The Green Bay Packers may need to get creative to add an experienced wide receiver before the Nov. 10 NFL trade deadline, and one option would mean dealing with a division rival.
Jauan Jennings has gone from an $8 million offseason addition for the Minnesota Vikings to a possible trade candidate after just a handful of games. Reed’s season-ending neck surgery gives Green Bay a clear reason for interest, but convincing the undefeated Vikings to help a rival is another matter.
Green Bay is 3-2 after Sunday’s 31-7 win over the Chicago Bears. That offensive showing does not fully erase questions about receiving depth behind the top options.
CBS Sports’ Carter Bahns listed Green Bay among five possible landing spots for Jennings. He sees a fit, though the teams’ rivalry could drive up the price.
“It would likely cost the Packers a premium considering the context between the teams,” Bahns wrote.
No reported offer exists, and there is no indication the sides are talking. Bahns also did not name a specific draft pick Green Bay should send.
The Vikings, at 5-0, have little reason to strengthen a team chasing them in the NFC North. They also would not be selling Jennings at peak value.
Jennings has two catches for nine yards on five targets in four appearances this season. He signed a one-year deal worth $8 million, with incentives that could reach $13 million, but has not carved out a steady role next to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
That marks a sharp drop from his final two years with the San Francisco 49ers. Jennings caught 77 passes for 975 yards and six touchdowns in 2024, then added 55 receptions for 643 yards and nine scores last season. He has 22 career receiving touchdowns.
Green Bay does not necessarily need another featured receiver. Watson and Golden combined for 266 receiving yards against Chicago, and Jordan Love threw for 367 yards and two touchdowns in that win.
Behind those two, the group is thinner than it once was. Reed is out, Romeo Doubs left in free agency, and the Packers traded Dontayvion Wicks to the Philadelphia Eagles. Those moves leave general manager Brian Gutekunst with fewer proven backups if Watson or Golden misses time.
At 6-foot-3, Jennings brings size and experience that could help on contested catches and third downs. His limited production in Minnesota makes any deal a gamble, though a change of scenery could help him regain form.
The teams have dealt before. In the 2022 draft, Minnesota sent Green Bay the No. 34 pick, which the Packers used on Watson, in exchange for two second-round selections.
The Vikings have shown they will trade with Green Bay when the return works. Whether they would do so now, while protecting an unbeaten start, remains uncertain.
For a Packers team trying to stay in the division race, the question is not only whether Jennings can help. It is how much Minnesota would demand to let him go.
