GREEN BAY, Wis. — It appears Devin Funchess‘ two seasons with the Packers will end without him ever playing in a regular-season game. The team on Wednesday placed him on injured reserve because of a lingering hamstring injury.
Funchess last played in an NFL game in Week 1 of the 2019 season, when he broke his collarbone in his only game with the Indianapolis Colts.
Funchess made more headlines off the field than on it after he signed one-year, $2.5 million contract that included a $1 million signing bonus with the Packers in March 2020. He took the COVID-19 opt-out and did not play last season, then came under fire for his anti-Asian slur and gesture during a news conference earlier this month.
If healthy, he would’ve been on the bubble for a roster spot. The Packers drafted receiver Amari Rodgers in the third round this year and then traded for Randall Cobb at Aaron Rodgers‘ request upon the star quarterback’s return to the team in July.
Funchess could only play again this season if he accepts an injury settlement and is waived. He could be claimed off waivers or signed by a team after his injury settlement expires, but the Packers have no plans to bring him back.
The sixth-year receiver has 164 career catches for 2,265 yards and 21 touchdowns. All of but three of those catches and 32 of those yards came with the Carolina Panthers, who drafted him in the second round (No. 41 overall) in 2015.
The Packers also released receiver Chris Blair, who had been hurt on and off throughout the offseason. They replaced Funchess and Blair on the roster with a pair of defensive players: defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson (a former undrafted free agent who signed with the Chicago Bears in 2018) and cornerback Stephen Denmark (a seventh-round of the Bears in 2019). Anderson has appeared in seven NFL games (six with the Bears in 2019 and one with the Minnesota Vikings last year). Denmark has spent time with the Bears, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers but has never appeared in a game.
