Kenny Clark and Blake Martinez

[Pkrjones]

Packers have Clark on his 5th yr. option at $7.69M for 2020 so will need to work on his extension after the season or very early next season.

Was hoping Martinez could be extended for $8 or $9Mil/yr. but think he'll now be in the $12Mil/yr. range. 5yr/ $60Mil with $25-$30Mil guaranteed extension would keep him a Packer thru 2024 and increase his '19 cap hit to around $8Mil using up approx. $6Mil of the $9.4Mil current cap space.

Any thoughts?

 

[greengold]

Yeah. I have been thinking the same, Pkrjones. Blake is going to be an expensive extension. No doubt. I'm hopeful they can work something out, because he is a fantastic talent, and a dedicated professional, in every respect.

 

[tynimiller]

Packers have Clark on his 5th yr. option at $7.69M for 2020 so will need to work on his extension after the season or very early next season.

Was hoping Martinez could be extended for $8 or $9Mil/yr. but think he'll now be in the $12Mil/yr. range. 5yr/ $60Mil with $25-$30Mil guaranteed extension would keep him a Packer thru 2024 and increase his '19 cap hit to around $8Mil using up approx. $6Mil of the $9.4Mil current cap space.

Any thoughts?

When you have no other experienced or viable option at MLB, you have to extend him IMO.

We've had FAR worse at MLB, and with DBs we have and the front we have built...I think Blake is more than serviceable. I'm still clinging to hope we can slip in under $10mill a year....but he is almost too productive.

 

[XPack]

Both deserve the money. Clark is a one man wrecking crew and Blake is top MLB good against run and in coverage.

 

[XPack]

Top 6 earners who become FA in 2020 are

Bulaga
Tramon
Crosby
GMo
Marcedes Lewis

I think Tramon and Marcedes will not be renewed and possibly Bulaga too.
Crosby, Blake and Tonyan are the only strong renewal possibilities.

GMo is on the bubble with talented roster of Davis, Lazard and Kumerow waiting to take this place on the roster.

 

[tynimiller]

Bulaga
Tramon
Crosby
GMo
Marcedes Lewis

Honestly....I don't see more than 2 getting resigned.

I think we part ways with Bulaga unless he starts taking less due to age and history.

Tramon simply keeps defying father time but our DB corps is building into something special and that veteran has done his part grooming them and will not be needed I hope.

Crosby should be grateful to be on the team at this point...I love the guy, but would love a fresh young cheaper option IMO.

GMO...too early to tell, could be the stud after Adams for us, or a dud.

Lewis, love the guy but vet minimum or let walk.

 

[OldSchool101]

As far as Martinez, He’s easily a top 20 LB overall.
As far as ILB throughout the NFL? He’s easy top 10 there. He’s got a superior nose for the ball. He’s also a very consistent and durable, great find round 4.

Kenny Clark just keeps getting better n better.
I believe he’s the anchor of a likely top 5-7 scoring D this year.

 

[gbgary]

Honestly....I don't see more than 2 getting resigned....

yup. maybe none. yikes.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Packers have Clark on his 5th yr. option at $7.69M for 2020 so will need to work on his extension after the season or very early next season.

Was hoping Martinez could be extended for $8 or $9Mil/yr. but think he'll now be in the $12Mil/yr. range. 5yr/ $60Mil with $25-$30Mil guaranteed extension would keep him a Packer thru 2024 and increase his '19 cap hit to around $8Mil using up approx. $6Mil of the $9.4Mil current cap space.

Any thoughts?

I get that ILBs have been getting paid lately but Martinez at $12 mil per? There's no way I'd offer that. He can walk for anything remotely close to that as far as I'm concerned. The Packers current cap space is $16 mil by the way, bumped up with Daniels' release.

 

[gbgary]

I get that ILBs have been getting paid lately but Martinez at $12 mil per? There's no way I'd offer that. He can walk for anything remotely close to that as far as I'm concerned. The Packers current cap space is $16 mil by the way, bumped up with Daniels' release.

ILB is the leak link now. if they let him walk they'll be an even weaker unit for doing so. they'll end up going back into whole-plugging mode which is full ted thompson.

 

[HardRightEdge]

ILB is the leak link now. if they let him walk they'll be an even weaker unit for doing so. they'll end up going back into whole-plugging mode which is full ted thompson.

Martinez is simply not a $12 mil per year player. There's the draft and free agency if that's what he commands.

 

[Dantés]

Most recent comps:

For Clark...

• G. Jarrett, ATL: 4/68 w/ 38 gtd at signing (17M avg)
• G. Atkins, CIN: 4/65.2 w/ 17 gtd at signing (16.3M avg)

Similar averages with quite a bit more gtd for the younger Jarrett. This probably puts Clark around 4/70/40, which would be a 17.5M avg.

For Martinez...

• B. Wagner, SEA: 3/54/24.5 (18M avg)
• C. Mosley, NYJ: 5/85/43 (17M avg)
• D. Jones, ATL: 4/57/18.8 (14.25 avg)
• M. Jack, JAC: 4/57/26 (14.25 avg)
• A. Barr, MIN: 5/67.5/15.9 (13.5 avg)

This one is harder to call. Wagner is elite-- a level above Martinez. So that deal isn't happening. Mosley's deal really throws a wrench in things because the Jets overpaid so tremendously. Jones and Jack both have man coverage skill sets that Martinez does not, and Barr has pass rush versatility that Martinez does not.

So I feel less confident about this one, but I am going to guess that it would take 5/60/25 to get it done (12M avg).

 

[Pkrjones]

I get that ILBs have been getting paid lately but Martinez at $12 mil per? There's no way I'd offer that. He can walk for anything remotely close to that as far as I'm concerned. The Packers current cap space is $16 mil by the way, bumped up with Daniels' release.

We can disagree on what Martinez is worth, that's fine. I think with the dearth of ILB talent on the team AND the FA $ for dependable ILB's who can stay healthy and on the field that Blake is worth that $.

Overthecap.com currently has Packers at: "Team Cap Space: $9,453,861".

 

[sschind]

If ILB is your weakest position and you finally have one that is getting the job done I don't understand why you would balk at paying him the going rate. Martinez may not be in the top tier but he will not get top tier money either. You let him walk and you are now looking for two more.

The difference between 8 million and 12 million isn't really that much in the grand scheme of things. The only problem is the Packers may be much tighter against the cap. Still, unless you have an adequate replacement on board or plan on making finding one a priority it is a very risky move to let your best player at one of your weakest positions walk.

Lets see how the rest of the season plays out. Clark should be our #1 priority by far. Martinez can wait but I wouldn't be opposed to extending him. I wonder if extending Clark would affect how much Martinez will want.

 

[Mondio]

Clark is the priority, that's it. Martinez is solidly solid. Yes it stinks when you have to look for a replacement, but paying for a premium when all you're going to get is solid stinks too. Paying for production you don't get hurts. 4 million a year is another solid player on the roster.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Most recent comps:

For Clark...

• G. Jarrett, ATL: 4/68 w/ 38 gtd at signing (17M avg)
• G. Atkins, CIN: 4/65.2 w/ 17 gtd at signing (16.3M avg)

Similar averages with quite a bit more gtd for the younger Jarrett. This probably puts Clark around 4/70/40, which would be a 17.5M avg.

For Martinez...

• B. Wagner, SEA: 3/54/24.5 (18M avg)
• C. Mosley, NYJ: 5/85/43 (17M avg)
• D. Jones, ATL: 4/57/18.8 (14.25 avg)
• M. Jack, JAC: 4/57/26 (14.25 avg)
• A. Barr, MIN: 5/67.5/15.9 (13.5 avg)

This one is harder to call. Wagner is elite-- a level above Martinez. So that deal isn't happening. Mosley's deal really throws a wrench in things because the Jets overpaid so tremendously. Jones and Jack both have man coverage skill sets that Martinez does not, and Barr has pass rush versatility that Martinez does not.

So I feel less confident about this one, but I am going to guess that it would take 5/60/25 to get it done (12M avg).

Erik Kendricks signed for 5/50 and Nigel Bradham for 5/40 going into 2018. These guys are closer to comparables. Kendricks is the better player in any event. There isn't that much inflation.

Martinez should not be mentioned in the same sentance as Wagner, ever. Barr is not an ILB. I'd take Jones over Martinez and any day, and especially twice on Sunday. I wouldn't put him the same class as Jack. Mosley's deal is a mystery.

Martinez's best comparable is Bradham. $9 mil per, tops, for Martinez.

 

[gbgary]

Martinez is simply not a $12 mil per year player. There's the draft and free agency if that's what he commands.

if that's the market (and it appears to be), for a guy who's a notch below elite, then he sure is. if he'll take a little less for more guaranteed then that could work. jaylon smith just did 6/68.4 w/35.4 signing bonus (11.4/yr) with the boys. he certainly could have gotten more.

edit: quoted wrong jaylon earlier

 

[HardRightEdge]

if that's the market (and it appears to be), for a guy who's a notch below elite, then he sure is. if he'll take a little less for more guaranteed then that could work.

He's not a notch below elite. He's a good ballplayer with some limitations, two notches below elite. Can you ever picture him at a Pro Bowl alternate level? I can't.

Did I miss something? Did somebody somewhere write an article saying he's a $12 mil player?

It's one thing to pose the question, "who else ya got?", when the guy you do have has a slug of dead money on a pre-existing contract. This is not that. There's free agency and the draft to find a replacement if $12 mil per is what somebody is going to pay.

 

[Mondio]

if he can find a market for himself at 12 million, then I'm happy to let someone else pay that.

 

[Dantés]

Erik Kendricks signed for 5/50 and Nigel Bradham for 5/40 going into 2018. These guys are closer to comparables. Kendricks is the better player in any event. There isn't that much inflation.

Martinez should not be mentioned in the same sentance as Wagner, ever. Barr is not an ILB. I'd take Jones over Martinez and any day, and especially twice on Sunday. I wouldn't put him the same class as Jack. Mosley's deal is a mystery.

Martinez's best comparable is Bradham. $9 mil per, tops, for Martinez.

If you project a similar increase in cap space between 2019 and 2020 as we had this last off-season (~11M), then the cap will have gone up by next off-season by ~12% from the 2018 figure of 177 (currently 188; proj. 199 in 2020).

A 12% bump to the Kendricks deal would be 5/56.25, or 11.25 avg annually.

Bradham does not work as well as a comp because the Bills were buying his age 29-33 seasons. You get a discount on those years compared to someone like Martinez, who would be signing up for his age 26-30 seasons.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Overthecap.com currently has Packers at: "Team Cap Space: $9,453,861".

The Packers' current cap space is $16,155,001.

We've been over this many times. If you want to know a team's current cap space there's only one place to look:

https://www.nflpa.com/public-salary-cap-report

As an FYI, the league reviews and approves every contract. Often, there is a lag between when a new contract is reported and when it is approved and incorporated into the NFLPA's numbers. Though a waiver claim and not a new contract, perhaps Tremon Smith's number is not yet reflected in the number. So you might have to knock somthing less than $500k of that number for 14 games worth of pay. After that, knock off whoever else gets added as an IR replacement going forward.

 

[HardRightEdge]

If you project a similar increase in cap space between 2019 and 2020 as we had this last off-season (~11M), then the cap will have gone up by next off-season by ~12% from the 2018 figure of 177 (currently 188; proj. 199 in 2020).

A 12% bump to the Kendricks deal would be 5/56.25, or 11.25 avg annually.

Bradham does not work as well as a comp because the Bills were buying his age 29-33 seasons. You get a discount on those years compared to someone like Martinez, who would be signing up for his age 26-30 seasons.

Kendricks is the better player. He's also a guy who anchors the defense as guys come and go around him as the years go by. Do you think Martinez should be accorded that status? I do not.

 

[Dantés]

Kendricks is the better player. He's also a guy who anchors the defense as guys come and go around him as the years go by. Do you think Martinez should be accorded that status? I do not.

I am not comfortable enough with Kendricks as a player to say that he is significantly better or worse than Martinez. I think most would place them in a similar tier. The Packers will likely be hard pressed if they try to get Blake's camp to accept something significantly less than Kendricks' deal, especially with the silly money some teams have spent on off-ball linebackers recently (Kwon Alexander is another contract, along with Mosley's, that screws things up).

But I don't buy the bold. Sure, any inside linebacker who is around long term is going to provide some stability. But Anthony Barr, Linval Joseph, Everson Griffen, Harrison Smith, and Xavier Rhodes have all been there longer than Kendricks. Danielle Hunter and Anthony Harris have been with the Vikings far the same amount of time as Kendricks. The core of that unit has been around for a long time. He is not a Bobby Wagner figure-- i.e. a rock in the midst of almost complete turnover.

 

[gbgary]

some martinez perspective:
https://lombardiave.com/2019/02/18/packers-blake-martinez-pff-grade-nfc-north-linebackers/

https://twitter.com/pff/statuses/1110168468865851392?lang=en

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nf...-blake-martinez-contract-extension/ar-AAC9dOA

ok HRE...2 notches below elite lol.

 

[Dantés]

PFF grades are trash. They prove weekly that they really don't know what they're doing.