It was always going to be difficult to find a way to fit Romeo Doubs into the Green Bay Packers’ complex cap situation based on the type of player he’s become. The first sign came early in the season when the Packers inked wide receiver Christian Watson to a one-year extension before he even returned from a torn ACL.
Appearing on Wednesday’s edition of Up & Adams, Doubs all but confirmed what everyone was already thinking. When host Kay Adams asked Doubs about his future there was no hesitation in his answer.
I will leave that unknown. I would love to be a Green Bay Packer but I’m just aware of this business. I understand how things go… When it really comes down to it I just wanna play football. The situation is everything. I know there’s a lot of energy that goes into that.
The business Doubs is the Packers’ extremely tight cap situation due to a couple of massive deals in place for Jordan Love and Micah Parsons. There’s some wiggle room if the Packers view players like Rashan Gary, Elgton Jenkins, and perhaps a couple others as cap casualties. Even in those scenarios, a Doubs return doesn’t appear to be in the cards.
According to Sportrac, Doubs has a market value of $12 million per year with a four-year, $48 million deal seen as the general ballpark for what he should fetch this offseason. For a similar reference, the Buffalo Bills’ Khalil Shakir signed a four-year, $60 million extension last February, with the Bills that contained $32 million in guaranteed money.
Stacking up Shakir’s numbers and value to Buffalo’s offense to what Doubs has accomplished in Green Bay and there are similarities to be drawn. If Sportrac’s numbers are even somewhat close to accurate for what Doubs should get in free agency, Green Bay stands little to no chance of retaining him.
This isn’t shocking to the Packers. They’ve operated as an organization that knew this could be coming down the pike. General manager Brian Gutekunst has prepared accordingly.
Watson and Doubs were part of the same draft class in 2022 and thus, both set to enter this year on expiring rookie deals. Gutekunst showed his hand with Watson’s one-year extension. The Packers prioritized Watson then and will likely operate in a similar fashion this offseason to add on to that extension instead of focusing on Doubs.
On top of that deal, look at the draft last April. Green Bay exhausted a first-round pick on wide receiver Matthew Golden and a third-round pick on wide receiver Savion Williams. Would the Packers have preferred to get more out of both, specifically Golden, this year? Absolutely. For that, they have nobody to blame but themselves.
Still, the 2026 wide receiver room will include Watson, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Golden, and Williams. That’s five wideouts right off the bat. Of course, if Doubs was back in the picture he wouldn’t be No. 6 in the pecking order. That’s not the point. The point is Gutekunst prepared for the likely outcome that not everyone that was around before the draft last year would stick around. The cap situation played an overwhelming factor in that thought process. Gutekunst addressed it with the draft picks of Golden and Williams.
If Green Bay was going to get a deal done with Doubs, it would’ve already happened. The Packers don’t have the cap flexibility to out-muscle many teams in a bidding war.
Doubs spoke like someone who knew he wouldn’t be back with the Packers while also saying he’d love to remain in Green Bay.
Thus, the Packers will need Watson to continue evolving while crossing their fingers Reed stays healthy in 2026 and finds consistency. They’ll also bank on Golden developing into a potential star; they’ll no longer be able to ignore him when putting together game plans.
Doubs will cash in, and deservedly so. Although he may never reach the level of a bonafide No. 1 wide receiver, he was damn good and a reliable option for the Packers. His final mark, albeit in a playoff loss to the Chicago Bears, was eight receptions for 124 yards and one touchdown on 11 targets. If there was any sliver of hope Green Bay could bring back Doubs, it was likely washed away by his stellar performance in a standalone game under the bright lights of the postseason.
Doubs deserves the bag he’ll get this offseason. It just won’t be coming from Green Bay.
