Yeah I'm all for keeping Rodgers under center for as long as possible. It's probably best not to read too much into management's intentions. Yeah they can free up cap space by reworking Rodgers' contract, but that just pushes the problem to another year(s).Or just seeing a QB that they liked and thinking they were not just getting a steal, but some insurance. Also, the Packers still have options with pushing out Rodgers salary, so don't read too much into the paying of his signing bonus, except maybe that it tells you that he will be in Green Bay at least another (this) season.
The Packers have already pushed a lot of cap out into the future with other moves, maybe they are waiting before doing any more over leveraging of their future? Are they moving on from Kenny Clark in the near future because they didn't restructure his contract in order to free up cap?
People really seem hell bent on trying to figure out Rodgers and the Packers, grabbing at any kernel of information or speculation to try and respin the drama. I guess we lived through this with Favre too, but I'm just happy every year I see #12 behind center...for the Packers. A sight that once it's gone, we will never see again.
I hope Love does turn out to be the third straight HOF QB out of Green Bay. I'm not counting on it, but then I didn't expect Rodgers to better Favre when Rodgers was drafted. We know how that turned out.
And teams look to take advantage of productive players on rookie contracts. Every year Love sits is a wasted year in that regard. Gluten must have thought Rodgers was near the end of his playing career. Now he'd look foolish to get rid of the MVP QB to start a rookie. So assuming Rodgers stays around for another 2, 3, or more years, Love will simply be the backup. We'll find out in the pre-season how much potential he has.
Cap numbers for Lowry and Jackson are low; packers better win it this year because next they are deep trouble Cap wise (even without the aforementioned, including King). They will need to re-sign Adams after this year at a HUGE number and a couple of others who are "core players". Not sure what they are doing but putting about $160M into a couple handful of guys for 2022 is a major concern; of course, they will have the option to rid themselves of the Rogers cap number in 2022 offseason (which is a possibility considering the lack of management action and strange comments or failure to comment). This team has a core, however, they need a Center to manage the OL (who will that be?). Need another DL and LB, better Safety play and could really use a WR2/3 with some speed and moves. If not this year then the next offseason will be really interesting to see how they handle the negative cap numbers. Again, taking out Lowry, Jackson and King are about $15M-$18M max... Better hope they win it all this year and then deal with all the above.
I think Capers screwed up Randall by playing him in the wrong position. I always thought he was a safety just like he did with Hyde. I’ve said multiple times that I believe Dix was a bad pick. IMO, he was a 3rd or 4th round talent. I’m not a scout and I really have no idea whether Datone Jones had late 1st round ability or not. It’s clear in retrospect that he was not well suited for us or did not have the intangibles needed to thrive.
Yeah those are good points. No matter who is under center after Rodgers is gone - it is gonna be a bumpy ride. And sure, if Love turns out to be GB's third HOF QB in a row (we don't know either way right now), pay the man and let's keep rolling.
The only thing they have prevented themselves from reworking to date, is his signing bonus. What you are seeing with this is what the media and several posters are trying to draw conclusions from "Rodgers must be on his way out, because the Packers paid him his roster bonus, instead of pushing it out into the future." This could very well be true, but I would also like to think it is Ball and Gute saying "ok, the future with Rodgers isn't exactly engraved in stone just yet, we already pushed a lot of money out into the future this offseason, do we have any moves pending that we need his cap space for right now?" If they answered that last part with a "no" or a simple "not right now, but we have other ways to get the cap space, including his annual salary, if the need arises", they probably just pulled the trigger on paying the bonus, which was due on March 19.
I certainly hope he stays for another three years. He certainly looks like he can. I'm not sure they did all they could this off season (so far) to get this team to the SB. It's possible they did all they were willing to do. And I agree, none of us should be trying to read the minds of Gluten or MLF or Murphy. In the end, I'd just like to see one more SB with Rodgers under center - whether it's this coming year or after.
Yeah the FO is walking a tightrope now. They need enough cap to sign the rookies and a cushion, as you note, for injuries. And this year is unique in that FAs are staying on the market a little longer. Although I think Gluten is pretty much done with FAs and will go to camp with who he has now, and the draftees.
