Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said his team will be “depending on” and “counting on” second-year tight end Jace Sternberger to play a much bigger role for the offense during the 2020 season.
Gutekunst released Jimmy Graham in March, clearing the way to playing time for an athletic young player he believes can be a matchup problem in the passing game.
“We’re depending on Jace to be a big part of what we’re going to do this season,” Gutekunst said Sunday during a Zoom call with reporters. “From the time we drafted him, we looked at Jace as a matchup problem. He’s a very gifted athlete. He’s a young player, coming out, he had one year at Texas A&M. There was a lot of growth there. We really liked the positive signs we saw through the season last year. It was unfortunate not to have an offseason to springboard him into this season, but we’re excited to get him back into the fold and see what he can do.”
A third-round pick, Sternberger lost most of his rookie season after suffering a pair of injuries in August, including an ankle injury during a preseason game that eventually landed him on injured reserve. After coming back, Sternberger played a variety of roles in Matt LaFleur’s offense but only caught three passes over eight games, with all three catches – and a touchdown – coming during the postseason.
Now, with Graham in Chicago, Sternberger has an opportunity to be one of the passing game’s top targets.
“Jace is a guy we’re counting on,” Gutekunst said. “We certainly think a lot of him. We’re excited to see what he’ll do.”
Graham was targeted 60 times last season. Not only is the Packers’ top tight end gone, but so is Geronimo Allison, who handled 55 targets, and Devin Funchess – the team’s only notable addition at receiver – opted out of the 2020 season. The Packers need a young player like Sternberger to step up and contribute in a bigger role.
