When wide receiver Romeo Doubs didn't practice on Thursday, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said he would expect the player to be back on Friday. He wasn't. After all, Doubs ended up being listed as doubtful to play against the Los Angeles Rams for a non-injury related issue.

According to Bill Huber, who covers the Packers for Sports Illustrated, the reason is now known. Doubs, a third-year receiver, is frustrated with his role within the offense.

Huber mentioned that Doubs "is upset with his opportunities in the passing game" and that team officials found him at his home because they were concerned about his well-being when he did not go to practice.

And now?

That's the main answer. But now, there are several related questions as a consequence. The first is how reasonable Doubs’ demand is.

After all, he has had 20 targets according to ESPN, which is third on the team — and just two behind Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks. It's much more than Christian Watson, for instance, who's had only eight. Doubs is on pace to finish the season with 85 targets, which is slightly less than the 96 he had in 2023 — and you must consider that the Packers have two games with backup quarterback Malik Willis, and one of them was an extremely run-heavy gameplan against the Indianapolis Colts.

Considering the target distribution is not negative for Doubs to justify that, it’s fair to wonder if there’s something else going on. Maybe he wasn’t happy with the plan for the Los Angeles Rams game, but that’s all impossible to know at this moment.

The third question, and this one is for the offensive structure and leadership, is how smart would it be to really feed Romeo Doubs. So far this season, Doubs has a 69.8 passer rating when targeted, well below Jayden Reed (148.9), Tucker Kraft (129.2), and Christian Watson (95.8), and slightly below Dontayvion Wicks (72.7).

Biggest question

No other point is bigger for the Packers than what it means for Romeo Doubs' future with the team. The wide receiver is in his third NFL season, so he will be eligible to get an extension next offseason — it's possible that what can effectively be a contract year is a consideration in Doubs' mind.

Doubs is making $985k in 2024 and is slated to make $1.1 million in 2025, the last year of his rookie deal.

If things keep as they are for the Packers through the end of the season, it would be hard to justify an extension. They will probably opt to pay Jayden Reed soon, so keeping Doubs (and probably Christian Watson as well) playing with their rookie deals until year 4 is sensible.

With this Doubs' approach, the big priority is to check Doubs' health and personal circumstances. The second is to evaluate what his future will look like — whether it is in Green Bay or not.

It's not something the Packers would expect from a player like Romeo Doubs, and certainly something this team doesn't need right now. But it's something general manager Brian Gutekunst and head coach Matt LaFleur will have to manage, and there are several questions left to answer.

Meanwhile

Romeo Doubs is questionable to play against the Los Angeles Rams because of this issue. And it comes at the worst possible time, because Christian Watson is also doubtful with an ankle injury — which is particularly interesting, considering that Doubs could end up with more opportunities during Watson’s absence.

The available wide receivers on the active 53-man roster are Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton, and Malik Heath. Green Bay still has Julian Hicks, Cornelius Johnson, and TJ Luther available on the practice squad — and one or two of them might be elevated for gameday.

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