Packers + Mo Wilk working on 1 year deal

[tynimiller]

Mike Pennel is out there...run stuffing big guy...sadly all he does but he still does it well.

 

[tynimiller]

Nevermind....after I posted that, saw NE signed him late yesterday....

 

[HardRightEdge]

With no news on the Wilkerson front I think it is fair to assume any further interest will be contingent on the draft. A first round DL would likely rule this out.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

With no news on the Wilkerson front I think it is fair to assume any further interest will be contingent on the draft. A first round DL would likely rule this out.

Agree....Ed Oliver should be a suitable replacement for Wilkerson.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Agree....Ed Oliver should be a suitable replacement for Wilkerson.

There are several options. I believe Gutekunst will avail himself of one by #30 if not #12. If the candidates are picked off at those respective picks then Wilkerson might be a plan B if the medicals and price are right.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

With no news on the Wilkerson front I think it is fair to assume any further interest will be contingent on the draft. A first round DL would likely rule this out.

While the Packers might be interested in bringing Wilkerson back contingent on what happens in the draft they might not be able to re-sign him to a one-year deal because of limited cap space in 2019.

 

[swhitset]

While the Packers might be interested in bringing Wilkerson back contingent on what happens in the draft they might not be able to re-sign him to a one-year deal because of limited cap space in 2019.

Agreed... it is however interesting that he hasn’t signed with anyone else either.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Agreed... it is however interesting that he hasn’t signed with anyone else either.

I guess that Wilkerson still hasn't fully recovered from the devastating injury he suffered last season.

 

[Mondio]

I haven't had high hopes he'd be back since that injury. It looked bad, and he's a big man. I thought there was a chance last year he'd rejuvenate his career with GB and get a 2nd contract, likely with someone else, but was still going to have a pretty decent year. Now, I think his best is definitely behind him and I think the likelihood of him being much more than a body out there when he's healed is pretty low. I'd much rather draft a DL than give him any more than a non-guaranteed 1 year vet min contract at this point with some incentives. That injury didn't look good and he's got some miles on a big body. That doesn't bode well for the future.

 

[AmishMafia]

I haven't had high hopes he'd be back since that injury. It looked bad, and he's a big man. I thought there was a chance last year he'd rejuvenate his career with GB and get a 2nd contract, likely with someone else, but was still going to have a pretty decent year. Now, I think his best is definitely behind him and I think the likelihood of him being much more than a body out there when he's healed is pretty low. I'd much rather draft a DL than give him any more than a non-guaranteed 1 year vet min contract at this point with some incentives. That injury didn't look good and he's got some miles on a big body. That doesn't bode well for the future.

Always the optimist, I'm still pulling for him.

Even as an optimist though, I believe this 'news source' completely made this up. Thought the Packers were on a roll by signing 4 FAs (none of which, to my knowledge, he predicted or broke the news)

 

[Mondio]

I'm pulling for him, don't get me wrong. I'd love to see him back and be disruptive and get 8-12 sacks from the Dline position It will be an uphill climb for sure and I like to root for guys that meet that challenge. But i'm not holding my breath either.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Agreed... it is however interesting that he hasn’t signed with anyone else either.

While the Packers might be interested in bringing Wilkerson back contingent on what happens in the draft they might not be able to re-sign him to a one-year deal because of limited cap space in 2019.

This is a soon-to-be 30 year old player with many years of very high snap counts whose pass rush ability went into decline and did not show recovery last season in a new system. He's coming off a serious ankle injury that required two surgeries. To his credit, the Packer run defense declined in his absense.

You're looking at a rotational player whose pay will not come up to last year's level.

As of my last run down on the cap a couple of weeks back, the Packers had $5 mil in usable cap space based on the NFLPA's reported cap space of about $10 mil for the Top 51.

The NFLPA is now showing $14 mil in cap space with no recent activity to account for it, now closer to the cap space shown at overthecap and spotrac. This now suggests $9 mil in usable cap space.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

The NFLPA is now showing $14 mil in cap space with no recent activity to account for it, now closer to the cap space shown at overthecap and spotrac. This now suggests $9 mil in usable cap space.

The NFLPA has shown a total of $14 million in cap space ever since accounting for Allison and Lewis being signed. That would result in the Packers having somewhere between seven and eight million to spend.

As I don't expect Wilkerson agreeing to a deal paying him significantly less than last season the team would have close to no cap space to work with the rest of the offseason by signing him to a one-year deal. It might be possible to spread out the cap hit over two seasons by offering him a two-year deal with the intention of not bringing him back for 2020 though.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Could be the Packers have moved on from Mo or are waiting until after the draft. I think the fact that he is unsigned is a good indicator that he probably isn't physically cleared to play and that his market value is pretty low.

Mo was fun to get excited about, thinking we might be getting higher end talent at a big discount, but seems that doesn't happen as often as we wished it did. At this point I would rather see the Packers draft a few guys and keep developing the position. This could be Daniels last year in Green Bay, its time to invest in some young promising players.

 

[HardRightEdge]

The NFLPA has shown a total of $14 million in cap space ever since accounting for Allison and Lewis being signed. That would result in the Packers having somewhere between seven and eight million to spend. As I don't expect Wilkerson agreeing to a deal paying him significantly less than last season the team would have close to no cap space to work with the rest of the offseason.

My bad.

I went back and checked my last run down on March 25 and the NFLPA number was in fact $14 mil with $5 mil in usable space by my calculations after accounting for the cap costs of the draft, players 52 and 53, the PS and a PUP/IR reserve.

Your $7-$8 mil does not include holding anything in reserve for PUP/IR. Putting $2 mil on that reserve, which is the low end of prudent, takes it down to $5 mil as the practical, usable number.

Wilkerson's Packer contract last season was $5 mil with $3 mil in incentives. That was likely his high offer. With no pass rush resurgence in his few games, now a year older, and coming off a serious injury, if he's looking to match last year's number then that would be a prime reason why he is not resigned. His rehab may not be at a stage where he could even do a running workout.

 

[AmishMafia]

Monty Adams played well after we lost big Mo. I think we are fine without him, but it is nice to cycle in those big guys to keep them fresh. I thought Daniel's play trailed off this season. I think we will need to rest him more and be looking for a replacement.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Wilkerson's Packer contract last season was $5 mil with $3 mil in incentives. That was likely his high offer. With no pass rush resurgence in his few games, now a year older, and coming off a serious injury, if he's looking to match last year's number then that would be a prime reason why he is not resigned. His rehab may not be a stage where he could even do a running workout.

True, I wasn't considering any reserve for players being placed on PUP/IR.

I expect Wilkerson is looking to have a chance at making $5 million this season as well. While that contract would most likely include a ton of incentives the Packers would have to reserve the cap space for it entering the season.

 

[Mondio]

I would not even consider touching Wilkerson at 5 million. He's a vet minimum, no guarantee guy at this point to me. he gets about a million for a chance to show he can still play and GB only has to cap 6 or 700K

Though I think we'll look to draft 1 or 2 at least anyway

 

[HardRightEdge]

Monty Adams played well after we lost big Mo. I think we are fine without him, but it is nice to cycle in those big guys to keep them fresh. I thought Daniel's play trailed off this season. I think we will need to rest him more and be looking for a replacement.

Lancaster looked decent at the end of the season as well.

With Daniels in decline over the last 1 1/2 seasons what is missing is better pressure from the D-Line. While Z. Smith may be a nickel/dime option inside, I don't see that as a primary role where 80% of snaps are nickel/dime, more like a rotational role similar to Peppers.

The draft should bring in a DE/DT with pass rush creditials, but the uncertainties of how the board falls out could prevent it in the value-for-pick assessement. If that DE/DT is landed, then any Wilkerson consideration would likely be dead. And even if that draftee is not landed, what he's asking will matter. Post-draft cuts as teams find replacements for more expensive vets might provide other possibilities if it comes to that.

 

[HardRightEdge]

True, I wasn't considering any reserve for players being placed on PUP/IR.

Some thoughts about what happens if you do not have that PUP/IR reserve:

Let's say somebody goes to IR sometime before the start of the season with return being questionable or ruled out for the year as with Nelson's ACL, or DuJuan Harris' ACL who we recall was McCarthy's intended starting RB. We could add Jake Ryan, a loss that Pettine struggled (and failed) to replace. Then there are also replacements needed in season requiring partial year replacements and there always seem to be several, some critical losses.

Taking the example of a full year replacement, if there is no PUP/IR reserve then a guy has to be cut who yields a minimum of $1 mil in cap savings, $500,000 for the IR replacement at the rookie minimum plus $500,000 for a rookie minumum replacement of the guy you just cut.

There are not a whole lot of candidates to pick up that cap space. Spriggs perhaps with $1 mil in savings. That assumes an OT is drafted who can actually step in and play. Williams perhaps with a larger number, though that consideration is also dependent on what happens in the draft. It's hard to see an about face on Graham or a Daniels cut.

If Gutekunst is true to his word, "it is always win now", I don't think he'd settle for a guy off the practice squad to replace a Nelson-like loss just as Thompson did not in bringing back James Jones.

If Gutekunst wants to go the street or the waiver wire for a vet replacement, he's going to need more than $1 mil in savings from a cut. And that is just for one full year equivalent.

Since this is not a roster with a lot of depth, $2 mil in reserve is a bare minimum and not likely to be enough as the roster stands now. Since Gutekunst doesn't know what he'll get in the draft any more than we do, there is no reason to think he will not hold a reserve more than that $2 mil amount until the draft is concluded where a cut such as Williams might be possible to increase that buffer. Or perhaps he won't cut any of the guys with cap savings in which case he will have less than $5 mil to spend post-draft where more than $2 mil in PUP/IR reserve would be pruduent.

 

[OldSchool101]

On the flip side. I don’t think Mo signs for under 2.5M in GB. I see another team paying him that first.

We’re not the only shoppers in the store looking and kicking the old tread in the pre-owned area.

 

[Mike peterson]

https://247sports.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/Article/Rodney-Gunter-Packers-visit--130849138/

No Mo, sound like this guy will be his replacement

 

[Mike peterson]

https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/...-dt-rodney-gunter-visiting-packers-per-report

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Some thoughts about what happens if you do not have that PUP/IR reserve:

Let's say somebody goes to IR sometime before the start of the season with return being questionable or ruled out for the year as with Nelson's ACL, or DuJuan Harris' ACL who we recall was McCarthy's intended starting RB. We could add Jake Ryan, a loss that Pettine struggled (and failed) to replace. Then there are also replacements needed in season requiring partial year replacements and there always seem to be several, some critical losses.

Taking the example of a full year replacement, if there is no PUP/IR reserve then a guy has to be cut who yields a minimum of $1 mil in cap savings, $500,000 for the IR replacement at the rookie minimum plus $500,000 for a rookie minumum replacement of the guy you just cut.

There are not a whole lot of candidates to pick up that cap space. Spriggs perhaps with $1 mil in savings. That assumes an OT is drafted who can actually step in and play. Williams perhaps with a larger number, though that consideration is also dependent on what happens in the draft. It's hard to see an about face on Graham or a Daniels cut.

If Gutekunst is true to his word, "it is always win now", I don't think he'd settle for a guy off the practice squad to replace a Nelson-like loss just as Thompson did not in bringing back James Jones.

If Gutekunst wants to go the street or the waiver wire for a vet replacement, he's going to need more than $1 mil in savings from a cut. And that is just for one full year equivalent.

Since this is not a roster with a lot of depth, $2 mil in reserve is a bare minimum and not likely to be enough as the roster stands now. Since Gutekunst doesn't know what he'll get in the draft any more than we do, there is no reason to think he will not hold a reserve more than that $2 mil amount until the draft is concluded where a cut such as Williams might be possible to increase that buffer. Or perhaps he won't cut any of the guys with cap savings in which case he will have less than $5 mil to spend post-draft where more than $2 mil in PUP/IR reserve would be pruduent.

We have talked about the PUP/IR reserve on several occasions and I don't agree the Packers need to save a significant amount of cap space for it (unfortunately I haven't tracked it in past seasons but might finally do it in 2019).

The reason I'm not convinced teams lose several millions of cap space on replacing players being put either on the PUP list or on injured reserve is that a lot of expensive players have per-game bonuses included in their contracts (15 on the Packers next season for a total of $6.85 million). Those guys could be replaced without the team taking any additional cap hit because of it.

 

[HardRightEdge]

We have talked about the PUP/IR reserve on several occasions and I don't agree the Packers need to save a significant amount of cap space for it (unfortunately I haven't tracked it in past seasons but might finally do it in 2019).

The reason I'm not convinced teams lose several millions of cap space on replacing players being put either on the PUP list or on injured reserve is that a lot of expensive players have per-game bonuses included in their contracts (15 on the Packers next season for a total of $6.85 million). Those guys could be replaced without the team taking any additional cap hit because of it.

I'll take your word that 15 Packer players have per game bonuses. That means the other 38 players do not. 17 weeks of PUP or IR among those 38 would require a minimum of $500,000 in cap to replace or a minimum of $1 mil in cap savings if a guy has to be cut. The 15 players who do have per game bonuses are clustered at the top of the pay scale where a desired PUP/IR replacement is more likely to a more costly street vet or waiver pickup where the per game roster bonus savings may not be sufficient.

The Packers may cut a vet with cap savings after the draft if a suitable replacement is found. It would seem Crosby is your leading candidate or perhaps Williams. But unless and until such replacements are secured the assumption must be that a PUP/IR reserve is currently maintained. Nobody, including Gutekunst, can say at this juncture whether any of those cut candidates can be replaced.

My calculation of $5 mil in usable cap, with $2 mil in PUP/IR reserve, syncs with a recent Gutekunst statement that he has $5 mil working cap capital, a statement that created a tempest in a teapot from from media types who could not look past the $14 mil in available cap to the draft cost, filling out the roster and PS, and the PUP/IR reserve. There's also the matter of 2020 carryover and the tight cap situation for that year which I'll touch on in the Billy Turner thread.

I see no reason not to go with that $5 mil number when accounting for that reserve until the draft is complete.