Packers activate WR Juwann Winfree for week 6 as COVID replacement for Malik Taylor

The Packers called up one receiver to presumably fill in on special teams for another.

Malik Taylor is out. The Green Bay Packers placed their WR6 and primary special teams gunner on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday, shutting him down for Sunday’s rivalry game against the Chicago Bears.

Earlier this week, the Packers brought Equanimeous St. Brown onto the 53-man roster from their practice squad after he was activated for each of the past three games. But on Saturday, the team promoted another practice squad receiver to the roster for gameday to fill Taylor’s special teams role.

That player is Juwann Winfree, who will play his first game of 2021 on Sunday. Winfree’s promotion is officially designated as a COVID-19 roster elevation due to Taylor’s appearance on the list. Therefore, this move will not count against the Packers’ two-game limit for practice squad promotions for Winfree.

The Packers promoted Winfree for gameday twice last year as well, when he played a total of 29 snaps, 21 of those coming on special teams. Winfree likely will resume those duties this Sunday.

Notably, the Packers did not activate Ben Braden from the practice squad. That combined with the team downgrading Dennis Kelly to out for the game, implies that Elgton Jenkins should be available and ready to play in Chicago.