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Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff Writer
Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Monday he came away from his meeting with suspended receiver Romeo Doubs optimistic the issues that led to the team’s disciplinary action have been addressed.
The team suspended Doubs on Saturday for one game after he missed two days of practice and meetings on Thursday and Friday last week. The Packers beat the host Rams 24-19 without Doubs, who will be reinstated this week.
“What’s done is done,” LaFleur said Monday. “We’re moving forward. I expect us collectively as a team to continue to move that way.”
A report from Sports Illustrated said Doubs was upset about his opportunities in the passing game over the first four games of the season, two of which were played without starting quarterback Jordan Love. Doubs, who is in his third season with the Packers, has not spoken to reporters since he left the team last week.
LaFleur said it would be a “one-day-at-a-time” process when it came to regaining trust with Doubs and the team.
“The one thing I’ll say about it is it’s a pretty isolated incident,” LaFleur said. “This has not happened with him before and I don’t expect it to happen moving forward.”
Before Sunday, Doubs ranked second on the team with 20 catches for 169 yards but did not have a touchdown. Meanwhile, second-year pro Jayden Reed has emerged as one of the Packers’ top receivers, if not the No. 1 receiver, despite playing mostly in the slot. With Christian Watson also sitting out Sunday’s game because of an ankle injury, Reed caught four passes for 78 yards against the Rams.
The Packers went into Sunday’s game with only four active receivers: Reed, Dontayvion Wicks (two catches for 20 yards), Malik Heath (two for 14) and Bo Melton (one for 12). When asked after the game if those four rallied around one another in the wake of Doubs’ suspension, Reed said: “Yeah, of course. We’re here right now today, so that showed a lot.”
Reed added he had spoken with Doubs and said, “He’s doing good.”
One of the most popular storylines around the Packers going into the season was the lack of a true No. 1 receiver but rather a large collection of capable pass catchers, including the tight end group, which got a big game Sunday from Tucker Kraft (four catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns).
“I would love everybody to go out and get every number they’d love to hit,” LaFleur said. “Especially for myself in trying to set up this team, it’s all about winning and how do you put each piece together to go out there and win games. We’re fortunate we have a lot of players we have a lot of confidence in, specifically on the offensive side of the ball in regards to trying to get everybody involved. It’s a good problem to have, but it could potentially be a problem if you let it be. I think for the most part our guys have done a really good job of just putting the team first.”