It wouldn’t be any sort of surprise to us if the Green Bay Packers parted ways with receiver Jeff Janis this year. He’s entering his fourth NFL season and thus far, hasn’t made an impact as a receiver — outside of a single playoff game.
Throw in the Packers’ current depth at the position and someone certainly needs to go.
The thing that’s kept Janis around thus far — special teams — may not be enough to save him, this year. And if you thought he would finally come on as a receiver this training camp, it isn’t happening so far.
Tom Silverstein delivered this summation.
So far in training camp, Jeff Janis is looking like an afterthought as a receiver… No doubt the Packers still could use someone with Janis’ 4.42 speed to stretch defenses, but through four days of practice, he has been almost invisible in team drills. He has had few passes thrown his way and none of the occasional deep shots he got in training camp last season. Those instead have gone to second-year pro Trevor Davis, who like Janis ran a 4.42 40 at the NFL scouting combine. Davis, Geronimo Allison, draft picks DeAngelo Yancey (fifth round) and Malachi Dupre (seventh round), and practice-squad holdover Max McCaffrey all have been targeted more than Janis so far. On Monday, Janis finally had his first catch in 11-on-11s through four practices, on a short slant from Joe Callahan. But he also dropped a short throw along the sideline after a Rodgers’ scramble.
For whatever reason, Janis has never seemed to be able to get on the same page as quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Coach Mike McCarthy has never been willing to give him significant playing time on offense.
He’s obviously not doing himself any favors to change those things thus far in 2017.
If I had to place a bet, I would bet the Packers will end up choosing one of the younger receivers — someone they think has the potential to contribute at that position moving forward — over Janis and whatever he brings on special teams.
You don’t have to look any further than last year to find the Packers releasing a really good special teammer. They dropped safety Chris Banjo a year after he was named a playoff captain.