Lofton accomplished the feat in 1978 — to lift the team past the Cowboys. Lazard and Watson figure to be the Packers’ lead contributors against the Titans. Watkins and Cobb profile as auxiliary targets at this point. The latter, brought back via trade at Aaron Rodgers‘ request late last summer, missed five games in 2021. Prior to going on IR this year, Cobb caught 18 passes for 257 yards.