The Green Bay Packers announced on Wednesday that they have placed wide receiver Devin Funchess on injured reserve. The 27-year-old pass-catcher suffered a hamstring injury during joint practices with the New York Jets and was unable to return to the field. This now means that Funchess will be sidelined for the entire 2021 season unless he and the team agree to an injury settlement that could lead to him signing elsewhere as he continues to recover from injury.
If Funchess remains on IR, he will miss his third consecutive season. Back in early September of 2019, he suffered a broken collarbone that ended his year with the Colts. After he signed with the Packers in free agency, Funchess elected to opt-out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to the injury, Funchess did look like he had a chance of finally contributing to the Packers offense. In the preseason opener, he caught six passes from second-year quarterback Jordan Love for 70 yards. While that was with most of the first-team sitting out of that exhibition, it was certainly an encouraging development of what may be to come. However, Funchess will now in all likelihood have his sights set on 2022.
The 6-foot-4, 225 pounder originally entered the league as a second-round draft choice of the Carolina Panthers, where he went on to play to play four seasons. Over that stretch, Funchess proved to be a valuable receiver for then-quarterback Cam Newton. For his career, Funchess has hauled in 161 passes for 2,265 yards and 21 touchdowns.
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