GREEN BAY, Wisc. — The Green Bay Packers ended the season without the top four receivers they planned to take into the season.
The final domino in an injury-marred campaign for the deep and talented position group came Saturday night. Randall Cobb suffered an injury to his chest while making a circus catch late in the first quarter of the 26-20 overtime loss at the Arizona Cardinals in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Cobb left the game and later was taken to a Phoenix-area hospital for overnight observation after his one-handed, 51-yard snag of an Aaron Rodgers deep ball. Cardinals defensive back Justin Bethel landed on top of Cobb at the end of the play, which was nullified because of offsetting penalties.
Green Bay went into the game without Davante Adams, who suffered a knee injury in the first-round playoff win against the Washington Redskins.
The Packers were down to only veteran starter James Jones and the previously little-used tandem of Jared Abbrederis and Jeff Janis for the rest of the game after Cobb exited.
While Jones was shut out with only two passes thrown his way because of tight coverage by Cardinals standout Patrick Peterson, the Packers received a lift from Abbrederis and Janis.
They combined for 11 receptions for 200 yards in 23 pass targets after having an aggregate 11 catches for 190 yards during the regular season.
Janis made a name for himself in Green Bay postseason lore with seven catches for 145 yards and two touchdowns. His two biggest catches came in a span of three plays in the final minute of regulation — first for 60 yards on a deep ball from Aaron Rodgers on fouth-and-20 from the Packers’ 4-yard line and then on Rodgers’ Hail Mary loft of 41 yards into the end zone for a touchdown as the clock expired to force overtime.
“It’s just crazy,” Janis said Monday about those late-game heroics. “It doesn’t happen to most people.”
The emergence of Abbrederis and Janis at the end of their second pro season could force general manager Ted Thompson’s hand on how to move forward with the receiver corps in the offseason.
The 31-year-old Jones will be a free agent in March. He returned to the team before the season started on a one-year deal after Green Bay lost top receiver Jordy Nelson to a season-ending knee injury in the preseason.
As the players cleaned out their lockers at Lambeau Field on Monday and had their exit interviews with coaches, Jones expressed a desire to remain with the team.
“I’ve said it before, I would love to finish my career here, but I said that last time,” he said, referring to his departure as a free agent after the 2013 season. “So, it’s a crazy business. We’ll see what happens.”
The Packers already have Nelson, Cobb, Adams, Abbrederis, Janis and Ty Montgomery in the fold going into next season. Montgomery, a third-round draft pick last year, had his rookie season cut short by an ankle injury he sustained in Week 6.
–By virtue of bowing out in the second weekend of the playoffs, the Packers are slotted to pick 27th in the first round of the NFL Draft, which starts April 28.
Out of the four teams that lost during the divisional round, only the Kansas City Chiefs will pick lower than Green Bay in Round 1, at No. 28. The Chiefs (11-5) finished with a better record than the Packers (10-6) in the regular season.
If Green Bay stays put, it will pick No. 27 for the first time since the league expanded the first round to 32 selections in 2002. The Packers’ last time picking 27th was in 1996 with the choice of USC offensive tackle John Michels.
–Wide receiver Randall Cobb (chest) was released from a Phoenix-area hospital Sunday. The team’s top receiver suffered what was widely reported as a bruised lung after making a spectacular one-handed, 51-yard catch late in the first quarter of Green Bay’s 26-20 overtime loss on the road against the Arizona Cardinals in the divisional round of the playoffs Saturday night. Cardinals defensive back Justin Bethel landed on Cobb’s chest as they fell to the ground at the end of the pass play, which was wiped out because of offsetting penalties.
–Defensive back/returner Micah Hyde (hip) left the overtime loss at Arizona on Saturday night early in the second quarter and didn’t return. Hyde aggravated the hip injury while making a tackle on defense. His absence forced the Packers to turn to receiver Jared Abbrederis as their punt returner the rest of the game.
–Cornerback Sam Shields returned to action and made the start in the overtime loss at Arizona on Saturday night. Shields missed the previous four games, including the opening-round playoff win at the Washington Redskins, because of a concussion. Shields had two of the Packers’ six pass breakups against the Cardinals, but the veteran standout also dropped what could have been as many as three interceptions of passes thrown by Carson Palmer.
–Left tackle David Bakhtiari returned to the starting lineup for Saturday night’s overtime loss to the Cardinals. Bakhtiari missed the previous three games because of what he revealed Monday to be significant ligament damage in his left ankle. His return to action helped limit the Cardinals to only one sack of Aaron Rodgers after Arizona sacked the quarterback eight times when Bakhtiari didn’t play the Packers’ 30-point loss in Week 16.
–Cornerback Robertson Daniel was inactive for the playoff defeat at Arizona on Saturday night. The Packers promoted Daniel, an undrafted rookie, from the practice squad to the 53-man roster Friday. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Daniel had been on Green Bay’s practice squad since the start of the season in early September after he was cut by the Oakland Raiders. He took the roster spot of tight end Andrew Quarless, who was placed on injured reserve because of a knee injury.