Thursday Cheese Curds: Rashan Gary is delivering, Sammy Watkins is recovering

One Packers defender is living up to the hype while the Packers are looking forward to getting one of their wide receivers back soon.

Don’t look now, but Rashan Gary is still tied for the fifth-lowest odds in the race for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

The Green Bay Packers outside linebacker remains one of the breakout stars in the league this season, as he continues to play up to the level expected of him by his coaches and fans. Gary is one of seven players tied for second in the NFL with six sacks and trails the league leader by just a half-sack. It’s a good thing, because the defense has needed his impact plays to help it get teams out of advantageous situations and into third-and-longs.

While Gary continues to wreak havoc in the backfield, another Packers player is looking forward to making life difficult for opposing secondaries again. Sammy Watkins has been out for a month with a hamstring injury, but he looks poised to return from a brief stint on injured reserve soon, perhaps as early as this week. That would give the Packers another veteran boundary wide receiver, which would likely cut into Romeo Doubs’ snaps but could be a positive for the offense as a whole.

Scroll down for more on those two players as well as some comments from Aaron Rodgers on Wednesday and other discussions around the Packers and the NFL.

Six in six: Rashan Gary hungry for more after fast start | Packers.com
One of the few bright spots for the Packers so far this season has been Gary, the fourth-year linebacker who has delivered upon his potential with six sacks in six games so far this season.

Packers WR Sammy Watkins Calls Hamstring Injury ‘Part of Journey’ – Sports Illustrated
Meanwhile, wideout Sammy Watkins is eyeing a return to the field this week after sitting out the four games required by his stint on injured reserve.

Aaron Rodgers: No need for panic, especially in NFC, after 3-3 start
Rodgers is right on this — a whopping six NFC teams are sitting at 3-3, with only four teams in the conference having better records. Everything is still wide open for the Packers, but they need to get their business in order quickly to take advantage of their situation.

Rodgers’ insinuations don’t match 2018 drama, but stay tuned | Packersnews.com ($)
While the above comments from Rodgers aren’t going to ruffle any feathers, some of his other statements might. But we’re not at peak end-of-the-Mike McCarthy-era snark…at least not for now.

NFL trade deadline 2022: Early buzz, rumors, teams that could deal | ESPN+
Here’s a good primer on how the trade deadline is shaping up with two weeks before until it arrives.

Barilla pasta sued over products being made in US, not Italy | USA Today
On Monday, we brought you news of a lawsuit against Texas Pete hot sauce for a misleading geographic indicator in its name; now let’s discuss a company using one in its marketing materials! Hooray trademark law!