The Free Agency Thread

[Pokerbrat2000]

Hate to say it, but after watching what Watkins and Robinson just got, I would almost rather move forward with Jordy and Cobb, while picking up rookie WR in the second round. As more FA WR's get overpaid and come off the market, the pickings are going to get really thin and probably won't provide enough improvement for the few million saved.

Sign TE Burton and start focusing on the damn defense.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Sign TE Burton and start focusing on the damn defense.

I'm afraid Burton will receive some ridiculous offers as well.

 

[Mondio]

I guess we can all come back to reality now

 

[elcid]

Cobb just became a trade chip after these contracts? Lets call the Ravens

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I'm afraid Burton will receive some ridiculous offers as well.

That thought crossed my mind as well. With the limited # of quality TE's on the Free Agent market, both Graham and Burton are probably licking their chops and both will get paid way more than they are probably worth.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Cobb just became a trade chip after these contracts? Lets call the Ravens

First of all I highly doubt another team would be interested in trading for Cobb just because of how much money Watkins and Robinson received. In addition the Packers would have to adequately replace him if he's traded or released which might prove to be difficult considering those deals.

 

[OldSchool101]

One thing is crystal clear, the earlier you sign these guys the higher the risk with an inflated contract and poor return value.

While it looks “****” signing these big names, these contracts are extremely risky and I pray we remain patient and don’t fall victim to the compulsion to severely overpay.

 

[Dantés]

Good grief Watkins... 16M is pretty crazy for that guy. I believe Reid knows what he's doing, but man that is rich.

 

[Mondio]

I had some thoughts I was going to post, but then I went around checking for FA news, and saw Micheal Rodney's tweets on the Packers page at sportspyder. I hate to keep quoting the guy, but a lot of times he nails it on the head for me.
Try these on;
-"You know what's more ridiculous than paying $16M per for Watkins? Paying over $20M for Cobb and Nelson."
-If Gutekunst wants to sign a top free agent, he's going to have to overpay. Otherwise, get used to more players like Kendricks, House, and Jean Francois".

and even more ridiculous is making that ridiculous statement. We all know that Cobb's production has not lived up to his paycheck. But at one point he earned it, and in the past 3 seasons, he was injured for much of one, didn't have eye popping numbers, but did have some big important catches, especially in the playoffs when Jordy went down and then last year we had a QB that couldn't get the ball to anybody open or not. So just what Cobb will we have this year? I don't know, but I do know at worst, he won't be as overpaid as Sammy Watkins and Jordy just came off a big time year and was on pace for another before the guy distributing the ball went down. Coincidence? or do we just believe that Jordy all of a sudden sucks? I bet his production will be on pace with Watkins. Maybe not as many catches, but will have more TD's. Of course this assumes health for all important parts of this equation.

 

[Mondio]

Cobb just became a trade chip after these contracts? Lets call the Ravens

That's one thing I thought too, with all these crazy contracts, Cobb's doesn't look so bad now, maybe he is more tradable than we thought

 

[PackerDNA]

and even more ridiculous is making that ridiculous statement. We all know that Cobb's production has not lived up to his paycheck. But at one point he earned it, and in the past 3 seasons, he was injured for much of one, didn't have eye popping numbers, but did have some big important catches, especially in the playoffs when Jordy went down and then last year we had a QB that couldn't get the ball to anybody open or not. So just what Cobb will we have this year? I don't know, but I do know at worst, he won't be as overpaid as Sammy Watkins and Jordy just came off a big time year and was on pace for another before the guy distributing the ball went down. Coincidence? or do we just believe that Jordy all of a sudden sucks? I bet his production will be on pace with Watkins. Maybe not as many catches, but will have more TD's. Of course this assumes health for all important parts of this equation.

I don't see anything ridiculous with his statement. They're badly overpaid, and no, they're not going to live up to those numbers again.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

The Dolphins will sign Albert Wilson, who has a total of 124 career receptions over four seasons, to a three-year, $24 million contract. FWIW Cobb has caught 126 balls in 2016 and '17.

 

[OldSchool101]

First of all it wasn’t long ago that the Tandem of Jordy and Cobb was #1 in the league, so an assertion that they are a waste of money is ridiculous and typical sensationalism.

What our Offense needs is a TE who can block and is just good enough at YAC to take some focus off the slot receivers (that’s RBs included)
Like the Jared Cook signing was..

Our Offense proved best with a high caliber TE and every time we’ve had one we get dangerous. IF we can’t get one in FA then let’s get one of the best TEs that slips past round 1, Let’s use a mid round and/or late round pick to trade up into the early second round and nail it at TE.

There should also be some solid deep threat receivers around with our first pick day 3. I might trade into the bottom of the 3rd if necessary, that first pick round 4 is valuable

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Brees and the Saints just agreed to a 2 year $50M contract, that is somewhat good news when it comes to contract talks with Aaron Rodgers.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Brees and the Saints just agreed to a 2 year $50M contract, that is somewhat good news when it comes to contract talks with Aaron Rodgers.

I don't think that Brees' contract will have a huge impact on Rodgers' deal as he's already 39 years old. Cousins will most likely set the bar.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

First of all it wasn’t long ago that the Tandem of Jordy and Cobb was #1 in the league, so an assertion that they are a waste of money is ridiculous and typical sensationalism.

What our Offense needs is a TE who can block and is just good enough at YAC to take some focus off the slot receivers (that’s RBs included)
Like the Jared Cook signing was..

Our Offense proved best with a high caliber TE and every time we’ve had one we get dangerous. IF we can’t get one in FA then let’s get one of the best TEs that slips past round 1, Let’s use a mid round and/or late round pick to trade up into the early second round and nail it at TE.

Agree. Really, besides the TE position, our offense is in good shape. Maybe some more depth on the OL and grooming a rookie WR, but I as long as #12 stays healthy, I am pretty confident, with an improvement at the TE position, our offense can be just as good as most. Would it have been nice to restructure Cobb and Jordy? You bet it would have, could have used the savings on some FA defensive signings. But as far as having both Cobb and Jordy on the field in 2018, it might be our best option. People focused solely on last year and the sh*t show that we saw while Hundley was playing, are forgetting what the Packer offense looked like with Aaron Rodgers running it.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I don't think that Brees' contract will have a huge impact on Rodgers' deal as he's already 39 years old. Cousins will most likely set the bar.

Good point and I agree that Rodgers and his agent are keeping a close eye on what Cousins gets, but I honestly was fearing the Saints throwing $30M/year at Brees and that may have affected Cousins deal as well as Rodgers.

 

[PackerDNA]

First of all it wasn’t long ago that the Tandem of Jordy and Cobb was #1 in the league, so an assertion that they are a waste of money is ridiculous and typical sensationalism

Uuuh... that was then , this is now.

 

[Sunshinepacker]

Getting really scared the Packers are gonna be aggressive by signing Trumaine Johnson or Jimmy Graham; just hoping that Gutekunst doesn't feel pressured to make some big move in his first off-season. Packers aren't in very good cap shape considering all the needs they have. Part of me feels like the team should hit a mini-reset button and get their house in order to better position themselves.

 

[Sunshinepacker]

Agree. Really, besides the TE position, our offense is in good shape. Maybe some more depth on the OL and grooming a rookie WR, but I as long as #12 stays healthy, I am pretty confident, with an improvement at the TE position, our offense can be just as good as most. Would it have been nice to restructure Cobb and Jordy? You bet it would have, could have used the savings on some FA defensive signings. But as far as having both Cobb and Jordy on the field in 2018, it might be our best option. People focused solely on last year and the sh*t show that we saw while Hundley was playing, are forgetting what the Packer offense looked like with Aaron Rodgers running it.

The offense will be ok so long as the team can figure out what to do at guard or tackle when Bulaga gets hurt (or isn't ready for the season). The defense is the side of the ball with the issues. Outside of interior dline I can't think of an area on defense that doesn't need substantial improvement.

 

[GleefulGary]

Woof!

Signing Adams for 14.5M doesn't seem so bad when he's a better WR than Watkins, does it now?

 

[GleefulGary]

Watkins is a great fit in Reid's offense, and they're gonna be fun to watch, but that's a lot of chedda.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

The offense will be ok so long as the team can figure out what to do at guard or tackle when Bulaga gets hurt (or isn't ready for the season). The defense is the side of the ball with the issues. Outside of interior dline I can't think of an area on defense that doesn't need substantial improvement.

I gave you an agree, but not sure about needing a "substantial" improvement at OLB and ILB. We definitely could use some better depth at both of those positions though. My focus is on the secondary, especially the CB position. I have to think if Gute is going to spend money on FA's its going to be on 1, if not 2 mid to high end CB's.

 

[C-Lee]

That was fun while it lasted lol

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I gave you an agree, but not sure about needing a "substantial" improvement at OLB and ILB.

The Packers definitely have to improve their pass rush as well.