GREEN BAY – Before signing his extension this spring, Green Bay Packers receiver Jayden Reed said there was "a lot of talk" with his camp on whether he should.
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His three-year, $50.25 million extension tacked on longevity with the team beyond his rookie contract. But Reed knew he could have played this season out and tested the market for potentially more money next spring. It would have been a gamble for a receiver who missed 10 games because of injury last season, but Reed was healthy in his first two years.
When healthy he's proven to be one of the Packers' best playmakers, evidenced by a franchise rookie record 64 receptions in 2023.
Reed took the more certain path, including a $16.5 million signing bonus, with a deal that made him the NFL's 29th highest paid receiver.
"There was a lot of talk of, do I play it out?" Reed said. "It was a lot of talk. But this is a place I wanted to be, so I don't think it was really any issue. I do this for the love of the game and my teammates, and I work very hard for it. So it was just my decision just to be in Green Bay. This was something I wanted to happen, and that was the decision we agreed on, my agent and the front office."
Reed said the Packers receiver group knew for years decisions were coming. There was no way the team could pay everyone at its loaded receiver position.
General manager Brian Gutekunst made his choices this spring, letting Romeo Doubs sign as a free agent with New England, trading Dontayvion Wicks to Philadelphia and re-signing Reed. The Packers still hope to re-sign tight end Tucker Kraft and receiver Christian Watson.
"We knew that as a group," Reed said. "A lot of things panned out the way they were supposed to. That's kind of how I look at it, to be honest. It's a blessing, I do appreciate this organization for everything they've done, and me being able to stay here is a huge blessing. But at the end of the day, it is a business. There's no way to pay everybody. I don't know the conversations that are being had upstairs, so I just kind of have to live with what I have.
"So kind of how I live, just take advantage of the opportunity and run with it."
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Jayden Reed chooses extension with Packers over free agency gamble
