Training Camp, 2021

[mradtke66]

I certainly hope you're right! And I hope they find a QB who can get the ball to Adams, among others.

Anything can happen, but you prioritize the great players and the younger players. I'm not sure exactly how it'll fall (I don't track contracts as close as I could) but players like Turner, P. Smith are the ones at risk.

Your super stars get paid. Your end-of-second-contract guys who aren't great get cut. 3rd contracts are the rarity.

Exactly how they do it will be interesting, but look at the middle class. Find guys who are older, not starters, overpaid, and/or paid fairly. That's who won't be around next year.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Anything can happen, but you prioritize the great players and the younger players. I'm not sure exactly how it'll fall (I don't track contracts as close as I could) but players like Turner, P. Smith are the ones at risk.

Your super stars get paid. Your end-of-second-contract guys who aren't great get cut. 3rd contracts are the rarity.

Exactly how they do it will be interesting, but look at the middle class. Find guys who are older, not starters, overpaid, and/or paid fairly. That's who won't be around next year.

Yeah that's a good way to look at it and you don't have to really consider position. Overpaid non-starters, end of 2nd contract guys will likely be gone. Or high paid FAs who never really perform, have a good year or two and then stop living up to their contact (P. Smith, Turner). I think Rodgers might be the only guy on the team with more than 3 contracts, and over 17 years and a lot of production, that makes sense.

 

[Krabs]

Find guys who are older, not starters, overpaid, and/or paid fairly. That's who won't be around next year.

P. Smith, Amos, Turner and Lowry fit that description very well. Cutting/trading those guys would save roughly $32 million next season. Z. Smith might be on the chopping block too. Cutting him would save around $12 million. That would get them close to the cap.

 

[mradtke66]

P. Smith, Amos, Turner and Lowry fit that description very well. Cutting/trading those guys would save roughly $32 million next season. Z. Smith might be on the chopping block too. Cutting him would save around $12 million. That would get them close to the cap.

Anything can happen, but if Z is playing well, I’d expect an extension to push out his cap hit. He’s a starter, productive, plays a premium position, and we don’t have enough bodies at edge. Especially if P Smith is gone.

 

[mradtke66]

Yeah that's a good way to look at it and you don't have to really consider position. Overpaid non-starters, end of 2nd contract guys will likely be gone. Or high paid FAs who never really perform, have a good year or two and then stop living up to their contact (P. Smith, Turner). I think Rodgers might be the only guy on the team with more than 3 contracts, and over 17 years and a lot of production, that makes sense.

I’d disagree that Turner hasn’t lived up to his I contract. He’s still pretty good.

His issue is age, contract life, not a premium position, and we have youth behind him. And we need cap space.

 

[Krabs]

Anything can happen, but if Z is playing well, I’d expect an extension to push out his cap hit. He’s a starter, productive, plays a premium position, and we don’t have enough bodies at edge. Especially if P Smith is gone.

I would expect them to keep Z as well. Depends on his output.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I’d disagree that Turner hasn’t lived up to his I contract. He’s still pretty good.

His issue is age, contract life, not a premium position, and we have youth behind him. And we need cap space.

Turner is an interesting guy. He really didn't do much his first year and last year he played very, very well. Preston Smith had an awesome first year and was average last year. These guys are too expensive ton have off years, and as you point out, there's a lot of young, capable talent waiting in the wings.

 

[gopkrs]

Turner is an interesting guy. He really didn't do much his first year and last year he played very, very well. Preston Smith had an awesome first year and was average last year. These guys are too expensive ton have off years, and as you point out, there's a lot of young, capable talent waiting in the wings.

imo Turner is better at R tackle than at guard. If he plays well there this year...that is pretty important. And I am thinking Preston will be much better this year. I think Pettine messed with him too much. Look forward to a very good year and then hard decisions.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

P. Smith, Amos, Turner and Lowry fit that description very well. Cutting/trading those guys would save roughly $32 million next season. Z. Smith might be on the chopping block too. Cutting him would save around $12 million. That would get them close to the cap.

Those moves would possibly get them pretty close to having a terrible defense as well

 

[Mondio]

Preston showed up out of shape, he knows it and corrected it for the later part of the season. I don't expect the same thing to happen this year. Amos is steady eddy back there and a he quietly does very well back there. I do not see him going anywhere. Turner maybe because we do have youth behind him. Lowry quite likely as well.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Preston showed up out of shape, he knows it and corrected it for the later part of the season. I don't expect the same thing to happen this year. Amos is steady eddy back there and a he quietly does very well back there. I do not see him going anywhere. Turner maybe because we do have youth behind him. Lowry quite likely as well.

Not sure if you're talking about last year. From what I've read, Preston showed up a few pounds lighter and in v good shape. Maybe last year reminded him that this is a year-long sport. Fitness escapes us quickly with inaction. It's not fair, but especially athletes have to work on conditioning during the vast majority of the off season. Anyway, I hope Preston returns to 2019 form.

 

[Poppa San]

Not sure if you're talking about last year. From what I've read, Preston showed up a few pounds lighter and in v good shape. Maybe last year reminded him that this is a year-long sport. Fitness escapes us quickly with inaction. It's not fair, but especially athletes have to work on conditioning during the vast majority of the off season. Anyway, I hope Preston returns to 2019 form.

Last year off season also depended on where he spends his off season and whether TPTB allowed people access to training facilities or if he had to make do with what he had at home.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Those moves would possibly get them pretty close to having a terrible defense as well

Yeah I'm not sure if Lowry belongs with this group, but losing the Smiths (assuming Preston shows up to repeat 2019, and it looks like he has) and Amos would blow a huge hole in a D that has been improving over the last few years. I hope P. Smith can repeat his 2019 year, or come close, and I'm pretty sure we can count on Z and Amos to show up ready to play. And if the Packers run into trouble at QB next year, they're gonna need a top 5 D to keep winning. Not sure if that's possible. There are still holes in the DL and ILB group and Stokes has a big job ahead of him - I think King has shown us all he's got. But all in all, this is all the D this team should need with the offense they've assembled.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Yeah I'm not sure if Lowry belongs with this group, but losing the Smiths (assuming Preston shows up to repeat 2019, and it looks like he has) and Amos would blow a huge hole in a D that has been improving over the last few years. I hope P. Smith can repeat his 2019 year, or come close, and I'm pretty sure we can count on Z and Amos to show up ready to play. And if the Packers run into trouble at QB next year, they're gonna need a top 5 D to keep winning. Not sure if that's possible. There are still holes in the DL and ILB group and Stokes has a big job ahead of him - I think King has shown us all he's got. But all in all, this is all the D this team should need with the offense they've assembled.

I agree that it's almost a no-brainer to move on from Lowry after this season to save much needed $4 million of cap space. The other players on defense mentioned wouldn't be that easy to replace though.

 

[Krabs]

Those moves would possibly get them pretty close to having a terrible defense as well

Amos would be the big loss there. P. Smith is kind of a streaky player and could be replaced by Gary. Turner is solid, doesn't play defense obviously, but there's young talented guys in the waiting. Lowry stinks. That is all.

 

[Mondio]

Not sure if you're talking about last year. From what I've read, Preston showed up a few pounds lighter and in v good shape. Maybe last year reminded him that this is a year-long sport. Fitness escapes us quickly with inaction. It's not fair, but especially athletes have to work on conditioning during the vast majority of the off season. Anyway, I hope Preston returns to 2019 form.

yes last year, he fixed it to a degree in season and finished much better than he started. I don't think he makes the same mistake this year.

 

[Krabs]

Good article by Packers Wire and I agree pretty much with it all.

Studs and duds from Packers' 26-7 loss to Texans in preseason opener

Highlighting the studs and duds from the Packers’ preseason opener against the Texans.

packerswire.usatoday.com

I was surprised how much Burks was all over the field. He was consistently in on almost every play. I know I have not talked about him at all. I had Barnes, Campbell, Summers and Martin making the squad. I would now change it to Barnes Campbell, Burks and Martin. Could be Summers, but he is undersized and really only makes an impact on special team.

Also, I think Funchess played his way onto the squad. I think they keep six. Adams, MVS, Lazard, Cobb, Rodgers and Funchess. Taylor played well, and maybe they keep seven, but I think he is on his way to the practice squad.

 

[Mondio]

The little bit I saw Summers was the same as before. He's fast to everything, but misses a lot.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Amos would be the big loss there. P. Smith is kind of a streaky player and could be replaced by Gary. Turner is solid, doesn't play defense obviously, but there's young talented guys in the waiting. Lowry stinks. That is all.

The poster mentioned moving on from Z. Smith as well. That would definitely be a huge loss, especially if P. Smith isn't back for the 2022 season either.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Interesting tidbit from Monday's practice. After the offensive line struggled mightily in the run game vs. the Texans Royce Newman was lining up at right guard with the starting offensive line during practice.

 

[Krabs]

The poster mentioned moving on from Z. Smith as well. That would definitely be a huge loss, especially if P. Smith isn't back for the 2022 season either.

I totally agree with that. The only way we cut P. Smith is if Z stays. The only problem is his salary. It explodes next season to the point that only Rodgers makes more than him. In the same respect, you get what you pay for.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Good article by Packers Wire and I agree pretty much with it all.

Studs and duds from Packers' 26-7 loss to Texans in preseason opener

Highlighting the studs and duds from the Packers’ preseason opener against the Texans.

packerswire.usatoday.com

I was surprised how much Burks was all over the field. He was consistently in on almost every play. I know I have not talked about him at all. I had Barnes, Campbell, Summers and Martin making the squad. I would now change it to Barnes Campbell, Burks and Martin. Could be Summers, but he is undersized and really only makes an impact on special team.

Also, I think Funchess played his way onto the squad. I think they keep six. Adams, MVS, Lazard, Cobb, Rodgers and Funchess. Taylor played well, and maybe they keep seven, but I think he is on his way to the practice squad.

Saturday night was the most I've seen of Burks in three years. And he looked good for what it's worth in a PS game. He was very aggressive and played well. Gonna be impossible to cut Funchess if he keeps playing like this. IMO if he does keep playing like this against the Jets, sit him until the opener.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I totally agree with that. The only way we cut P. Smith is if Z stays. The only problem is his salary. It explodes next season to the point that only Rodgers makes more than him. In the same respect, you get what you pay for.

It's all but guaranteed the Packers would need to restructure Z's deal next offseason to keep him in Green Bay for 2022 and beyond.

 

[El Guapo]

Interesting tidbit from Monday's practice. After the offensive line struggled mightily in the run game vs. the Texans Royce Newman was lining up at right guard with the starting offensive line during practice.

I saw this article highlighting the play of Newman in Saturday night's game, calling him potentially the OL next diamond in the rough:

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packerstalk.com

Boy would it be great if a guy like this really shined. The clip in the article showcases really nice blocking by most of the OL. Braden does just enough to neutralize his guy, Newman's reach block is phenominal but Nijman, Van Lanen, and Hansen all have nice blocks. It's worth watching the clip several times to watch each guy on the line. Only one play but good to see when most aspects are well-executed.

 

[GreenNGold_81]

MVS has apparently been lighting up camp. I think he's entering the year strong following his performance in the playoffs last year, it's his contract year so he's gotta play well. I think he goes off this year.