Green Bay Packers Break Silence on WR’s Future After Surprise Benching
On Saturday, the Packers made the strange announcement ahead of their Week 11 win over the Giants that they were taking wide receiver Malik Heath–who had played all nine games heading into what as no doubt a must-win–off the 53-man roster. Heath was healthy, and though he was not a starter, he had made some key contributions throughout the season.
But not only were the Packers making him a healthy scratch, he was not even joining the team on the trip to New York. That’s unusual. The only reason given was, “Coach’s decision.”
Here’s what the team wrote in its release about the situation: “WR Malik Heath (coach’s decision) will not travel with the team and will be OUT for tomorrow’s game against the Giants.”
Packers Not Planning to Cut Malik Heath
On Sunday, after an uncomfortable and blustery 27-20 win over the 2-9 Giants, Packers coach Matt LaFleur addressed the Heath situation–sort of. LeFleur did not exactly explain why Heath was left behind, and indicated that he won’t be providing an explanation in the near future, either.
But LaFleur did seem to say that once the team returns to Green Bay, all will be forgiven and forgotten. Whatever happened with Heath, there do not appear to be long-term consequences in terms of suspensions or his spot on the roster going forward.
“I am just going to keep that between our team. It’s just one of those decisions,” LaFleur said. “I will say this about Malik—he is definitely a valued member of our team, he has put in a lot of work for us and I look forward to seeing him tomorrow.”
Christian Watson Comes Through for Packers
Heath might not have made a huge difference in Week 11, but it was not a banner day, no doubt, for Packers receivers. The team was riddled with at least four clear dropped passes in the game, including two by star Romeo Doubs, who has been relatively sure-handed this year. Doubs caught just four of the eight passes thrown his way.
Christian Watson, though, had an impressive day playing in the wind, catching four passes on five targets, including two touchdowns with a high level of difficulty.
LaFleur was asked how impressed he was with Watson, who is still on the comeback trail after having had major offseason knee surgery.
“A ton, a lot,” Watson said. “He made two critical—both of those touchdown catches were incredible catches by him. Just can’t say enough about the guy, the type of teammate he is, how he works on a daily basis. Got a lot of love for Christian Watson.”
Lions' Tyleik Williams Dillema Isn't Going Away After Performance in Week 11
The days leading up to the Detroit Lions’ showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles were eventful for Tyleik Williams. The Lions’ first-round pick from last April’s draft began his week with Dan Campbell suggesting he needed to pay his dues and learn from the veterans in front of him before getting on the field. Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard sang a different tune, suggesting Williams could see the field more beginning with Sunday night’s game.
Whatever conversations Campbell and Sheppard had regarding the rookie must have gone in the defensive coordinator’s favor. Williams turned in one of his best overall efforts of the season in the 16-9 loss to Philadelphia and could have earned more opportunities moving forward.
While the rookie's stock appears to be going up, it could come at the expense of Alim McNeill, who may have opened the door for Williams to steal more snaps and continue the dilemma for the coaching staff as they try to figure out how to get everyone involved.
Williams Reshaping Lions’ D-Line Rotation After SNF Showing vs. Eagles
The Lions are happy to have McNeill back as he returned quickly from a torn ACL suffered last December. While his return drew plenty of enthusiasm from Campbell, he hasn’t been able to reacclimate himself to the field, posting overall Pro Football Focus grades of 39.0 in a Week 9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings and a 45.4 overall grade in a Week 10 victory over the Washington Commanders.
McNeill didn’t lose any of his snaps in Sunday’s game against the Eagles, but there’s an argument that the Lions should have held him back. A 63.2 overall grade was his highest since he made his debut in Week 7 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he was also inefficient in the pass rush, generating just one pressure on 32 pass-rushing snaps.
While Williams didn’t have more luck as a pass rusher with one pressure on 12 snaps, he made a big impact in the running game with a pair of run stops and a season-high 74.7 grade on 24 snaps.
Part of Williams's usage could have been due to the opponent, as the Eagles have a run-heavy offense featuring running back Saquon Barkley and dual-threat quarterback Jalen Hurts. But it’s also notable as his 36 total snaps were more than the past two weeks combined, and his most since he played 39 snaps in a Week 4 win over the Cleveland Browns
With Roy Lopez and DJ Reader also in the rotation, Williams made a case to stay there moving forward. While the Lions would probably like to keep using McNeill prominently, it makes more sense to get Williams more involved.
Having more bodies along the defensive line can only help the Lions moving forward and could provide the depth they didn’t have when their playoff run ended one season ago.
