Packers & Free Agency

Totally agree.

 

Now, let's go win a Super Bowl this upcoming year.

I need someone who understands finances very well to explain this to me, how does Thompson do it?

The fallacy that having a franchise quarterback forces you to go gut your team was disproved again -- Green Bay already has the NFL's highest paid player in quarterback Aaron Rodgers -- and in fact, with Cobb staying the Packers, proved you can have two top-tiered receivers on a contending team along with a $20 million per year quarterback.

 

 

So, is Tramon seriously looking at other teams or is he negotiating with TT behind the scenes? Haven't heard anything about him, and wondering if the market for him is bottoming out now that other CBs have totally skewed the market?

I think who a team resigns and exactly when they resign them is also way up on the important list. 

 

Detroit resigning Suh for example helps their team, But doesn't really improve or alter their prospects of contending for a championship. There are enough weak links in the chain elsewhere that you don't have to justify the investment. So they let him go and the beat goes on. 

 

Signing Cobb and Bulaga serves two purposes for Green Bay. Improves their prospects of winning Lombardi Trophies. Sends a message from TT and MM that they really do feel GB was the best team in football last year and it was important to keep as many core components of that team in place (and move away from players/positions that can be improved) to go about setting things right. 

 

IMO, I'm not 100% sure TT brings back Cobb and Bulaga or both if it's 2011 or 2012 and Ted feels AR has time to burn. This is a good team. The clock is ticking a little louder. Ted may have stepped a little outside his comfort zone on Cobb and Bulaga even though it looks like he was able to stay close to his target $$$ to bring them back. But it is a huge deal they are both still Green Bay Packers. 

 

 

H5, my guess without doing a PackerJoe level numbers drill is that there are three components:

 

1) Rigid cap and contracts management meaning no excess of dead money or excessive $$$ tied up in vets initially for the purpose of claiming a huge contact number;

 

2) Draft and develop including UDFAs means lower overall roster costs when one-half or more of your roster have less than 5 years of NFL experience; and

 

3) Rarely invest in high priced vets from other teams (putting you in a bidding war which cripples your out year cap) unless it's totally on your terms.

Totally agree with LaCanfora's take from the article Boris linked to:

Free agency for most is all about who goes where and for how much. But for perennially well-run teams like the Packers, it's about being creative with deals and prizing their own talent after excelling to initially secure it in the draft. This is the ultimate win-win -- keeping players you already know and love and who you know fit your locker room and your scheme. That would get me much more excited as a fan than giving someone else's average to just above-average talent a ridiculously overpriced deal not in line with his production, past, present or likely future.

Which reminds me. One of the most admired GMs in recent memory is Ozzie Newsome. Guess two Lombardis get you that. But holy hell has he allowed their cap hell to force them to release valued players like Ngata and Torrey Smith.

Hmmm, didn't they sign him as a free agent a year earlier and win a ring?

I guess I don't follow. 

 

Didn't the Patriots win the Super Bowl last season after signing the shiniest of free agents Darrelle Revis? And after signing free agent CB Brandon Browner? And free agent WR Brandon LaFell? And trading for OLBer Akeem Ayers? 

 

And didn't the Seahawks win the Super Bowl in 2013 after signing shiny free agent DEs Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett?

 

Thrilled we signed our Cobb and Bulaga, but the Packers lose their first playoff game last season without shiny new (to the Packers) OLBer Julius Peppers.

 

Pack the past few seasons have had some gaping holes (S in 2013 and ILBer in 2014). Free agency can fill those holes. 

Hmmm.  didn't New England sign him as a free agent to a 2/32 deal that was essentially a 1 year $12M contract, with a team option for $20M?

 

I guess the word "overpay" kinda slipped on by?

 

 

Didn't the Patriots lose a Super Bowl in flaming 18-1 fashion while favored by 14 after signing 7 free agents including one of the shinest free agents in Adalius Thomas and making trades for Wes Welker and Randy Moss? 

 

Win some lose some. 

 

 

So I guess the Packers didn't really sign Julius Peppers last season. I must have been dreaming.

In the last 2 years we've seen 3 UFAs go down to the wire, essentially entering into free agency rather than signing extensions early.  Ted has signed all three though and we really don't know what Ted did or didn't offer them as extensions before FA was looming.  I don't think Ted got robbed in any of the deals but he probably shelled out a little more than he would have if the "old/normal/?" way of extending contracts before this stage happened.  I wonder if this is driven by Ted, by agents, just coincidence, or whatever.  With $8M in cap space at the end of 2014 it sure seemed that they could have extended Bulaga or Cobb or even both had both parties been willing last December.

We don't know how much of when players end up signing is player related or Ted related. TT has extended guys well before FA and he's made guy's sit in the cooler for a while.

 

The best poker players have no tendencies. 

 

He was released by the Bears.

 

Can't win 'em all & the ridiculous loss in the NFC CG pretty much says it all. Everyone, including the Patriots know who the best team in the NFL was last year. Unfortunately, it didn't play out according to Hoyle. In the NFL, it rarely does.

 

The good news is, they kept the band together to give it another shot.  

 

Which means he is a Free Agent?

Q.E.D.

@SprowESPN: #Bucs led NFL in FA spending in 2014 ($147.3M). Lost 2 more games. Just cut player who accounted for almost 30% of that.

I see your point...               ...

 

Actually I don't see your point. Anywhere. 

 

You know what though... It's interesting that you mention New England winning a SB in part because they signed a free agent like Brandon Browner while Seattle lost said Super Bowl in part for not signing one of their own free agents like Brandon Browner which was one of the points Boris tried to make to begin with. 

If anyone was still hoping that the crop of free agents the Buccaneers signed last year would turn out to be anything but a disaster has all of their hopes pinned to cornerback Alterraun Verner and center Evan Dietrich-Smith right now.

 

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the team will release defensive end Michael Johnson on Wednesday. Johnson joins tackle Anthony Collins and quarterback Josh McCown as free agents that the Buccaneers signed around this time last year who have been cut after a poor debut season in Tampa.

 

Mess.

And then you throw a guy held onto like Hawk .... That should put an asterisk on the thesis.

NFL FA is like mining pyrite for the most part. Rarely do the Reggie White's and Suh's get out there. Sometimes teams make mistakes and you get a bargain. Charles Woodson. Craig Hentrich, who Ron Wolf later admitted was a mistake. And hopefully Peppers will join that group.

 

For the most part its desperation and trying to compensate for bad drafts. To hear people acting as though Byron Maxwell was some sort of game changing signing is comical. Almost as comical as Davon House declaring that he's "great" at press coverage. Teams are directed to spend 89%? of their cap space and it will get crazier. Marshall Newhouse just got 3.25 million for 2 years.

Big Ern.

 

Survivor.

 

Interesting that the Saints didn't approach Brees about a restructure to keep Graham, at least not that we know of. I think they are going to let Brees contract run it's course and than say see you later at the end of 2016. 

Salary cap changed football forever, and when it began, it was apparent that some teams 'got it' and some didn't. Fortunately for us, Wolf understood this very well, and built the foundation to ensure long-term stability in Green Bay under these new rules. 

They are shopping Brees and WR Kenny Stills right now

Yea that, and maybe Graham has a few loose marbles rolling around in his melon from the concussions .... A tad risky in today's NFL protocol.

Browns??

Eagles? 

lol Chilli

 

Meanwhile:

@zachkruse2: Sounds like Terrance Knighton's market is cooling. If it cools off enough GB should absolutely jump in.

Ted's MO.

Must not of heard Unofficial News:
Knighton being investigated for Wife Beating. Link will come after my source is verified
If any bloggers see this here, feel free to run with on InterWebs ...

@PackerUpdate: Jets added 5 players over 30 this week. Packers have 4 players over 30 on roster - and 2 of them are K Mason Crosby and LS Brett Goode.

 

@PackerUpdate: Packers have 4 players over 30 on current roster (Rodgers, Peppers, Crosby and Goode). For an elite team, that's incredible.

"For an elite team, that's incredible."

 

No... it's flawless

The last I heard he going to vist with the Saints this past Tuesday.

I'm curious why the market is cooling for Knighton? His demands must be sky high.

according to Havel and Henry on the radio Knighton is quite a bit overweight and out of shape.

 

edit:  I should add, even for him.

Saw somewhere that Knighton has had a tendency to let himself get badly out of shape. One year reporting to camp or OTA's at about 370.

 

Another item I saw said that it was telling that Oakland, with Jack del Rio as new HC (Knighton's former DC in Denver) and money to burn, hasn't shown any reported interest in him.

 

For what it's worth.

He may be about to land with the Redskins.

this is great and all but can we just win the ****ing Super Bowl already?

 

I'm ready. It's time. The board is set. The pieces are moving. We come to it at last....