GREEN BAY, Wis. — The newest member of the Green Bay Packers isn’t concerned about where he’ll line up in the secondary. Outside at cornerback, inside in the slot or even at safety — none of that matters to him at this point.
What does matter to Nate Hobbs is that everyone knows what kind of player the Packers got when he signed a four-year, $48 million contract during the first week of NFL free agency.
Sure, Hobbs has battled some injuries in his career.
But the key word is battle.
It’s why he plans to frame a picture of him from the 2022 season, when he was playing for the Las Vegas Raiders against the Kansas City Chiefs. The image shows Hobbs, with a cast on his left hand, in the face of Patrick Mahomes — or as he jokingly put it: “The quarterback … whatever his name is.”
“I broke my thumb and they took me in the back. They took me under the stadium to get a X-ray and my hand was broke,” Hobbs said Friday when he was formally introduced by the Packers. “And they’re like, either you can sit out this game, or we can put a cast on and get [you] back out there. As soon as they said that I heard a big old roar. It was loud and I knew we were away, so [that meant Kansas City] was making plays. So I’m like, ‘My brothers need me out there, you know what I’m saying?’
“So they cast me up, and I was out there for the rest of the game with a broken hand just doing the best I could. They kind of picked on me a little bit after that. But it meant more to me that I came back out there with them. I’ll be 40% trying to play out there.”
Unfortunately for Hobbs, he went on injured reserve the next week and missed six games that season.
In four seasons with the Raiders, he played in 51 of a possible 68 regular-season games. That’s still considerably more than the cornerback he’s likely replacing, Jaire Alexander, who played in 34 of 68 regular-season games during that same stretch.
While Alexander remains on the roster, the Packers are still trying to trade him, according to team sources and a source close to the player. They could wait indefinitely but most likely would prefer to get something done before next month’s draft. One source said the team has not approached Alexander about taking a pay cut and that even if it did, he would not be willing to do so. Without a trading partner, the Packers would likely release him, but there is no urgency to do so because he has no guaranteed money left on his deal until the start of the regular season, when he’s due $17.5 million.
Alexander’s departure would open a spot on the outside where, when healthy, he was twice an All-Pro player.
Although Hobbs played primarily in the slot in recent seasons with the Raiders, the Packers plan to give him a shot to play on the perimeter, where he would likely be paired with another former Raiders player, Keisean Nixon. The two played together with the Raiders for one season, Hobbs’ rookie year of 2021. The 2022 season was the only time that Hobbs played more snaps on the outside than in the slot for the Raiders.
“Think it’d be legendary,” Hobbs said when asked about a Hobbs-Nixon pairing at cornerback. ” I think Keisean is a little bit like me. He’s a versatile player. He can play inside, outside, and he does kick return, punt return — and he takes it to the house when he does it. So I think he’s a good player, and I think it’ll be great.”
The Packers also have Carrington Valentine, who has played extensively on the outside. Meanwhile, safety Javon Bullard was the preferred slot player in the nickel package last season as a rookie.
At this point, nothing is set in stone. The Packers almost certainly will add to the position, either with a remaining free agent or through the draft. General manager Brian Gutekunst has shown the willingness to add several players at the same position in the same offseason if he feels the spot needs a boost, and then let the coaches sort it out.
“What is it, March 14th?” Hobbs said on the day he met with the media in Green Bay. “We’ll get to that. I’m willing to do whatever the team needs me to do. I’m a dog, so I’m going to step wherever I step. If I step at nickel, if I step at corner, if they need me to play safety, goddamn it, I’ll play safety.”
