The Green Bay Packers decided to sit receiver and return man Randall Cobb in the season finale to rest his injured ankle, although it sounds like he could have played. He won’t be sitting when the Packers face the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round.
Cobb said it’s 100 percent certain he’ll play this week.
There’s some question what Cobb’s role will be though.
In his absence, the Packers used rookie Jeremy Ross on returns. He responded with a big day, averaging 20.5 yards on two punt returns and 28.7 on three kickoff returns.
After Cobb injured his ankle returning a punt in week 16, coach Mike McCarthy insisted the Packers would keep their leading receiver on returns. Ross’ emergence might make the Packers reevaluate that decision.
Although the Packers lost to the Vikings, you can’t say it was because Cobb wasn’t on the field. The passing game didn’t miss a beat and Greg Jennings stepped up with his best game of the season, catching eight balls for 120 yards and two scores.
Cobb’s return, although welcome, will just add to the wealth of options the Packers have offensively.
If only he could play defense and tackle Adrian Peterson…