Before being claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday, former Clemson star wide receiver Sammy Watkins was released by the Green Bay Packers on Monday prior to their 24-12 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football.

In his postgame press conference, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur explained why the team moved on from Watkins, saying it had to do with promoting running back Patrick Taylor from the practice squad to the active roster.

The Packers needed Taylor as a third running back behind Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon. Because the Packers didn’t have a gameday elevation to use, they had to open up a roster spot, and Watkins ended up being cut with the team getting healthier at the receiver position.

“That’s one of the things that’s not cool about this business, is you’ve got to make some tough decisions,” LaFleur said. “Certainly he’s a guy that I know myself and the rest of our staff, and I think I can speak for everybody in that locker room, we’ve got a lot of respect for and love for Sammy Watkins. Certainly wasn’t fired up about the timing of it, but it was one of those deals where, you know, we had to get Patrick Taylor up as the third back, and he was out of elevations. It was a tough decision.”

Watkins, who signed a one-year deal with the Packers this past offseason, posted 13 catches for 206 yards in nine games with Green Bay this season.

“I can’t thank him enough for the type of person he is, the energy he brought to this team,” LaFleur said.

Watkins had a season-high 93 receiving yards against the Chicago Bears back in Week 2 before being placed on injured reserve in late September due to a hamstring injury and missing several games. He recorded just seven receptions for 95 yards from Weeks 7-13, logged only 11 total snaps across the last two games he played between Weeks 12 and 13 and didn’t register a catch after Week 10.

“I think it started out pretty good for him to start the season, and then he had the injury and it just kind of fell off from there,” LaFleur said. “It’s tough. I don’t like it. But it is what it is.”

Watkins has recorded 361 receptions for 5,265 yards and 34 touchdowns over his NFL career (2014-22) with the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Packers since being selected by the Bills with the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images 

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