Packers GM explains reasons behind trading away WR Dontayvion Wicks

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst admitted it was "tough" to trade wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks to the Philadelphia Eagles, but he went into detail explaining the thought process behind the decision on Tuesday, his first public appearance since the trade.

Gutekunst pointed to the team's depth at wide receiver and the unlikelihood of re-signing Wicks, who is entering a contract year, as the major drivers of the trade -- which netted the Packers a fifth-round pick this year and a sixth-round pick next year in return from the Eagles.

"It's always tough to move off a player that you feel is as good as Dontayvion was for us. I think he's got a really bright career ahead of him," Gutekunst said. "The situation we were in with the amount of players we have in that room, and what we're probably going to do in the future and him being in the last year of his contract, it just made a little bit of sense."

Wicks, a 2022 fifth-round pick, has been stuck behind Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed throughout his first three NFL seasons, and with 2025 first-round pick Matthew Golden and 2025 third-round pick Savion Williams growing into bigger roles, Wicks was not a part of the team's long-term plans at receiver. Now in Philadelphia, Wicks could get more snaps and targets in the Eagles passing game.

"The ability to get two picks for a player that we weren't sure exactly how he was going to fit into our future plans, it just made a lot of sense," Gutekunst said. "It was good for us but it was good for Dontayvion, too, because I think his opportunities are going to increase there."