In case they didn’t know, Packers wide receiver Davante Adams got the three rookie wideouts on the roster together before practice to set the expectations.
With Adams on the injury report and not practicing yesterday with a calf injury, and Randall Cobb (hamstring) and Geronimo Allison (concussion) on the mend as well, the Packers might be down to three rookies Sunday at Detroit. So fourth-rounder J’Mon Moore, fifth-rounder Marquez Valdes-Scantling and sixth-rounder Equanimeous St. Brown have to be ready.
“We’ve got two starters down right now and we don’t know the timeline of their return, so they’re counting on us to go out there and not have any fall-off from what they were doing to what we’ve got to do,” Valdes-Scantling said of Adams’ message, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com.
That’s a weighty responsibility, because none of them have very much experience.
Valdes-Scantling has the most of the group, with 74 offensive snaps this year, and 54 of them coming last week against the Bills with Cobb inactive. He also has two catches, the only ones from this year’s draft class. Moore played his only 11 snaps of the season against the Bills. St. Brown hasn’t taken a snap on offense this season.
The group took a tongue-lashing from Rodgers in training camp, but time has passed. Also, he might not have any choice but work with them this week.
“I think we’ve grown a lot,” Valdes-Scantling said. “We’re still learning. We’re still growing, but from that day to now, there’s been a lot of progress made, a lot of plays have been made, a lot of trust has been earned. I think that’s something we had to do over time.”
Their time is now.