The Arizona Cardinals are finalizing a trade involving wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., per ESPN's Adam Schefter, but the team receiving Harrison Jr. in the deal is not currently known, at least as of early Saturday afternoon. The plan is for Harrison Jr. to be inactive on Sunday against the Detroit Lions while the trade if finalized.
Is there any chance the mystery trade team is the Green Bay Packers? Matt LaFleur's team lost Jayden Reed to a season-ending neck injury, and the Packers offense could certainly use a jolt, but the Packers are an unlikely trade partner for the Cardinals, even with the LaFleur coaching connection.
Note, this post will update when Harrison's new team is reported.
For starters, the Packers already have two frontline
pass-catchers in Christian Watson and Matthew Golden, who both play on the perimeter and are excelling in their roles to start 2026. Watson just signed a big new contract; Golden is a first-round pick and creating a breakout second season. Fitting Watson, Golden and Harrison Jr. on the field together would be a stretch, even if Watson and Golden do have experience playing in the slot for LaFleur. Harrison has played over 75 percent of his career snaps on the perimeter.
The second reason? The Packers don't need another receiver. This is an offense being held back by shaky offensive line play and league-worst performances at the running back position. Adding another receiver to the mix doesn't really solve any of the problems in Green Bay right now, especially for a team that isn't playing a lot of 11 personnel (one tight end, one running back, three receivers).
The most important reason? Harrison simply hasn't been very good at the NFL level, at least relative to his draft slot. Per PFF, Harrison is averaging 1.48 yards per route run and catching under 55 percent of his targets over his first three NFL seasons. In 2026, Harrison has five catches on 142 routes run, an incredible mark of production inefficiency. (Consider: Golden has 18 catches on 142 routes run; Watson has 20 on 136.) There is obvious talent to work with, and Harrison might benefit from a change of scenery, but spending draft capital on an underachieving wide receiver trending in the wrong direction is a big risk for any team.
Per ESPN, the Cardinals are looking for a second-round pick or better for Harrison, the fourth overall pick in the 2024 draft. The Packers trading away premium draft capital for a receiver is unlikely given the investments already made at the position over the last two years.
Watson and tight end Tucker Kraft are signed long term. Golden is under contract through 2028. Reed signed a new deal in the offseason.
The Packers don't have a need for a perimeter receiver and currently have much bigger problems on offense, and trading away draft capital for a former top-five pick who hasn't even made it through the first three seasons with his original club is a risk the Packers should have little interest in taking.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Why the Packers are unlikely to be mystery trade team for Marvin Harrison Jr.
