NFL insider: Packers made run at Raiders TE Darren Waller among others before trade deadline

Green Bay surprised plenty of people by standing pat at the NFL’s trade deadline. At the time, the Packers sat at 3-5 and looked desperate for help in terms of weapons. With the deadline behind us now, reports are coming in suggesting who Green Bay was interested in acquiring. Based on what the sources say, the Packers came up empty on their big game hunt.

Per reports from NFL.com, one of the biggest targets the franchise locked in on was Las Vegas tight end Darren Waller. However, the Raiders backed off because of their investment and the importance Waller has within their offense.

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“Sources say Green Bay made a strong run at Raiders star tight end Darren Waller, attempting to acquire the dynamic offensive weapon at the deadline,” read the report from Ian Rapoport & Tom Pelissero. “For Las Vegas, Waller was deemed too valuable to deal, especially because they just signed him to a three-year, $51 million extension on Sept. 10.”

Waller is as good as it gets when it comes to tight ends in the NFL. The 2020 Pro Bowler has caught 268 passes for 3,181 yards and 15 touchdowns over the last four seasons. Waller has appeared in just five games in 2022, though, with a hamstring injury that has kept him out since he suffered it in Week 5 against Kansas City.

Waller isn’t the only player the Packers were looking at, though. With the rest of the NFC North buying and selling, Green Bay also looked at trades for former Steelers WR Chase Claypool and Panthers WR DJ Moore. Still, they came up empty and, in the end, Aaron Rodgers says it’s okay. He told the media on Wednesday that he had faith in his front office. Things just didn’t work out for them when it came to the trade block.

“The compensation for whatever players we were going after just didn’t make sense,” Rodgers said. “I trust (Packers GM) Brian (Gutekunst). We had some good conversations. We were in on some things. It just didn’t pan out.”

The Packer’s loss to Detroit today did not make things any better. It was yet another performance that had the fanbase wishing they’d made a move as the sources suggested. Those reports will go down as nothing more than teases for the Green Bay faithful, though, as the 2022 season carries on.