Will the Packers pay Doubs or Watson? What a potential contract extension could look like

USA Today

10 hours ago

In Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson, the Green Bay Packers have two wide receivers set to hit free agency next spring who have been a major part of their offense in the last three years.
After selecting two wideouts in the first three rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, Green Bay is in a strong position in terms of numbers at the receiver position and is under no pressure to retain either Doubs or Watson in 2026 and beyond.
They could enter next season with Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Matthew Golden and Savion Williams as the top four and depending on how 2025 goes, feel confident in that group.
But after a strong training camp by Doubs, and with Watson appearing to be ahead of schedule in his return from an ACL injury, could the Packers still decide they want to keep one of the fourth-year receivers after the end of their rookie deal?
At this point, Doubs obviously has the easier path to earning a new contract in Green Bay with Watson set to miss part of the regular season.
Of all the Packers' receivers, Doubs is probably the least exciting. His highs have not been as high as Watson or Wicks, but he has been an extremely reliable target for Jordan Love over the last two seasons.
Partly due to Wicks picking up an injury in camp, Doubs has been running as an unquestioned starter in two-receiver sets all summer and keeps making plays. There have not been many signs previously that he could truly break out and become more than a solid receiver, but his chemistry with Love could boost his production to a new level in 2025.
Watson's injury clearly complicates things, but when he is on the field, he has a combination of size and speed which is hard to find and is something opposing defenses have to gameplan for.
He has real value to Green Bay's offense and would be difficult to truly replace.
Matt LaFleur spoke glowingly about Watson on Thursday for not only the player, but the person he is.
LaFleur said: 'He's a great teammate, a great leader on our football team. I can't say enough great things about him."
Another argument for extending one of the two is that if they do both walk next year, they will probably be the most sought after receivers available in what is not expected to be a strong free agent class.
So, what would an extension for either Doubs or Watson look like? And should the Packers do it?
There is credence to the argument that teams should not pay the "middle class" of their roster, instead saving contract extensions for truly great players and looking to replace anyone below that level through the draft.
However, there are other teams who have extended receivers below the top tier in recent years, so a decent framework of those kinds of contracts has been established.
There are nine NFL receivers currently being paid between $10 million and $15 million in average annual value (AAV):
A three-year deal would seem to be the ideal structure, likely set up in a way where the Packers can get out after year two.
In terms of salary, Slayton at $12 million AAV is likely the floor for what Doubs or Watson should command.
Kupp's $15 million is probably be paying respect to what he has done previously, not the player he is now, so Doubs or Watson may not get quite that much. Somewhere in the $12 million to $14 million range is probably the sweet spot.
Ultimately, the play of rookie first-round pick Golden, who looks the part in camp, fellow rookie Williams, as well as Reed and Wicks, will go a long way to helping the Packers make up their mind on whether they want Doubs or Watson around beyond this season.
Entering the season though, it is certainly not off the table that one of them could be part of Green Bay's long-term plans at receiver.