Packers Workout Veteran WR Keke Coutee. Packers News Today.
Brian Gutekunst is mining for hidden gold
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In the wake of Aaron Rodgers being traded and Jordan Love taking over one of the biggest questions has been “Do the Packers have enough receiving talent around Jordan Love?”
The real answer right now is we don’t really know. Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs are the most experienced receivers on the Packers roster which is really saying something considering they’re only entering year two.
That may not be the case for long.
In the past hour news broke that the Packers have worked out WR Keke Coutee. It came out here from Aaron Wilson.
Here’s a little bit of a background on Keke Coutee for those who are unfamiliar:
Played college football at Texas Tech from 2015-2017
Drafted by the Texans in the 4th round in 2018
5’11 181 pounds, runs a 4.43 40
From 2018-2020 never had more than 400 yards in a season with the Texans
Only had 2 receptions the past 2 years in Indianapolis
While Coute does have experience in the NFL, he’s never been a very productive receiver at this point in his career. Here are his full stats for his career per PFF.
If you guys have been reading me for a while I always try to see the good in things and never want to diminish the possibility of something changing. I always like to give guys the benefit of the doubt about turning their career around. At my core I’m just a die hard Packers fan, but I also try to look at things realistically.
The fact that he was unable to get much playing time with the Colts concerns me because they don’t have a top tier receiving room. He did return 17 punts for the Colts last year for 152 yards, but he also muffed 3 punts per PFF. That’s slightly concerning.
The Packers must see something in him because they don’t work out a guy if they don’t see potential. I never assume that I somehow know more than the guys in the front office that do this kind of thing for a living. He does have speed and experience. It’s possible they think they can use him in ways past teams didn’t. There could be some untapped potential.
Brian Gutekunst has done a good job at finding hidden gems that at the time of signing don’t jump off the page as great signings.
Just look at Rasul Douglas being signed off of the Cardinals practice squad and De’vondre Campbell being picked up for only a $2 million contract his first year in Green Bay. If the Packers do end up signing him it’s because they see something that they can work with. As Aaron Wilson said, it doesn’t look like they will sign him soon but it’s possible in the next few weeks.
One of the reasons the Packers haven’t made a big name free agent signing is because they are pretty hampered by their cap situation, mainly with Aaron Rodgers $40 million cap hit still being carried in 2023 after the trade to New York.
According to over the cap the Packers have around $16 million of cap space but from what I’ve read at minimum it’ll take around $5million or so to sign Packers draft picks. It could get up to $10 million. Then you throw in needing extra money in the season to make pick ups in case of injury and the front office doesn’t have much money to work with.
That’s why a signing like this could make sense.
They likely get Coutee at a league minimum contract which is something the Packers could work with. It’s possible because of the inexperience in the Packers receiver room that Coutee could have a shot at taking one of the final roster spots heading into 2023 if he does get signed.
He at least knows what it’s like to play in the NFL which is something most of the Packers receivers know little if anything about.
At the end of the day you bring in as much talent as possible and wait for the best to rise to the top. The receiver competition will be one to watch this training camp. I’d say that there are 4 guys that make the team no doubt in Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Samori Toure, and Jayden Reed. Outside of those guys there is going to be lots of competition. As a refresher here are the 10 receivers currently on the roster.
5 players entering year 2:
Christian Watson
Romeo Doubs
Samori Toure
Bo Melton
Jeff Cotton
5 Rookies/undrafted free agents
Jayden Reed
Dontayvion Wicks
Grant Dubose
Deuce Watts
Malik Heath
We’ve got a plethora of young talent with potential. If Coutee ends up joining the mix I wouldn’t rule out him making the 53 man roster. I’ll keep you guys updated on whether or not the Packers end up officially signing him.
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Thanks for the update Luke!