2018 Free Agents to Target

[hallzi43]

A lot of people have mentioned that signing TE Trey Burton should be a goal of the Packers. This article confirmed that this won't be an easy task, with as many as 16 teams already showing some sort of interest. Bad year to have high needs at TE and OLB. I'm leaning more towards a top FA CB and try to improve the OLB and TE positions through the draft and maybe a mid range FA signing.

https://www.bleedinggreennation.com...ted-eagles-philadelphia-market-tight-end-news

The good news is that it is a perfect year to grab OLB and TE in the draft.

 

[hallzi43]

tyrann mathieu may come free soon. here's an impact FA for ya. do the Packers have the cojones?

Probably comes at a higher price than Burnett. Doubt we even explore that one.

 

[hallzi43]

easy it would be done by now. Spreading $150+ million over 5+ years should be a piece of cake, right? No, it is not. Smaller cap number over the first year or two? Balloon "payments" a matter for some other day? That requires a nice set of blinders.

I'd be inclined to wait for OTAs to see how he's throwing. His mechanics did not look quite right on cross-body throws in his last game though Murphy does not seem to have that concern.

By the way, the Packers did not "allow" Favre to wobble on retirement. He did that all on his own.

I think largely what is causing the Packers to hold the phone on this restructure is to see where Cousins and Brees land in their contracts.

 

[gbgary]

I think largely what is causing the Packers to hold the phone on this restructure is to see where Cousins and Brees land in their contracts.

more like Rodgers' agent.

 

[hallzi43]

It's been a while since I've posted on here and I haven't gone through all 17 pages of this thread so forgive me if this is redundant. This is a scenario I've been tossing around, wondering what everyone's thoughts are...

At the moment we have roughly $16M in cap space. A report came out this morning that our rookie pool is going to take roughly $8.7M off of that taking us down to under $8M in cap space. In house moves for potential cap savings according to over the cap:
Rodgers extention - $15M
Bulaga Post June 1st Cut - $6.3M
Clay extension - $7.9M
Jordy cut - $10.2M
Cobb cut - $9.4M

Gives the Packers roughly $56M in cap space when you include the $8M left over after rookies.

Potential FA/Draft moves:
Sign Wilkerson
Sign one of the potential FA CB's (Talib, Butler, Colvin etc)
Sign Allen Robinson
Draft BPA on defense at 14 (Landry, Ward, James whatever the case may be)
Sign a guy like Dante Pettis in the 2nd or 3rd

Are the Packers better off? Just spit balling here, not saying this is what I want done.

That would really be a statement by Gutenkunst for sure. Mostly realistic is probably Bulaga being cut and Rodgers extension. I don't know if they have it in them to cut either Jordy or Cobb so one of them getting restructured, likely Jordy will probably be the best case scenario. Will be interesting if they sign Wilkerson and to what kind of deal. Most seem to think he will come with at least a 3 million dollar cap hit regardless of the structure. So suddenly you are looking at 5M cap space to play with.

 

[hallzi43]

more like Rodgers' agent.

Either way. There isn't any real reason to hurry here unless you have a FA on the line you are looking to break the bank on.

 

[OldSchool101]

Either way. There isn't any real reason to hurry here unless you have a FA on the line you are looking to break the bank on.

Unofficial Reports from NFL.com that Richard Sherman is leaving Seattle. It said he was saying goodbyes to his teammates. There’s our break the bank guy. Lol

 

[hallzi43]

Unofficial Reports from NFL.com that Richard Sherman is leaving Seattle. It said he was saying goodbyes to his teammates. There’s our break the bank guy. Lol

There are a number of guys breaking the bank would probably be nice to do, but first you have to hook them on Green Bay first. Which generally speaking has sounded pretty hard over the years based on conversations from ex-players/coaches.

 

[Alex]

I can't provide the link since work blocks twitter, but I just saw that Richard Sherman supposedly has been telling his teammates he won't be on the Seahawks in 2018. If that's true, I really hope Gute does whatever he can to land him here. That would be huge.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I can't provide the link since work blocks twitter, but I just saw that Richard Sherman supposedly has been telling his teammates he won't be on the Seahawks in 2018. If that's true, I really hope Gute does whatever he can to land him here. That would be huge.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...attle-reportedly-saying-goodbye-to-teammates/

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

2 big trades:

1. Rams have agreed to trade linebacker Alec Ogletree and a 2019 seventh-round draft pick to the New York Giants for 2018 fourth- and sixth-round selections.
2. Seahawks trading Michael Bennett and Seattle's seventh-round pick to Philadelphia for a fifth-round selection and wideout Marcus Johnson.

 

[gbgary]

sherman was in decline when he tore his Achilles last season. no way you hang your hat on him this season.

 

[HardRightEdge]

I think largely what is causing the Packers to hold the phone on this restructure is to see where Cousins and Brees land in their contracts.

Cousins is not in the same class. Brees is a lot older and won't get a deal of Rodgers duration for comparison. There are plenty of recently signed contracts that taken together serve as better benchmarks.

By the way, if the pundits are close to right on what Cousins will draw then somebody will have wildly overpaid. Ordinarily under that scenario I'd say it would behoove the Packers to get Rodgers deal done before Cousins gets overpaid. However, I would not make the commitment until seeing him throw this spring.

It's bad enough Garoppolo is at $27.5 million based on 7 career starts and 272 passes. Cousins will compound the matter if, as expected, somebody gets stupid.

 

[hallzi43]

Cousins is not in the same class. Brees is a lot older and won't get a deal of Rodgers duration for comparison. There are plenty of recently signed contracts that taken together serve as better benchmarks.

By the way, if the pundits are close to right on what Cousins will draw then somebody will have wildly overpaid. Ordinarily under that scenario I'd say it would behoove the Packers to get Rodgers deal done before Cousins gets overpaid. However, I would not make the commitment until seeing him throw this spring.

It's bad enough Garoppolo is at $27.5 million based on 7 career starts and 272 passes. Cousins will compound the matter if, as expected, somebody gets stupid.

The word is that Rodgers is going to get a deal that is unprecedented in the NFL. Whether it is a fully guaranteed deal, an opt out, or something else. Nobody is sure. But I don't think you can get a deal done before Cousins because it really doesn't make sense for Rodgers side of the deal considering he is still here for 2 years. Why hurry?

 

[HardRightEdge]

The word is that Rodgers is going to get a deal that is unprecedented in the NFL. Whether it is a fully guaranteed deal, an opt out, or something else. Nobody is sure. But I don't think you can get a deal done before Cousins because it really doesn't make sense for Rodgers side of the deal considering he is still here for 2 years. Why hurry?

I've seen the media spit balling on the "unprecedented" stuff. Lets just say right here that a fully guaranteed contract is over the top. It would ludicrously unnecessary for the Packers to hand out a guarantee more than double what anybody has ever received.

As for Rodgers' interest, his current contract has him receiving about $42 million over the next two years. He would like a raise before the season starts. We're all clear that this renegotiation would wipe out these last two years of the current contract, right?

 

[hallzi43]

I've seen the media spit balling on the "unprecedented" stuff. Lets just say right here that a fully guaranteed contract is over the top. It would ludicrously unnecessary for the Packers to hand out a guarantee more than double what anybody has ever received.

As for Rodgers' interest, his current contract has him receiving about $42 million over the next two years. He would like a raise before the season starts. We're all clear that this renegotiation would wipe out these last two years of the current contract, right?

For sure. Let's look at it this way though. Anything that happens in this negotiation is only likely to help us over the next 2 seasons in terms of cap room. I can't imagine any way they reach a deal and it doesn't end up that way. In which case you can down the line do some restructuring if need be.

 

[GreenBaySlacker]

For sure. Let's look at it this way though. Anything that happens in this negotiation is only likely to help us over the next 2 seasons in terms of cap room. I can't imagine any way they reach a deal and it doesn't end up that way. In which case you can down the line do some restructuring if need be.

As much as I hate the idea of leveraging the future, to theoretically win now. It wouldn't hurt my feeling to leverage the cap to the hilt, timed to implode when #12 retires....... but that is hopefully 5 or 6 years from now. So nothing changes now ,except #12s contract would be back loaded to boost current cap situations...

Packers being a small city team, depends on their large market. If they suck, and mismanage their business,cap,or management. They can easily fall back into the dark ages... they don't have a billionaire owner, or a city of 5 million people to bail them out if they screw it all up.
So they have to be conservative...

I think I just totally contradicted myself, and changed my mind again.... lol

 

[Deleted member 6794]

If the contract runs something along the lines of 5 years / $150 million, your contention that Rodgers' cap could be held constant over the first two years is not in dispute. But should it? That leaves about $35 million per year in cap "balloon payments" in the final 3 years.

So, the question is do you have the horses and the cap to go into free agency to seriously contend in the next two years? Live for the now and pay later? I would say not this year, and next year would be dependent on a couple of very good drafts back to back, something not seen in these parts in quite some time.

Sticking with aging/declining/underperforming players via extensions is just a doubling down on the "win now" approach and you're not gaining much cap in looking for impact in the free agent market without parting ways with the very players you seek to extend.

The reason this is difficult is because (1) this is not a championship roster lacking only a piece her or there, (2) there's not much cap to work with and (3) the QB has to be paid.

I expect Rodgers' contract to be renegotiated several times before he retires just like Brady has done with the Patriots. Unfortunately I have to agree that the Packers roster is lacking talent and it will take Gutekunst to make several successful moves to turn the team into a legit Super Bowl contender this offseason.

It's been a while since I've posted on here and I haven't gone through all 17 pages of this thread so forgive me if this is redundant. This is a scenario I've been tossing around, wondering what everyone's thoughts are...

At the moment we have roughly $16M in cap space. A report came out this morning that our rookie pool is going to take roughly $8.7M off of that taking us down to under $8M in cap space. In house moves for potential cap savings according to over the cap:

Potential FA/Draft moves:
Sign Wilkerson
Sign one of the potential FA CB's (Talib, Butler, Colvin etc)
Sign Allen Robinson
Draft BPA on defense at 14 (Landry, Ward, James whatever the case may be)
Sign a guy like Dante Pettis in the 2nd or 3rd

Are the Packers better off? Just spit balling here, not saying this is what I want done.

If the Packers hold on to their current selections in the draft the rookie pool will account for $9.26 million of cap space. You have to realize that they will replace players currently counting at least a total of $5.76 million towards the cap though actually resulting in an additional cap hit of a maximum of only $3.5 million.

Allen Robinson will most likely ask for too much money for me to feel comfortable about signing him in free agency.

Wouldn't mind making a play for Paul Richardson or Watkins.

Once again, there's no doubt the Packers have to upgrade the wide receiver position but Watkins will ask for too much money while Robinson isn't an intriguing player in my opinion.

There are a number of guys breaking the bank would probably be nice to do, but first you have to hook them on Green Bay first. Which generally speaking has sounded pretty hard over the years based on conversations from ex-players/coaches.

In my opinion it's a myth that most players that are focused on football don't want to sign in Green Bay. There's no reason to pursue guys that have any other priorities in the first place so there's no reason to be worried about losing out on them.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I hope to not see the Packers name on this list next year. One writers opinion, but he had Mo Bennett as the 3rd worst signing of 2017.
https://overthecap.com/30-worst-signings-2017/

 

[hallzi43]

I hope to not see the Packers name on this list next year. One writers opinion, but he had Mo Bennett as the 3rd worst signing of 2017.
https://overthecap.com/30-worst-signings-2017/

About right. Surprised they put Murray on that list. He actually ended up pretty valuable for the Vikings mid last season.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

About right. Surprised they put Murray on that list. He actually ended up pretty valuable for the Vikings mid last season.

Agreed. However, no surprise that the Bears, Browns and 49ers had their fair share of what were considered to be poor signings.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Ian Rapoport‏Verified account @RapSheet 38s38 seconds ago
The #Rams have signed CB Sam Shields, formerly of the #Packers. He’s launched a comeback after battling concussions.


Good luck Sam, hope you don't ruin your future with this decision!

 

[gbgary]

so the rams now have Shields, Talib, and Peters. #AllIn

 

[HardRightEdge]

Anybody mentioned Sammy Watkins yet? PFF makes the kind of case I've been making in cutting loose Nelson and Cobb altogether, freeing up cap for a productive FA WR (Landry fit that bill in earlier examples).

That would also leave a chunk of extra cap left over to add to the Rodgers till. I like the concept, but I'm not especially crazy about Watkins. He could come pretty cheap though, relatively speaking, as WRs go after an injury plagued 2016 and low production 2017. Then draft a slot with a high route running quotient without necessarily high end speed, something not all that much valued in the draft. Montgomery will get work out of the slot as well, but he can't track the deep ball so he's not an every down guy at that position.

Here's PFF's note: https://www.profootballfocus.com/ne...il&utm_term=0_ae3f4210bf-d691eddc30-208280777

Or to paraphrase Merle Travis, renegotiate and what do get? Another year older and deeper in talent deficit.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Ian Rapoport‏Verified account @RapSheet 38s38 seconds ago
The #Rams have signed CB Sam Shields, formerly of the #Packers. He’s launched a comeback after battling concussions.


Good luck Sam, hope you don't ruin your future with this decision!

I really have a hard time understanding Shields decision to attempt a comeback and even more so a team clearing him.

Anybody mentioned Sammy Watkins yet? PFF makes the kind of case I've been making in cutting loose Nelson and Cobb altogether, freeing up cap for a productive FA WR (Landry fit that bill in earlier examples).

That would also leave a chunk of extra cap left over to add to the Rodgers till. I like the concept, but I'm not especially crazy about Watkins. He could come pretty cheap though, relatively speaking, as WRs go after an injury plagued 2016 and low production 2017. Then draft a slot with a high route running quotient without necessarily high end speed, something not all that much valued in the draft. Montgomery will get work out of the slot as well, but he can't track the deep ball so he's not an every down guy at that position.

I don't believe Watkins is thinking about signing for a reasonable deal as the Rams were considering to put the franchise tag on him.