Finley: a Packer for life?

If every player was just in it for the money they would all take the shot at free agency.

That is unless they got a huge check from their current team. Nelson could have gotten a much bigger contract from another team.
Think about what the rams would pay for someone with his talents?

I hope, he is arguably the best TE in the game and creates probably the biggest mismatch.

We still haven't been utilizing him to his max potential, look for that in the playoffs.

What do you mean? How have we not? Because he doesn't hasn't had that many passes go his direction?

Finley has had plenty of passes go in his direction. In fact Rodgers targets Finley more than Brady targets Gronkowski.

Finley could be putting up more stats but there is so much depth at receiver on our team it's going to be hard to for him to catch up to a guy like Jimmy Graham who is having one of the best seasons a tight end has had in this league in a while.

Finley and Jennings are the go to guys when we need a conversion or a big play and more often than not Rodgers is going to go to Jennings because he's more sure handed than Finley.

That's what I'm trying to figure out: what it means that the team isn't maximizing his potential but that they will come playoff time.

Yeah. Finley may have more potential than is being displayed, but there isn't a defense in this league that has the DB's to cover all our receivers so there really is no reason to believe that we'll have to rely on Finley to carry us in the playoffs, or any game for that matter.

How much did the rams offer James Jones?

You shut down Finley and you are going to give up big passes to the other WRs and a few big runs along the way. You try and shut down the WRs then you will let Finley eat you alive. The only way to slow this offense is if you have a dominate front 4 and can create a ton of pressure without help. even then you have to catch arod

NFL.com reports that the Packers say, if a long term deal cannot be reached with the TE, the Packers will place a franchise tag on him.

Personally, I would love to keep Finley around. He is a great asset to the team. Yes, he can be outspoken at times but nowhere near the level of T.O. or Ochocinco for sure. The Packers would be fools not to keep such a great weapon around. Rodgers and Finley for 12 more years says I!

Edit: F.I.N.L.E.Y. I need to learn to spell.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000...n-made-on-new-deal?module=HP11_headline_stack

Seems like a good idea to me, won't make him happy but it will force him to play like it is a contract year every year or just sign a long term deal.

If I remember correctly, Finley said he wouldn't mind having the franchise tag placed on him. He wants to do anything to stay with the team.

Finley has had some struggles lately, but I'm still a huge fan. Personally I love a player with a little arrogance, doesn't seem to disrupt the locker room at all.

PFT keeps bringing up the "looming franchise tag fight" and I still have seen absolutely no indication that there would be any fight whatsoever. If they tag him and he makes a big deal about being a receiver and not a TE, if the Packers do want him in GB long-term, I'm sure they'll do what 31 other teams do with 99% of their franchise players and negotiate a new deal for him. Where's the crisis here?

Yep, I was just going to throw in Grant and Hawk's names. Both took cuts.

Hawk took a pay cut? when? He just signed a 5 year contract.

Grant would have been cut if he didnt take a pay cut. He didnt do it bc he loved the team, he did it bc he didnt think he could do better $ wise.

They just announced that Quarless may miss the entire 2012 season because his knee injury is so severe. Up until hearing that news, I've been convinced that TT would let Finley walk because of: 1) his expected salary demands, 2) his less-the-Packers attitude, and 3) all of the tight ends the Packers have drafted in the past two seasons. With Quarless out, that may have tied the Packers hands unless they franchise tag Finley so that they have him in 2012, then let him walk when Quarless comes back in 2013 and someone (Crabtree, DJ Williams, Ryan Taylor) steps up.

I read where the franchise tag for TE's next year is a cap friendly $5 million. From my understanding
there isn't a limit on how many times a player can be franchised.

Actually, FLORIO keeps bringing it up. Normally I don't mind his stories, but I've noticed a theme lately. It's almost as if he wants there to be a battle, and frankly, it's really causing me to question whether he should be writing Packers stories or not. Between last season's attempt to throw Rodgers under the bus for snubbing a greedy woman seeking yet another autograph to his comments about how Finley might try to make a case that he's a wide-receiver and not a tight end, to his comments about the Packers selling stock, there seems to be an obvious bias there, and I'm really starting to think he needs to recuse himself from writing and commentating on Packers related stories.

He did sign an extension, but he took a pay cut. He was due $11 Million this year (I think) and had to restructure the deal.

Unless they wind up being a distraction after causing a public stink because they weren't included in a photo...

could you provide a link to where it says he took a pay cut? I cant seem to find one. Also is restructuring the same as a pay cut?
I have a hard time believing Hawk was offered more from another team the day he was cut. He is still extremely overpaid.

His argument will be he is not a Tight End. He has a decent argument, and it will cost the packers a few more million that way.

I would like to point out that this is PURE SPECULATION and you have absolutely no knowledge of Ryan Grants thought process when he is meeting with his agents and signing his contract. I don't either.

Have players taken pay cuts to STAY with teams? Yes.
Have players restructured contracts so they make less money unless incentives they almost certainly won't hit are reached? Yes
Are we lucky that we have so many good players that all deserve a lot of money that we have a problem about keeping them all? Yes