Jennings says this might be his last year with Pack

[ivo610]

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/pack...st-season-with-packers-jl6nplu-168417706.html

 

[fettpett]

While I hope it's not, we do have a lot of guys that can take his spot.

I can see next year being Nelson - > Cobb -> Jones -> Boykin plus a draft pick

 

[GreenBayGal]

The Packers are in jeopardy of losing the players with the best smiles.

 

[longtimefan]

Rodgers wont let him walk lol

 

[13 Times Champs]

He isn't going anywhere.

 

[VolvoD]

If we can afford to lose the best talent in any department, its WRs. Hope he doesnt go though. ESPECIALLY to anyone else in the NFC north.

 

[fettpett]

He isn't going anywhere.

With Rodgers, Clay, and Raji's contracts all up/need extending there is a possibly that he doesn't come back...and it's the one position that the Packers can afford to lose a guy without it really hurting the team.

 

[warhawk]

With Rodgers, Clay, and Raji's contracts all up/need extending there is a possibly that he doesn't come back...and it's the one position that the Packers can afford to lose a guy without it really hurting the team.

Teams can only afford so many Pro-Bowl caliber players. Thompson is the best at keeping core players but this is a list that even he will have a hard time getting done. You can't, and Thompson won't, gut the roster to keep 4 players. Hopefully, the defenders he brought in will show they can play and he can go back to offense more in next years draft. There's always good WR's out there.

 

[HardRightEdge]

It doesn't surprise me this would be Jennings thinking. It does surprise me he would talk about it in these terms.

I said before the roster was set that I did not expect us to carry 6 WRs, but that if we did it would say something about the odds of Jennings coming back. Well, here we are, diminished odds.

Jennings will be 30 next Sept., 3 concussions in his history, and no renegotiation before his contract year which starts in 5 days. Also, the fact the offense did not lose a beat in his absence last season will play into the equation.

I doubt the Pack will pay market value providing the rest of the receiving corps performs to expectations.

The wheel keeps on turning, the beat goes on, etc., etc.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Rodgers wont let him walk lol

Rodgers stumped in the press for JJ. Same for Wells. Not so much for anybody since.

He may be getting it that the franchise QB in his prime has one foot in the locker room and one in the front office, and that interjecting himself into a multi-year financial calculation with many moving parts is a bit outside his core competency, that high SAT score not withstanding.

If at some point he stumps for Jennings I would expect it to be in private, and in the context of making concessions in his own deal to keep him.

 

[13 Times Champs]

The game after Jennings went down the Packers suffered their first regular season loss so I think we did skip a beat there. Also he didn't seem 100 % when he returned in the playoff loss. He's had concussions but has played in 81 of 88 games.

I don't necessarily agree you can just plug in another guy. Jones doesn't give us the same element and Cobb is still an unknown. Driver is done and Boykin runs a 4.7 40. We'll see how all this plays out. Who knows were his production will be this year? That could drive his market price up or down. Long ways from saying goodbye to him.

 

[The Drew]

It would really suck to see him go but with concussions and coming off the knee issue it might be hard for him to get the money he wants.

 

[ivo610]

Could always franchise him for a year then be done with him. Would make him 31. Otherwise I would like to see him get a 5 year contract. That would make him 35 when its over and thats about when WRs start to steeply decline.

 

[CheeseHead87]

Could always franchise him for a year then be done with him.

ESPN has said in the past that it is very likely that he'll get the Franchise tag.

I keep hearing people saying that the WR corps is so deep that if Jennings left, it wouldn't matter. I don't think I agree at all with that idea. He is the tip of the spear in that group. He takes coverage away from the other receivers, so they can make their catches. He is one of the best route-runners in the NFL. He's a true blue-chip player. He would be sorely missed if he walked away from the Pack.

 

[HardRightEdge]

The game after Jennings went down the Packers suffered their first regular season loss so I think we did skipp a beat there. Also he didn't seem 100 % when he returned in the playoff loss. He's had concussions but has played in 81 of 88 games.

I don't necessarily agree you can just plug in another guy. Jones doesn't give us the same element and Cobb is still an unknown. Driver is done and Boykin runs a 4.7 40. We'll see how all this plays out. Who knows were his production will be this year? That could drive his market price up or down. Long ways from saying goodbye to him.

I should note I don't even like talking about this stuff leading up to game #1. I wish Jennings felt the same.

I don't think I'd attribute the loss to KC to the absence of Jennings...it looked like a flat and ill-prepared performance across the board...we looked past that game. This is supported by the fact we put up 80 offensive points in the next 2 games against DET and CHI, one with Flynn at QB. The game before KC, for that matter, we put up 46 points against OAK with Jennings catching 2 for 20.

In any case, you're right, it is not a foregone conclusion and you cannot plug in just anybody for a Pro Bowl quality player. However, approximately the same considerations came into play with Jenkins and Wells, and the money involved in those decisions was not quite so daunting, albeit not for so-called "skill position" issues.

With Nelson's ascendency, Jennings is more like a #1.5 and not a #1. He may be worth market value to some other team without a bona fide #1, but market value for us presents difficulties.

The key here is not Cobb, or Boykins for that matter, but Nelson and Finley. If those guys continue to show they're horses we can ride into the future, the picture will be dimmer for a Jennings re-up, unless he's willing to take a significant home town discount, which does not appear to be the case. And to reiterate, he'll be 30 next season.

And then there's the 2013 draft.

 

[HardRightEdge]

ESPN has said in the past that it is very likely that he'll get the Franchise tag.

I keep hearing people saying that the WR corps is so deep that if Jennings left, it wouldn't matter. I don't think I agree at all with that idea. He is the tip of the spear in that group. He takes coverage away from the other receivers, so they can make their catches. He is one of the best route-runners in the NFL. He's a true blue-chip player. He would be sorely missed if he walked away from the Pack.

Franchise tags tend to have short term cap hits greater than renegotiated contracts unless the player is truly creme de la creme at his position. The renegotiation would typically include a big signing bonus which spreads the cap hit across multiple years. The franchise tag pay hits the cap fully in that year. This is why you don't see too many franchise tags handed out that don't get renegotiated before the season starts.

If we're butting up against short term cap limitations with impending deals for Rodgers, Matthews, et. al., the franchise tag won't buy us much.

 

[tynimiller]

I too hate discusses such possibly ill-fated topics before even this season but it is true (as hard as it is to say) I'd rather see us keep Raji, Mathews and Rodgers over Jennings. Simply because even with TT being a drafting wizard it is much harder to draft a dark horse or stud LB, QB or DT in a round outside the 1st round. You lose Jennings and you may get another 2nd round Jennings or 7th round Driver or any other of our countless mid to late round solid if not great receivers that enter the league every year...whereas it happens less that you get a mid to late round stud to replace Rodgers or Raji or Mathews. Just my .02

 

[13 Times Champs]

I should note I don't even like talking about this stuff leading up to game #1. I wish Jennings felt the same.

I don't think I'd attribute the loss to KC to the absence of Jennings...it looked like a flat and ill-prepared performance across the board...we looked past that game. This is supported by the fact we put up 80 offensive points in the next 2 games against DET and CHI, one with Flynn at QB. The game before KC, for that matter, we put up 46 points against OAK with Jennings catching 2 for 20.

In any case, you're right, it is not a foregone conclusion and you cannot plug in just anybody for a Pro Bowl quality player. However, approximately the same considerations came into play with Jenkins and Wells, and the money involved in those decisions what not quite so daunting, albeit not so-called "skill position" issues.

With Nelson's ascendency, Jennings is more like a #1.5 and not a #1. He may be worth market value to some other team without a bona fide #1, but market value for us presents difficulties.

The key here is not Cobb, or Boykins for that matter, but Nelson and Finley. If those guys continue to show they're horses we can ride into the future, the picture will be dimmer for a Jennings re-up, unless he's willing to take a significant home town discount, which does not appear to be the case. And to reiterate, he'll be 30 next season.

And then there's the 2013 draft.

The game against KC was our worst offensive performance of the season. Anyway you want to couch it they skipped a beat and Jennings was the only guy missing on offense. I think Jennings being out had much to to do with the flat offensive play against KC.

Jennings went out in the third quarter of the Oakland game btw. They led 31-0 at the half. Yes, they barely missed him in that game but that isn't the point. They did the next.
I really don't draw much either way from that last game where Flynn played.

Nelson's prowess is dependent on Jennings and vice versa. Nelson is solid but without a viable compliment both guys effectiveness probably decline.

I'll repeat we don't know what his market value is going to be. 30 is not death for a WR like it is for a RB. How old is Driver and he's still playing? Jennings has 5 good years left baring injury.

Yes the 2013 draft is coming but I don't want to see us hamstrung by having to focus on a receiver. There will certainly be other needs.

 

[HardRightEdge]

The game against KC was our worst offensive performance of the season. Anyway you want to couch it they skipped a beat and Jennings was the only guy missing on offense. I think Jennings being out had much to to do with the flat offensive play against KC.

Nelson is solid but without a viable compliment both guys effectiveness probably decline.

The CHI and DET games would suggest otherwise....regarding Jennings absence and Nelson's ability to work without him.

Just to be clear, money aside, I'd not want to see Jennings depart. Not by any means.

But it is always about the money, what you get for it, what you lose when you don't pay it, and what you lose if you do pay it.

We've got a pretty good idea what the market value is, provided he performs in line with recent seasons...somewhere in the $10 - $11 mil per year range.

 

[13 Times Champs]

The CHI and DET games would suggest otherwise....regarding Jennings absence and Nelson's ability to work without him.

And the KC game shows another side. Nelson two catches for 29 yards.

 

[JBlood]

Everyone would like to see Jennings stay, but it will be interesting to see which of the young receivers becomes the next Jennings.

 

[HyponGrey]

I would like to propose the idea that with only Raji and Pickett as NT since Muir was cut, and having 11 DB, we may be using Nickle and Dime to diminish Raji's role/importance/value so we would not have to pay him as much. Jennings leaving would be a significant blow to our WR corp, but its not impossible. I hope this doesn't affect his season.

 

[HardRightEdge]

I would like to propose the idea that with only Raji and Pickett as NT since Muir was cut, and having 11 DB, we may be using Nickle and Dime to diminish Raji's role/importance/value so we would not have to pay him as much. Jennings leaving would be a significant blow to our WR corp, but its not impossible. I hope this doesn't affect his season.

I too view Capers off-season avowal to play more base D in 2012 with skepticism. In any event, we'll probably be down to 10 DBs when Walden returns.

As far as Jennings over Raji, not likely I'd say, knowing what we know now. Both Raji and Pickett both have contracts running through 2013. Pickett will be 35 in Oct of the 2014 season, so you have to figure 2013 is Pickett's last year in GB. Raji will have just turned 28 going into 2014...with nobody on the roster now, developmental or othewise, to play NT besides those two guys, as you note.

Bottom line...Raji is younger, harder to replace, and won't cost as much. Would losing Jennings be a "significant blow"? We'll see soon enough. He could be the third option this season.

 

[wxman2003]

Packers don't have enough salary cap to sign Rodgers, Matthews, Jennings and Raji. One will be allowed to walk. We all know that isn't AR. TT has learned that defense is critical after last year, so that rules out Raji and Matthews, unles they have serious injuries. Packers continue to develop receivers, and by this time next year will likely have one with enough experience to replace Jennings. Jennings is good, but AR makes him look great. Jennings proved he is expendable after the game against the Giants with all his drops and poor routes.

 

[Jordyruns]

I think Boykins could develop so next year he would be an above average 4th receiver so letting Jennings walk wont be a big deal. To get to another point I have always liked James Jones but if dumping his salary makes keeping Jennings happen I'm all for it, maybe this is finally the off season where he might be traded because TT will have motivation to on this end as well.

When are Hawk, Pickett, and Woodson out of their contracts? Rodgers is not up for a couple years so giving these 3 contracts time to expire plus maybe trading JJ we might have enough to keep all 4 of the big free agents to be. Just a thought.