When Jayden Reed suffered a collarbone injury in Week 2 against the Washington Commanders, the Green Bay Packers were left with more than just a hole in their wide receiver room.

They also needed someone to take over his place, at least temporarily, as the team’s primary punt returner. That has since been rookie wide receiver Matthew Golden’s job, though, it’s hard to say that he’s doing a fine job filling the role.

The Packers’ special teams have left the team and its fans scratching their heads through four weeks in the 2025 NFL regular season, in part because of Golden and another rookie, Savion Williams.

Still, Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur seems to continue trusting them, hoping that they’ll learn more about those functions on the fly.

“We feel like they give us the best chance of being successful,” LaFleur said, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “You’ve got to get experience one way or the other. They do a great job in practice … We’ve got a lot of confidence in both those guys and believe that they’re going to continue to get better and better.”

Packers insider opens up on risk tied to Matthew Golden

Sep 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden (0) runs against Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ryan Flournoy (19) in the first quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

A fan wrote to Mike Spofford of the Packers’ official website and asked for his thoughts on Golden’s struggles running special teams duties, particularly during the Cowboys game. The fan also voiced his concerns about whether Golden is on the right track on offense after seeing the former Texas Longhorns star wideout get “crushed on a rarely seen spin move” and lose yards during a bubble screen play.

“As I said the other day, he’s not a finished product. He’s learning the return game on the fly in Jayden Reed’s absence, which is a risk the Packers are willing to live with due to the potential reward,” Spofford said..

“The bubble screen he should know better. He must’ve run plenty of those in college. As Wes noted yesterday, via LaFleur, it was Wicks who made the route adjustment that created the congestion on the early deep ball.”

Sep 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Green Bay wide receiver Matthew Golden (0) catches a pass over Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland (26) during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

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