Sammy Watkins is heading to Green Bay as the Packers attempt to rebuild their receiving corps after trading All-Pro Davante Adams.
General manager Brian Gutekunst on Thursday announced the of Watkins signing. The Packers have needed to upgrade at receiver since trading Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders for first- second-round picks in the draft at the end of the month.
Watkins, who turns 29 in two months, was drafted by the Buffalo Bills with the No. 4 pick in 2014 after a stellar career at Clemson. He has 348 catches for 5,059 yards and 34 touchdowns, but much of that production came early in his career before he was hampered by injuries.
Watkins caught 65 passes for 982 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie, and he followed that up with 60 receptions for 1,047 yards and nine touchdowns in 2015.
But he has exceeded 600 yards receiving just once in six seasons since. He hasn’t caught more than three touchdown passes in a season since 2017, when he scored eight with the Los Angeles Rams. Packers coach Matt LaFleur was the Rams offensive coordinator during that season.
Watkins caught 27 passes for 394 yards and only one touchdown last season with the Baltimore Ravens, his fourth NFL team. He previously played for the Bills (2014-16), Rams (2017) and the Kansas City Chiefs (2018-20).
The move reunites Watkins with Packers receivers coach/passing game coordinator Jason Vrable, who worked with the Bills in a variety of roles from 2013-16. Vrable was an offensive quality control coach, assistant quarterbacks coach and interim running backs coach with the Bills.
Adams in March signed a five-year deal with the Raiders that will pay him $141.25 million, including $65.67 million guaranteed, in the richest deal ever for a wide receiver.
