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Now the Cardinals are talking of making Larry Fitzgerald the highest paid WR and one of the highest paid players in the NFL. Plus we have the Steelers' new big .... Report this post. Processing your request, Please wait. ...
There are some new deals being done this year that will greatly affect the Pack in the not so distant future, forcing some tough decisions. The Eagles are in that position right now with DeSean Jackson. DJ is a big impact player but way under-size, has had injuries in the past and is one big injury away from being on IR or out of football. Can?t blame the player for wanting to get all he can, but at the same time can also see the Eagles? point of view too.
So far we have seen Peyton Manning get to be one of the highest paid players at QB. Nnamdi Asomugha has set the new bar for Corners. Now the Cardinals are talking of making Larry Fitzgerald the highest paid WR and one of the highest paid players in the NFL. Plus we have the Steelers? new big money deal with Woodley.
How does this affect the Pack? In the not so distant future we have to contend with Rodgers, Raji, Matthews, Jennings, as well as others. And in the near future we have Finley. Certainly the Pack can?t afford to make each one of the NFL?s highest paid players at each of their positions because of the cap or can they?
Thompson and company have done a good job of paying players that have prove themselves on the field with competitive deals. But now that we have won a Super Bowl and God-Willing hopefully another one, certainly players will be looking to cash that in for all it?s worth. So far this has been a team first mentality and the team has done a good job of re-signing our own and locking them up before they hit free agency. But can that last? Will players still go on signing for maybe less than they could get on the open market to remain Packers. One has to wonder.
The Cardinals are talking of making Larry Fitzgerald the highest paid WR and one of the highest paid players in the NFL.The easy answer here well teams try to keep their key players. But that is a vanilla answer. One could say well that your team?s Pro Bowl players, but again that isn?t always a true thing either as we have seen players that belong in the pro Bowl being passed over while others that really didn?t belong there being there on either past reputations or because of their team?s success.
Not sure there there is a clear cut and dry answer. Other factors play into this. Injuries, age- in regards to on field production and their position, are two factors. Value to the team goes w/o saying. Cap plays probably the biggest role, especially when other teams are involved in the bidding process for a player?s services.
During draft time, I refer a lot to Draft Theories when viewing players of different positions that might be on the board at the same time if they all fit a need. Aspects of the NFL have also changed over the years. In the past a franchise running back was one of a team?s top key players with run orientated teams. But teams have now gone to a passing league due to rule changes and now instead of having a Go-To WR and complimentary WR in a Pro Style Offense ( 2 WRs, RB, FB and TE) we now see different variations of one back sets using 3 to 5 WR sets or some variations using pass catching TEs in the mix.
Likewise this has also changed some traditions on the Defensive side of the ball also. Where in the past teams geared more for stopping the run with 8 man in the box, teams are playing more Nickle and Dime Defenses to contend with the multiple WR/TE sets. Most teams now run some variation of the 3-4 verses the 4-3 base defense with Safeties being more cover types then run stoppers on the line also.
But some things still remain the same and still go with Draft Theories which can be applied to this subject matter. In Draft Theories the order goes something like this: Number 1 is the Franchise QB if a team is lucky enough to find one. Number 2 is an OT to protect the QB?s blind side which most of the time is a LT when the QB is right-handed.
After this is where some teams have a difference of opinion. Football is like a giant chess board. So it only makes sense that if a team has a Franchise QB and protector, that on the other side that team needs a Pass Rusher to get to the QB. Or a Shut-Down Corner type to take away part of the field of options from the QB. Ideally a team would like to have both: the pass rusher and shut down corner. But either way these are your top 4 priority positions. Of course the pass rusher can come from one of 3 positions: DE, DT, or LB?er. After this it can be debated of whether a run stuffer is next or a dominate WR/TE. You can look this up for yourselves at gbnreport.com and Ourlads.com also has something similar too.
The Pack are also one an elite few teams with an elite QB. It?s unreal that over a 20 year span, the Pack are lucky to have two players of this type to play for them: Favre and then Rodgers. They can buy time on the field in breakdowns of plays, run, make all the throws, read defenses and deliver the ball. Bottom line- Both make a good WR/TE seem even better. Favre for too many years had average WRs (outside of Driver and briefly Walker) that he made look better than they were. Rodgers has been much more fortunate under Thompson, as Thompson is constantly adding weapons for the future. But Rodgers has that same quality.
So what?s the point? Well that has to be something taken into consideration when dealing with who we can?t live w/o and who for financial reasons can?t keep. While every team and it?s fans would want to keep everyone together, today?s NFL has shown us that isn?t possible anymore. So it?s key players and the rest are like college player programs-here for 3 to 5 years and then they move on. As fans etc, we might debate who Thompson should keep as a key player and who isn?t, but in the end it?s his call. And sometimes a key player might not be who we would think is a key player but the coaches, players and TT might see as invaluable such as for example a Center. Maybe the Center isn?t in the Pro Bowl and they go un-noticed much like a nose tackle, but both have very important roles as keys to their respective Lines and make the respective line calls/reads/adjustments.
So in the end I know two things to be true and one is bad news and one is good news. The bad news is we won?t be able to keep everyone together and the good news is we Thompson and company that will scour everywhere leaving no stone unturned to provide this with talent and keep us as competitors.
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I can see the next major signings being Sitton, Matthews, and Raji. Finley is not affordable and and with the glut of TE at GBs expense its a logical decision. Those 3 signing make up a seious superstar core that can be afforded. To get the money to do it, I hate to say it, but Double D could be a cap casualty next year amongst a few others.
I don?t see how the Fitzgerald contract has an impact on any future signings outside of the WR position. Jennings will be 30 when his current contract expires and Nelson, due after this year, will not command anything near Fitzgerald. I?m not getting the connection your drawing here, this is difficult to follow.
I would even say that, as good as he is, JENNINGS is not in Fitzgerald?s league, ESPECIALLY factoring in the age you referenced. Fitz should get almost as much as Jennings and Nelson combined, because no one can dominate a game at his position like Fitz.
First thing to ask: is Rodgers Brady or Manning? Brady willingly accepted being underpaid to help the team. Manning, until this year, was ?Gimme more. A LOT more.?
As mentioned above by tjcoon, Sitton needs to be re-signed. Is Finley gone? Possibly. Depending if he wants a shot at more SB?s and possibly a shot at Canton, or get the immediate gratification of a big payday. If its the latter, he?s gone, because TT is not going to get into a bidding war for a player?s services- unless its Rodgers. Something else to consider- how many QB?s of Rodgers skills are playing in the NFL? I can only think of Ryan in Atlanta and Rivers in SD that are close to him, and are both still young.
With Jennings, there is a very important ?x-factor?. His wife really likes Green Bay- smaller town, safe, good place to raise kids. I think that should at least be considered a factor.
I hope that helps keep him. I am not as convinced as everyone else that Finley is gone. I think unless he gets 1000 yards, he will be affordable, and if they wanted to keep Jones, they should want to keep JErmichael.
The operative word is ?core? players and those are very distinct as they are the hardest to replace let alone find to start your campaign.
Naturally,each year will bring an addition to the ?core? list but should never include the fluff of a team which are those that are a dime a dozen and who are generally made better than they are via the ?THE CORE GUY?.
TT knows what needs to be done and who needs to stay and thankfully,he walks his own way and not in the footfall steps of others in the fluff.
If Finley has a monster year it would be a big mistake to let him walk. He is not your typical TE he is a WR/TE hybrid, and for a pass first offense he will be worth every penny if he can stay healthy.
I don?t agree. Thompson and McCarthy love Finley and I don?t think he?ll break the bank or be priced out of GB. I can easily see him getting a deal in the 7M range or more and staying in GB. Finley has such a unique talent as compared to the other TE?s that its difficult to compare. I don?t see Finley going anywhere.
Rodgers, Finley and Jennings need to be together for as long as possible. Here?s the thing about Finley. He is still quite young and can still improve his skill set. Which is absolutely scary.
You pay him and Sitton this year. You look at extending Raji and CMIII. Now with Jones under contract and Cobb in the wings, you have a little leverage over Nelson. But that WR group is so tight knit that I don?t think any one of them really wants to leave. Plus TT drafted those guys (Driver as the exception). He loves to resign productive guys that he drafted.
Lets face it. GB will not dive deeply into free agency as long as TT is around. Our ?free agency frenzy? is actually resigning our own home grown talent. And right now?.that is a great thing.
As much as I love our Superbowl winning WR Greg Jennings, he can, unfortunately, be replaced. In the near future, the GREEN BAY PACKERS can let Jennings and Driver walk, and still have a great receiving corps, led, of course by QB Aaron Rodgers.
I really don?t see that big a connection especially w/ Fitz. Jennings is great, but not nearly in the Fitz realm. So he doesn?t apply.
This isn?t really that big a deal. Sitton is the obvious guy right now cuz he has performed very well and will continue too. The Packers are about 10 or 11M under the cap. That means that they have enough to easily get Sitton and Nelson locked up for another 4-5 yrs. Next year, Grant, and Driver can be taken off the books in order to keep Finley. No real problems there? Just need to see Finley stay healthy. But you can always structure a contract to take into account injuries in Finley?s case. We could also erase Clifton?s 8M salary next year if need be. The Packers are in good shape to keep the guys that are core players and special talents. Rodgers, Matthews and Raji in 2 years could be the time things get difficult. Hopefully a new TV Contract is done soon and that will raise the salary cap so the Packers can continue to afford all the quality young players they have. I think Thompson has a good handle on things and will be able to keep them all. He?ll always let some good players go, example being Jenkins this year, but I?m not worried that the Packers won?t be able to afford to pay the players they want to keep!
I know that the conventional wisdom is that Favre had ?a bunch of guys? as his receivers, but I just have never really bought that. Yes, he made the players around him look better, but Sterling Sharpe, Antonio Freeman, Robert Brooks, Mark Chmura, Keith Jackson, Driver, Walker ? ? Not exactly merchandise from the Secondhand store.
how can you pay an oft injured, no production as of yet TE 7 million dollars. The packers could have gotten a real tight end in the form of zach miller but they chose not to.