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Packers WR Romeo Doubs skipped practices due to role frustration

Green Bay Packers receiver Romeo Doubs skipped practice Thursday and did not attend Friday because he was upset about his chances in the passing game, sources told Packers On SI.

Since he hasn’t practiced the past two days, he is officially questionable for Sunday’s game at the Los Angeles Rams.

“It’s still an everyday occurrence,” coach Matt LaFleur said after practice.

Doubs practiced Wednesday but did not show up Thursday. Concerned about Doubs’ well-being, team representatives found him at his home.

After that practice, LaFleur said “I hope so” when asked if Doubs would practice Friday. However, he was not on the field for the second day in a row.

The strange thing is that Doubs is third on the team with 20 goals (just two behind Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks, who have 22 each) and more than twice as many as Christian Watson’s eight. Against the Minnesota Vikings, Wicks had 13 targets, tied for the most during the Jordan Love era. Tucker Kraft had nine and Doubs and Reed each had eight.

Last year, Doubs had a team-high 96 goals — two more than Reed and well ahead of Wicks (58) and Watson (53), who finished third and fourth.

Averaging five goals per game to start the season, Doubs is on pace for 85 this year, which isn’t far off last year’s tally. The start comes after the Packers played two games without Love and Malik Willis threw just 33 passes when he started against the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans, which at least partially explains the slight decline in opportunities. With Watson out for at least the week with an ankle injury, Doubs figured to be in line for more opportunities against the Rams on Sunday.

A source close to Doubs declined to comment.

One of the strengths of last year’s offense leading up to the playoffs was the all-for-one, one-for-all mentality of the receiving corps. The youngest group in the NFL was also one of the deepest and most talented players in the league. Everyone seemed to understand that one receiver could have a big play one week and someone else could be the focal point of the passing game the next week.

How would the team maintain that mentality now that everyone had proven they could be impact players?

“Just being there for each other,” Doubs said during training camp. ‘The answer is very simple. If someone’s ego gets in the way, we know better. The game just isn’t like that. You stay balanced, hold each other up and play with the ball as it should be.’

Doubs agreed that this may have been easier said than done.

“I believe we have that buy-in,” he said. “We have a really good receiving area and our goal is to play ball and just be there for each other.”

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs (87) tries to catch a low pass during the seventh practice of training camp.

Doubs expressed optimism about the ability of Green Bay’s receivers to stay motivated and focused on winning during training camp. / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK

Last year, Reed led the team with 64 receptions as a rookie and Doubs was next with 59. Doubs and Reed led the Packers with eight touchdown catches, and Doubs was among the NFL leaders with seven red zone touchdowns . .

This year Doubs has not scored. Packers quarterbacks have thrown 21 passes in the red zone. Doubs was targeted three times: two against Philadelphia and one last week against Minnesota, when he bounced the ball and was shot just outside the goal line. Last year, his target share in the red zone was 18.0%. This year it is 14.3%.

Doubs and Watson are in their third season. While they may not be at the forefront, second contracts are on the horizon, whether it be an extension during next year’s season or free agency after next season. Although the tape is the tape, the numbers equal dollars.

Six receivers make at least $30 million per season and 23 receivers make at least $20 million per season.

After two stellar playoff games against the Cowboys and 49ers that ended last season — his first career 100-yard game came in Dallas — the stage seemed set for Doubs to at least take a step toward stardom. However, through four games, Doubs has caught 12 passes for 169 yards and zero touchdowns. That’s a 17-game pace of 51 receptions for 718 yards.

Reed, meanwhile, has burst onto the scene, entering the week ranked sixth in receiving yards. Wicks is tied for fourth with three touchdown catches.

“My opinion is that the ball finds good energy,” Reed said during training camp. “If you support your teammates and your teammates support you, if you have a good group that all looks out for each other and wants each other to do great, then everyone is going to eat. That’s how I look at it.

“The ball will always find the right energy. I don’t care if I haven’t had any catches for three weeks. If we win, I’ll be happy. That’s just my mentality.”

Packers running back Josh Jacobs, who is still looking for his first touchdown with the team, had 32 touches (all carries) in the Week 2 win over the Colts. Over the past two weeks, he had fifteen hits against the Titans and thirteen against the Vikings. That’s just part of the game, he said on Friday.

“For me personally, I played a lot of football. I know how things go,” he said. “It might be a few weeks where you don’t see it and then there might be a game where you get three (touchdowns) in a game. It’s kind of the flow of the competition.”