Amari

Rodgers

Rodgers had signed with the Colts’ practice squad prior to the season and is now on the team’s active roster. Primarily a special teams contributor so far in his career, Rodgers will be depth for the Colts.

Rodgers was waived by the Packers in the middle of the season last year. The Texans then claimed him and used him as a reserve wideout and a special teams contributor. With the Colts having a relatively young receiving room, Rodgers makes sense as a versatile player who can fill multiple roles for the team. The former third-round pick could compete for both punt and kick return duties in Indianapolis.

A mid-season waiver claim last year, Rodgers mostly contributed on special teams. It didn’t take the new coaching staff long to figure out the 23-year-old would be one of the odd men out in a deeper 2023 receiver group. Rodgers has youth and former third-round draft capital working in his favor, but he hits the free agent market with an undistinguished resume.

The Texans claimed Rodgers off waivers after Green Bay put the axe on him and he played a fairly large role for the team down the stretch, producing a 4/57/1 game against the Cowboys and seeing at least 40 percent of the snaps in four of the team’s last five games. He has return experience and will be on the third year of his rookie deal, so he enters 2023 as a likely depth piece at wideout for the Texans.

Rodgers got open on a Jeff Driskel out-of-structure ball in the red zone and turned it into points by beating a couple of Dallas defenders to the ball. While we certainly wouldn’t rule out Rodgers becoming a bigger part of the Texans offense, ancillary parts of Houston’s offense have not exactly done much in fantasy since 2020. Regardless, Rodgers is back on the fantasy radar for the first time since losing the trust of the Packers in 2021.

The former third-round pick was cut by Green Bay yesterday. He rarely got reps at receiver but was a consistent presence for the Packers’ special teams unit. In two seasons with the Packers, Rodgers secured eight catches for 95 yards.

Rodgers was only involved on offensive plays when Green Bay’s other younger receivers dealt with injuries. He also had somehow managed to fumble five times -- mostly on special teams -- in his 184 snaps on offense and specials this season. He’ll head to waivers. He might be a reclamation project elsewhere, but what he showed with the Packers wasn’t too enticing.

Rodgers is a late addition to the injury report, getting in a limited practice Friday. The Packers are already down Randall Cobb (ankle, IR) while Romeo Doubs (high-ankle sprain) is expected to be sidelined multiple weeks. Rodgers played over 30% of snaps the last four weeks but hasn’t been featured in the offense, seeing just eight targets. Missing Week 10 would open playing time for Christian Watson and Samori Toure in three-wide sets.

Cobb was carted from the field in Sunday’s loss to the Jets, but the news appears to be mostly good for the veteran wide receiver. Already thin at receiver, the Packers can ill-afford to lose Cobb, whose 257 receiving yards is second on the team behind Allen Lazard. The team won’t rule out the possibility of placing Cobb on injured reserve, although nothing has been confirmed at this time. Second-year receiver Amari Rodgers replaced Cobb in the slot and could be in line for a heavier workload in the coming weeks.

“His route-running is already cleaner and crisper,” Vrable added. (Checks watch.) Yep, it’s May. The Packers certainly have a void at wideout, and Rodgers could potentially fill it if he takes a giant step forward. But it also says a lot about how they felt about him last season that he barely got on the field and the organization drafted three wideouts and signed Sammy Watkins. Rodgers played just 103 offensive snaps last season. His returner skills might save him from a roster battle.