Aaron Rodgers may be in for one of the biggest tests of his career this year, as the Packers officially announced on Monday that Jordy Nelson will miss the 2015 season with a torn ACL. Nelson suffered the injury in Sunday's preseason bout with the Steelers.
Jordy Nelson’s ACL tear shouldn’t cripple the Packers
Nelson’s loss hurts, but the Packers should have enough receiver depth to make up for a significant percentage of his production.
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This is a major blow to the Packers, who will be without one of the game’s top wide receivers. Nelson was second in the league last year in touchdown receptions, fourth in receiving yards and seventh in receptions. Rodgers targeted him 151 times in 2014.
Elite quarterbacks are sometimes asked to do more with less, and that's what Rodgers will have to do this season. Tom Brady, for example, still led the Patriots to a top-10 finish in points per game in 2013 despite working with a receiving corps that consisted of Julian Edelman and basically a bunch of guys who probably wouldn't get picked to play in most pickup rec league basketball games.
The situation isn't nearly that dire in Green Bay, as Rodgers still has a number of weapons at his disposal. Randall Cobb, whom Green Bay re-signed to a four-year contract extension last offseason, will probably take over Nelson's role as the de facto No. 1 option.
Who will step up?
Rodgers targeted Cobb 126 times last year, and the speedy wideout gained 1,287 yards while scoring 12 touchdowns. It will be interesting to see if Cobb continues to line up out of the backfield in Nelson’s absence, which he has done on occasion throughout his career. Opposing defenses will likely hone in on Cobb more this season, and that could limit how much trickery Mike McCarthy is able to scheme up on a weekly basis.
But there is little doubt Cobb is capable of handling a No. 1 role. The real question is who will replace him as the second option. Second-year wideout Davante Adams is a candidate, as he was Green Bay's third-leading receiver as a rookie. Adams caught 38 passes for 446 yards and three touchdowns.
Tight ends Andrew Quarless and Richard Rodgers could see increased roles, too. They combined for over 500 receiving yards and five touchdowns last year.
Rodgers has shown a proclivity for spreading the ball around throughout his career, and he will probably have to do more of that this season regardless of how the receiving corps shakes out. Looking back at how Rodgers handled last season's game against New England, when Darrelle Revis limited Nelson to two catches, could be a good indicator as to what the Green Bay passing attack might look like. Eight different Packers receivers caught passes in that game en route to a 26-21 Green Bay victory.
Will the Packers sign anybody?
It's possible that the Packers will look to bring in a couple of veteran free agent receivers, but it's doubtful many of them would make much of an impact. One name to watch is former Saints wideout Robert Meachem, who has proven he can stretch the field on occasion.
There was speculation that the Packers would call longtime Colt Reggie Wayne, but he signed with the Patriots Monday.
Randy Moss is also supposedly teasing a comeback, as he told Fox Sport's Curt Menefee over the weekend he "has not lost the itch" to play.
If Moss were to finish his career in Green Bay, things truly would have come full circle. Too bad life seldom works like that.
But regardless of whether the Packers sign an additional pass catcher, the bulk of Nelson’s lost production will have to come from the receivers who are already on the team. It will be a challenge, but they appear to be up to the task.
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