Sean Richardson RFA

[El Guapo]

Paying both Richardson and Bush more than $1 million might be more than Thompson wants to do, but given coach Mike McCarthy's stated commitment to improving special teams, money shouldn't matter. So while Richardson's salary is high, the risk factor is low and it's hard to imagine Thompson passing on this one.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/299512781.html

Interesting article from Tom Silverstein where he thinks that TT will match the Raiders' offer to Richardson. I didn't realize how much Sean had been providing on special teams. I saw him mostly as competition for the backup safety job.

My only note about the statistics quoted for ST tackles, is that Bush's worth (and others) needs to be factored as well with the number of forced fair catches caused. At the beginning of 2014, I started counting how many Bush would force per game based on a Rodell post. He averaged 3-4 forced fair catches in the five games that I watched specifically. Any guy that consistently uses his speed to limit opponents' return yardage to zero is still valuable in my book.

I guess I'm on board with keeping Richardson if the team sees value there.

 

[adambr2]

I've got to say, I'm very surprised we matched.

Perhaps our plans for Richardson are bigger than I thought. Maybe Hyde moves exclusively back to corner this year and Richardson is our #3 safety? I can't imagine we would pay $2.55M for a special teams contributer only. That's the going rate for a starting RB these days.

It's often said that TT, even I've said TT sets a price point and doesn't deviate from it. I think there's less truth to that than people think and he'll treat each situation differently. There's no way his set price point for Richardson was over $2.5M.

 

[Vrill]

In TT I trust.

 

[El Guapo]

People like to put TT into a box because he doesn't fit the classic mold for a general manager. I agree though, while he has a philosophy it's just that, a philosophy and not a golden rule.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I've got to say, I'm very surprised we matched.

Perhaps our plans for Richardson are bigger than I thought. Maybe Hyde moves exclusively back to corner this year and Richardson is our #3 safety? I can't imagine we would pay $2.55M for a special teams contributer only. That's the going rate for a starting RB these days.

It's often said that TT, even I've said TT sets a price point and doesn't deviate from it. I think there's less truth to that than people think and he'll treat each situation differently. There's no way his set price point for Richardson was over $2.5M.

I´m surprised the Packers matched the offer sheet for Richardson as well. It seems like the team sees him as the primary backup at strong safety.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I don't think TT wanted to loose anymore depth nor loose one of his top special teams guy, a unit the Packers know they have to get better on. Overpaying Richardson in this case for depth and potential, was probably worth the money in TT's eyes, especially given their current cap position.

Would have rather seen this move then to match what House got.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Are Bush and Flynn our last two unsigned FA's? Think we all know Flynn probably won't be back, will be interesting to see what they do with Bush, another valued member of the ST's unit.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Are Bush and Flynn our last two unsigned FA's? Think we all know Flynn probably won't be back, will be interesting to see what they do with Bush, another valued member of the ST's unit.

You're right about Flynn and Bush being the only guys not signed by a team. I expect Bush to be back on a cheap deal.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Sounds like a $1 million (including bonuses) deal for Bush is what the Packers can hope for. I just hope the money they just gave Richardson doesn't drive that up too much. Bush has been the cog of our special teams unit. A unit which needs ALL the help it can get. With as long as he has been in the system, he definitely has more value to GB then another team.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Sounds like a $1 million (including bonuses) deal for Bush is what the Packers can hope for. I just hope the money they just gave Richardson doesn't drive that up too much. Bush has been the cog of our special teams unit. A unit which needs ALL the help it can get. With as long as he has been in the system, he definitely has more value to GB then another team.

His last contract averaged $1.75 million over three seasons. With him being 31 years old entering this season I expect he will have to settle for less than that. I agree that bringing him back would help our special teams.

 

[gopkrs]

I've always liked Richardson. Like the way he tackles. I think TT wanted to pay him less. Probably not much of a gamble in that if he would have protected him on the next tier; it would probably be about the same salary as it turns out. Much better than taking a chance on a late round draft pick to replace him.

 

[HardRightEdge]

It's often said that TT, even I've said TT sets a price point and doesn't deviate from it. I think there's less truth to that than people think and he'll treat each situation differently.

I think there's sufficient evidence to suggest he'll pay up for his own players in their early-to-prime years.

The contracts given to Hawk and Bishop after the Super Bowl win were a little surprising.

As was the 2 year / $14 mil for Finley.

Burnett's 4 year/$24 million extension surprised many; it was a pay-for-potential deal for a young player.

Even the 1 year / $4 mil for Raji was interesting given the evident lack of interest around the league.

He set a price for Cobb, Bulaga and Williams, then raised the offers as the competition weighed in.

So, I think you have to start with how much you think Thompson (or more rightly, the football operation) likes the player. If they do, he'll set a price and raise it perhaps once.

As with the case of Cobb, he's not shy about paying up for high productivity. With lesser lights, the intangibles, particularly work ethic, factor in.

 

[sschind]

I think if you set a price and don't deviate you will end up losing guys you would rather keep and would have been better served in upping your offer a bit. You can't be so rigid as to let some guys go over 500K or even a million sometimes. Just like I don't think Ted is a strict BPA draft guy I don't think he is so inflexible when it comes to paying up. I think sometimes people like to think that as it portrays him as the indisputable guy in charge with a don't take no crap from no one attitude. I think to succeed as a GM besides having the ability to judge talent you have to know when to give a little.

You have to remember Ted thought enough of these guys to bring them in in the first place so it stands to reason that he may think a little more highly of them than some other GM. You also have to remember that for the most part Ted has had a chance to sign pretty much any of the players in the league at one time or another. Guys drafted in the first round ahead of the Packers are the notable exceptions and even then those who have reached free agency have been available to him. He has already passed on them at least once. It should come as no surprise that he doesn't show a lot of interest the second time around. Granted many of them simply were not practical but if they were someone Ted really wanted them badly enough he could have gotten them if he tried.

 

[PikeBadger]

I think the structure of the contract and its cap implications are far more important to Thompson than the publicized end number. Every contract must be team friendly.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

what has me scratching my head a bit with Richardson is the one year deal. If you have enough confidence to re-sign a relatively young player, why only a year? If his upside looks bright, lock him up for a longer contract without a lot of guarantees. That way we aren't doing this again next year with the same guy for possibly more money. Obviously, there are two sides to the contract and maybe Richardson only wanted a one year deal.

 

[sschind]

what has me scratching my head a bit with Richardson is the one year deal. If you have enough confidence to re-sign a relatively young player, why only a year? If his upside looks bright, lock him up for a longer contract without a lot of guarantees. That way we aren't doing this again next year with the same guy for possibly more money. Obviously, there are two sides to the contract and maybe Richardson only wanted a one year deal.

I'm not sure how the RFA thing works but the Packers matched the Raiders offer. I don't know if they have any leeway in the structure at the time of the match or if they have to match it verbatim but there is probably nothing to keep them from redoing it in the near future if it looks like it is something they want to do.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

what has me scratching my head a bit with Richardson is the one year deal. If you have enough confidence to re-sign a relatively young player, why only a year? If his upside looks bright, lock him up for a longer contract without a lot of guarantees. That way we aren't doing this again next year with the same guy for possibly more money. Obviously, there are two sides to the contract and maybe Richardson only wanted a one year deal.

Richardson was a restrictrd free agent and as the two sides weren't able to agree on an extension before the start of free agency the Packers had to tender him to have a chance to match offers by other teams. With the Raiders signing him to a one-year deal the Packers only choice was to match THAT offer.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Thanks guys....makes sense when I hear it that way

 

[El Guapo]

Also, it's probably the best move for the Packers. Unless Richardson can compete for a starting job, he's just being paid as a special teamer. I'd rather have liquidity on that squad if two or three young bucks step up and demonstrate their skills on special teams.

 

[TeamTundra]

If Richardson leaves after this upcoming season he would do so as an unrestricted free agent
And would factor in for compensatory picks. This may have been factored in when deciding to
Match the Raiders' offer.

 

[HardRightEdge]

If Richardson leaves after this upcoming season he would do so as an unrestricted free agent.

And would factor in for compensatory picks. This may have been factored in when deciding to
Match the Raiders' offer.

Right, and Capers is going to give him 800 defensive snaps so he has a chance to earn a contract that will yield a 6th. round pick. That makes a lot of sense to me.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

If Richardson leaves after this upcoming season he would do so as an unrestricted free agent
And would factor in for compensatory picks. This may have been factored in when deciding to
Match the Raiders' offer.

The Packers matched the Raiders offer for Richardson because they see him as a core special teamer and McCarthy has put an emphasis on improving the unit.

A possible compensatory pick in 2017 had absolutely nothing to do with it.

 

[GreenBaySlacker]

Seems like Richardson just got the Bush portion of the special teams budget. Good call IMO. Richardson is a beast.