Official General 2021 Offseason Thread

If Linsley leaves they may keep Taylor. Would love to keep Lewis, but room will be crowded if rookie DeGuara comes back healthy. Jones is likely gone leaving Dillon as feature back, maybe Williams as back up or FA. WR set is good enough unless a slot / kick returner is there in draft.

On defense I don't want King back even if he would play for free. He looks like Josh Jones / Randall all over again. Gotta have another starting CB.  I think ILBer group is good enough. I'd like to see 2 interior D-lineman brought in through draft or FA. Let P. Smith walk and add another edge rusher.

A lot does depend on the cap, but I'd be cool with a couple of scenarios. They basically screwed the pooch not nabbing a fast ILB last year, I think, as this year doesn't appear to have the depth. On the plus side, receiver may be even better.

Part of me would like to see a loaded draft, of course a number of things would have to fall in place, as well. Make a spot truly outstanding.

For example:

Wyatt Davis, WR, Cole Van Lanen, re-sign Jones somehow, maybe restructure Linsley.

Make the offense even nastier. That could be an absolute killer O-Line with Van Lanen eventually replacing Turner following Bakhtiari injury.

Or: Zaven Collins, Tariq Thompson, Keith Taylor, Patrick Johnson

Collins and Johnson are super versatile, Thompson, Jevon Holland and Richie Grant can cover receivers in man, especially from the slot, Taylor has King-type size for matching up with big receivers. 

Neither greatly helps the run defense, but that doesn't appear to be a priority anyway. Rodgers covers all sorts of warts, and the pass rush did, as well. If they're going to keep not investing in the run defense, then screw it, go all out somewhere.

The cap management will be critical. They’re looking down the barrel of being like $30K under the cap right now. They will have to rework Rodgers, could squeeze around $9M out of that I think. That’s enough to sign the rookie class and our key RFA’s. If you start hacking off guys like Kirksey and Wagner you get a little more breathing room. Maybe you can squeeze enough money to sign a guy like Jamal to back up Dillon. Just literally no money to make any moves.

They need to nail some draft picks this year. Fewer Love’s and more Elgton’s.

They should let every free agent walk except Greene, Williams, Lancaster and Lewis.  All come back on somewhat cheap deals.  Linsley may come back to appease Rodgers but it's not going to be cheap and I don't like paying a center $12m+ per year.  Jones walks and is replaced by Dillon.   

They cut: P Smith and Kirksey, saving $14m against the cap.  P Smith has already been replaced by Gary.  Kirksey should be easy to replace. 

In free agency, they should get a slot WR, a starting center, and a #3 CB.  Slot WRs and an average starting center shouldn't break the bank.  #3 CB shouldn't either, but we'll see. 

In the draft, they use their first 3 picks on corner (replace King), ILB (to start), and OL (add depth). 

They are still questionable at OT with Wagner and Turner, especially until Bakhtiari is back.  CB will be an issue (as always) but I don't see how you fix it this offseason. 

King sucks. Jesus fuck.

#IBYWT

@H5 posted:

I thought for sure this was another Bernie meme. Those mittens are everywhere.

A lot is going to depend on what happens with the salary cap.  If it drops 10% (as some sources are projecting), it could really help the Packers in terms of retaining guys like Corey Linsley and Aaron Jones.   I also think it increases the odds of them trying to bring back guys like Kevin King and Lane Taylor and Tyler Ervin and Mercedes Lewis.  I don’t think any of them will be highly sought after but could play key roles for the Packers.

Teams like Minnesota and the LA Rams that are up against the cap will also be forced to shed players or salaries so in theory there could be more (decent) players on the free market as well.

The only downside of a cap reduction would be the effect of increasing value of draft picks given what players are paid as draft picks v established or veteran players.  So for teams that have a lot of picks, and high draft picks in particular, they are in a much better spot compared to those that don’t.  More so than if stadiums were full and revenues were pre-pandemic and continuing to rise.

Other than Rodgers situation, the Packers aren’t in bad shape from a cap standpoint but Green Bay needs to pick a lane - is Rodgers their guy long term and if so they need to restructure his deal to free up more money to improve the roster in the next 2-3 years?  Or are they committed to Jordan Love which means they will need to find a trade partner to recoup value of him moving on.  Much like what the Bucks did with Giannis, you can’t afford to just lose him for nothing which is what will happen if they release him after next season.  If either Rodgers or the team wants to move on now, then you absolutely make a trade after June 1 to recover 20MM this year and likely a haul of draft picks that would follow.  

It’s going to be fascinating to see how the offseason plays out because of those factors.  

"2. Super Bowl 32. Loss to the Broncos. I just went for a 1-hour walk afterwards all over the suburban Washington DC neighborhood we lived in at the time. I was so confident in a Packer victory in that game. We'd be looking at a Packer dynasty, or so I thought. Holmgren got too arrogant."

The NFL wanted Elway to win that, in much the same way they wanted Brady to win this NFCCG. It appeared that even Favre was in on the con, in the Super Bowl 32 loss. After that game, I never looked at Favre the same, again.

We need Sidney on the case.

For whatever reason I wasn’t that upset about the SB loss to the Broncos.  Like many, I just assumed they would be back in a short period of time.   That was a mistake.   But they had also just come off winning the SB.   Not unlike how I felt in 2011 when they lost to the Giants.

We see this happen all the time in the NFL.  Nothing is guaranteed.  I thought the Legion of Boom teams would win multiple titles and they did not.   Same with those Harbaugh SF teams.  Heck, they didn’t win one.  

This is what I find so annoying about the “Rodgers playoff failures” or “he can’t win the NFCCG” narrative.   I mean, until Denver got a running back Elway was 0-3 in Superbowls yet because he won the last two many people forget about the other struggles.  Peyton Manning was a .500 QB in playoff games but he still won 2 and I think Rodgers believes he needs another one to cement his legacy.

@mrtundra posted:

2. Super Bowl 32. Loss to the Broncos. I just went for a 1-hour walk afterwards all over the suburban Washington DC neighborhood we lived in at the time. I was so confident in a Packer victory in that game. We'd be looking at a Packer dynasty, or so I thought. Holmgren got too arrogant.

The NFL wanted Elway to win that, in much the same way they wanted Brady to win this NFCCG. It appeared that even Favre was in on the con, in the Super Bowl 32 loss. After that game, I never looked at Favre the same, again.

I also lived in DC at the time and I also went outside for a bit to try and make sense of what happened.  They never should have lost that game but Holmgren had checked out and I think they lost their edge.

So did I read it right that the Packers will be UNDER the cap?  for some reason I thought they were over the cap.

I was headed to Paris for a semester the next day so I was luckily able to sweep it under the rug and just not deal with it.  Had probably completely forgotten about it until a couple months later when I was reading the US news and saw Reggie retired.  Then it sank in.  Have never rewatched any part of that game to this day.

@The Heckler posted:

I also lived in DC at the time and I also went outside for a bit to try and make sense of what happened.  They never should have lost that game but Holmgren had checked out and I think they lost their edge.

So did I read it right that the Packers will be UNDER the cap?  for some reason I thought they were over the cap.

Depends on the final cap figure. When it was projected low the Packers were like $20 million over.

If the cap comes in about 175MM for 2021 the Packers would be projected about 30MM over.  At least that’s how I interpreted the data on Spotrac.

You release Kirksey and Preston Smith and Dean Lowry and recover about 18MM and letting Wagner go would free up another 4MM or so.  

Something has to give with Rodgers contract so I would guess a restructure is in order?

Is this thread Packers only off-season? LMK & I'll move this

Sickening: #Seahawks OT Chad Wheeler was arrested on Saturday after allegedly throwing his girlfriend on the bed and strangling her until she lost consciousness. When she regained consciousness, Wheeler allegedly said ‘Wow you’re alive?’ https://t.co/0VT5ivjQLs

— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) January 27, 2021

@DH13 posted:

I was headed to Paris for a semester the next day so I was luckily able to sweep it under the rug and just not deal with it.  Had probably completely forgotten about it until a couple months later when I was reading the US news and saw Reggie retired.  Then it sank in.  Have never rewatched any part of that game to this day.

I also have never rewatched one second of that game all these years later.  If I so much as see the highlight of Elway spinning in the air I look away or turn the channel.

@Tschmack posted:

 

Something has to give with Rodgers contract so I would guess a restructure is in order?

I'd still like to know something more about his agent David Dunn.
Never speaks or is seen afaik.
All the comments come from AR.

This seems like the wise course forward. I hate this part of the business. https://t.co/LJeGrADv8p

— Peter Bukowski (@Peter_Bukowski) January 27, 2021

Supposedly there is already talk about a 2 year extension for Rodgers at around $60 million per year? If that happens it really changes everything including the $$$ available in the 2021 cap.

Here is the rumor.

THIS JUST IN......The .@packers have started talks with @AaronRodgers12 agent on a 2 year contract extension!!.....THE NUMBER is (around $60million per) #GoPackGo #NFL

— Dan Sileo (@DanSileoShow) January 27, 2021

Well, unless Joe Arrigo breaks it...

#FYJA

@PackerHawk posted:

Supposedly there is already talk about a 2 year extension for Rodgers at around $60 million per year? If that happens it really changes everything including the $$$ available in the 2021 cap.

If Gunt has been talking about potential "deals" on FAs this coming offseason then the extra capital will be excellent. 

Just as long as he doesn't sign a long snapper to a 10 year contract for 100 million.

Just don’t get caught tampering. Oh wait that only applies to the Bucks and NBA!

There are a lot of decent free agents that may hit the market.  WRs and DL and OLB particular. Marvin Jones, Sammy Watkins, Allen Robinson, TY Hilton to name a few.

Get Lavonte David on the horn stat!!

Kenny Golladay

@Tschmack posted:

I’m 48 and my most gut wrenching experiences are as follows:

1) Seattle choke job in 2014.  As bad as 4th and 26 was and 2011 NFCCG and even the 1998 playoff loss to SF I wasn’t right for weeks after that one.  Pure disbelief when it happened.  Shock.  Anger.  All of it.  Just terrible all the way around.  I hated football for a while after that.

2) Bucks 2000/2001 ECF loss to Philly.  No one will ever convince me David Stern didn’t screw the Bucks out of a title and yes I do think Milwaukee would have beaten the Lakers.

3) Badgers title game loss to Duke. The Badgers had that game won until the refs went 2002 Kings/Lakers officiating in the second half.   Beat an undefeated UK team - arguably the best in my lifetime - then lose a close one in that fashion to Duke?   Such a bummer.

4) Brewers 2018 game 7 loss to the Dodgers.  Much like this years Packers team, that Brewers team just had a certain magic feel to them.  Yelich nearly ties the game in the 5th and then that POS Puig hits a 3 run bomb to seal it.  

5) Favre choke job in 2007/2008.  Not so much for the outcome (which was bad enough) but it truly signaled an end of an era.  Only it wasn’t as Rodgers came alive and became the replacement and kept the train moving.

Oh my, you've had a hard life.

@Boris posted:

Is this thread Packers only off-season? LMK & I'll move this

Sickening: #Seahawks OT Chad Wheeler was arrested on Saturday after allegedly throwing his girlfriend on the bed and strangling her until she lost consciousness. When she regained consciousness, Wheeler allegedly said ‘Wow you’re alive?’ https://t.co/0VT5ivjQLs

— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) January 27, 2021

Sounds like attempted murder to me.

The Seahawks say OT Chad Wheeler is no longer with the team following his arrest on suspicion of felony assault-domestic violence.

A prosecutor’s office spokesperson told ESPN that a charging decision is expected to be made by Wednesday afternoon. https://t.co/wJwje2HUqb pic.twitter.com/2ub1xfuTQ2

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 27, 2021

Events happened over the weekend that transpired from a manic episode.  I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering that I have caused to Alleah and her family.

— Chad Wheeler (@ChadWheeler72) January 27, 2021

@TomPelissero: The #Packers are parting ways with special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga, per source.

@RobDemovsky: Can confirm @TomPelissero's report that the Packers are letting special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga go. No word yet on Mike Pettine, although it's worth noting that he had come to the end of his contract.

@ilcuqui posted:

@TomPelissero: The #Packers are parting ways with special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga, per source.

@RobDemovsky: Can confirm @TomPelissero's report that the Packers are letting special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga go. No word yet on Mike Pettine, although it's worth noting that he had come to the end of his contract.

Great news.  Special teams were terrible this year for the most part.

@ilcuqui posted:

@TomPelissero: The #Packers are parting ways with special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga, per source.

@RobDemovsky: Can confirm @TomPelissero's report that the Packers are letting special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga go. No word yet on Mike Pettine, although it's worth noting that he had come to the end of his contract.

Christmas came late or REALLY early!!

Mengina was the sacrificial lamb...I'll be floored if they axe him AND Bald Man

So... according to this, Pettine was betting on 2020. Methinks he lost but it’s all on MLF right now...

“ @RobDemovsky: More on Pettine's status:

He opted not to sign an extension after last season.

Most coordinators/position coaches always have two years on their deals, but Pettine chose to go into the last year of his contract and see how things played out. “

Hmmm. I wonder if Pettine opted against the extension or if if it was MLF who said let’s see how things play out.

What a dum dum

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30790598

So when the Pack hired MLF in 2019, Pettine still had 2 years remaining on the 3-year deal he got when MM hired him in 2018 -- after MM finally disposed of Dom.

Gee, I wonder if the front office encouraged MLF to keep Pettine on as DC rather than having to pay Pettine for 2 more years for doing nothing ... at the same time the front office was refusing to pay Darren Rizzi whom MLF had wanted to hire as his STs coach instead of the now dearly departed Mennenga.

God the ramifications of not moving on from MM at the same time Ted was finally shit-canned in 2017 just keep keep biting this organization in the arse.

@Chongo posted:

What a dum dum

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30790598

Thanks for sharing, from Demovsky's article:

"The Packers ranked 29th in Rick Gosselin's annual special teams rankings, widely considered the gold standard for special teams evaluation around the league. Green Bay was 26th last season.

Mennenga inherited the worst special teams unit in the league from 2018, when they ranked 32nd under former coordinator Ron Zook. The Packers also ranked last in the league in 2014 under then coordinator Shawn Slocum."

There's 3 for Mt Crushmore.

@Chongo posted:

Events happened over the weekend that transpired from a manic episode.  I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering that I have caused to Alleah and her family.

— Chad Wheeler (@ChadWheeler72) January 27, 2021

I don't think you can ever truly apologize for what he did. Fuck him!