Packers place wide receiver Devin Funchess on injured reserve

The Green Bay Packers have placed wide receiver Devin Funchess on injured reserve with a lingering hamstring injury, ending his 2021 season before it began, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Wednesday.

Funchess in 2019 signed with the Indianapolis Colts and played just one regular-season game before breaking his collarbone and missing the remainder of the season. He proceeded to sign with the Packers; however, following his new contract, Funchess decided to opt-out of the 2020 NFL season.

In March of 2020, Funchess signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract (which included a $1 million signing bonus) with the Packers. Between his opt-out and his now season-ending injury, Funchess — after playing just one game on the Indianapolis Colts — could finish his Green Bay Packers career without playing a single game.

Funchess was on the bubble for a roster spot; after his opt-out in 2020, the Packers slightly rebuilt their wide receiving corp, so he was not guaranteed a spot. Green Bay drafted Amari Rodgers, a wide receiver out of Clemson, in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and it proceeded to trade for Randall Cobb in July. Cobb, a former Packer, was reunited with his former team of eight years at quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ request.

Last season, the Packers had Davante Adams as their biggest playmaker at wide receiver, but the breakouts by Allen Lazard and Marquez Valdes-Scantling would have made a competition for Funchess in making the active 53-man roster.

While Schefter reported that Funchess will miss the entire 2021 season, if Funchess recovers sooner, he will only be able to play again this season if he accepts an injury settlement and is waived. However, if that happens, there’s no guarantee he plays with Green Bay, as every NFL team will have the opportunity to claim him off waivers. In addition, the Packers wouldn’t be able to sign him for an undisclosed period of time.

In five NFL seasons — four with the Carolina Panthers and one game with the Colts — Funchess has been targeted 320 times, reeling in 164 passes and tallying 2,265 yards along with 21 touchdowns.

Funchess was not the only wide receiver cleared from the roster on Wednesday, as Green Bay made a couple moves: the Packers also cut wide receiver Chris Blair, a rookie wide receiver from Alcorn State University. Amidst their recent round of cuts, the Packers have signed defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson, an undrafted free agent out of Bucknell who spent three seasons with the Chicago Bears, and cornerback Stephen Denmark, a 2019 seventh-round pick out of Valdosta State who has not appeared in a regular-season NFL game.