Driver Says Packers Receivers Will Be Fine Without Him, Jennings

Packers wide receiver Donald Driver. Photo by Brian Carriveau of Cheesehead TV.

NEW ORLEANS––Donald Driver is headed for retirement, and it might not be long until Greg Jennings follows him out of Green Bay.

If Jennings leaves the Packers in free agency this upcoming offseason as expected, the Packers will lose two wide receivers who have combined for 1,168 receptions for 16,674 yards and 114 touchdowns in 21 seasons.

But fear not, says Driver. The guys who will remain in Green Bay aren’t too shabby.

“They’re going to be great,” said Driver in an exclusive interview with Cheesehead TV at the site of Super Bowl XLVII. “I’ve always said we had six great wide receivers that could play anywhere in the National Football League. You may lose two, but you’ve still got four that can play anywhere.”

It’s hard to argue with Driver’s logic. Still in Green Bay are Jordy Nelson who scored 15 touchdowns in 2011, James Jones who scored 14 touchdowns in 2012 Randall Cobb, the jack of all trades who’s becoming one of the most dangerous threats in the NFL.

“You look at Jordy, Jordy’s playing well,” said Driver. “He’s coming off a big year two years ago. James had an amazing year this year. And you’ve got the guy who can play any position on the football field, and that’s Randall Cobb.

“And now you got the young guy, (Jarrett) Boykin’s going to be stepping up and filling all our shoes. We’ve got some great wide receivers, and I think these guys will be fine. They’ll move onto do bigger and better things.”

There’s also speculation that the Packers could either trade or release tight end Jermichael Finley in the offseason, perhaps leaving quarterback Aaron Rodgers with one fewer target.

Former Vikings wide receiver and current ESPN analyst praised Driver for the way he’s taken the younger receivers on the Packers roster under his wing.

“The way he carried himself throughout his career,” said Carter, “great family man, great mentor to those younger receivers who ultimately end up replacing him there in Green Bay.

“You’re not going to hear a whole bunch about Donald Driver, because he does things the right way, and we don’t have enough things written or said about players like Donald Driver.”

Hear more from Donald Driver in his exclusive interview with Cheesehead TV…

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Brian Carriveau is the author of “It’s Just a Game: Big League Drama in Small Town America,” a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and an editor at Cheesehead TV. To contact Brian, email carriveau@uwalumni.com.