GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers receiver Romeo Doubs missed his homecoming game in Los Angeles on Sunday.
The Packers hope there’s a homecoming with Doubs on Monday.
After skipping practice on Thursday and Friday, the Packers on Saturday suspended Doubs for the 24-19 victory over the Rams in his hometown of Los Angeles.
“I’m looking forward to our conversation tomorrow,” coach Matt LaFleur said after the game. “So, I fully anticipate him coming back and am hopeful that he’ll come back and get ready to work.
“Distractions happen in the National Football League. Distractions happen in life. You’ve got to do your best to focus on the task at hand. I thought our guys did a pretty good job of that.”
Doubs was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team. His Instagram account includes no mention of his association with the Packers. His X account lists “Video Gaming” rather than Green Bay or Los Angeles as his home.
A source told Packers on SI on Friday morning that Doubs was upset with his role on the offense. Another source said he also was unhappy with his role in this week’s game plan. That squares with Doubs’ presence at practice on Wednesday but his absence on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, we had to make the difficult decision to suspend Romeo for this week’s game,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said in the team’s announcement. “His decisions and actions during the week negatively impacted the team and required us to take this action.
“While we are certainly disappointed, we are confident that we will be able to move forward in a positive manner. Romeo is a valuable member of our team and we look forward to welcoming him back next week.”
Last year, the Packers suspended Jaire Alexander for one game, the last straw being his self-appointed captaincy for a game at Carolina. In making that announcement, Gutekunst used the same phrasing as with Doubs, saying “We look forward to welcoming him back next week.”
For Alexander and the Packers, the suspension served as a fresh start in their relationship.
“I thought he responded, he did an outstanding job,” LaFleur said at the end of the season. “Sometimes, whether if it’s in football or life, sometimes you go through some hardship and you’re better for it.
“I think Ja could sit here and tell you, as tough as that was, really, on everybody here, I do think our level of communication will be so much clearer and consistent. I think there’s a lot of good that actually ended up coming out of that.”
The Packers clearly are hoping for the same reaction from Doubs, who during training camp said, “If anybody’s ego gets in the way, we know better.”
Without Doubs, Jordan Love was 15-of-26 passing for 224 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. After a horrendous pick-six late in the first half, he finished 10-of-15 for 152 yards to rally the Packers from a 13-7 deficit.
Without Doubs, receiver Christian Watson (ankle) and tight end Luke Musgrave (ankle), tight end Tucker Kraft caught four passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns, Jayden Reed caught four passes for 78 yards, Dontayvion Wicks caught two passes for 20 yards, Malik Heath caught two passes for 14 yards and Bo Melton caught one pass for 12 yards.
“To be honest, I think it’s more opportunity,” said Wicks, who had a team-high seven targets. “Like I said during the week, it’s a chance to step up, feel the room and having a bigger role in helping your team win. We only have four [receivers] up but we believed in each other and our offense believed in us.”
The Packers won at Minnesota without Alexander last year and they won at Los Angeles without Doubs on Sunday.
“We’ve just got to stay together collectively,” Reed said. “That’s the most important thing.”
