GREEN BAY, Wis. -- It’s not like the Green Bay Packers' tight ends were tearing it up before Jared Cook got hurt, but since the veteran went down in Week 3 with an ankle injury the tight ends have been practically nonexistent in the passing game.
For the season, the Packers rank 31st in the NFL in tight-end receptions, ahead of only the New York Jets -- and it’s never good to be ahead of only the Jets in anything. The trio of Cook, Richard Rodgers and Justin Perillo have combined for just 17 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown through seven games.
In the four full games without Cook, the Packers tight ends have just five catches for 32 yards (one for 4 yards by Perillo, four for 28 yards by Rodgers).
“Well, I’m glad you brought that up, because usually when you guys bring something up like that, it means the tight ends are going to have a big game this week,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Thursday.
The opportunities haven’t been plentiful. McCarthy has favored a receiver-heavy package in large part to make up for the lack of a running game following injuries to Eddie Lacy (ankle) and James Starks (knee).
Rodgers played 26 of 62 snaps in Sunday’s loss at Atlanta, while Perillo played only three. Neither was targeted for a single pass.
“We’ve only got two tight ends that are active; that’s part of it too, in fairness to both Richard and Justin,” McCarthy said. “As far as the game planning, you’re really conscientious of never being just one player out of a personnel group, so there’s not a ton of two-tight-end groups. We don’t really have our three-tight-end group available. So that’s part of the reason. Frankly, who you’re playing against is a big part of it, too. We’ll see how the game shakes out.”
Rodgers slimmed down this offseason in part because he wanted to get quicker and improve on his 8.8-yards-per-catch average from last season. But at least last season he was a bigger part of the offense with 58 catches. This year, he’s on pace for just 21 catches.
Meanwhile, Cook’s return appears to be at least a week away. He did not practice on Wednesday, which gives him little or no chance to play Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. When asked last week if he was ready to return to practice, he said: “I wish.”
Before his injury, Cook had only six catches for 53 yards in two-and-a-half games.
