Packer's 2009 salary cap takes some hits

[Patler]

JSO reports that a number of players have earned escalators for 2009 salaries:

Nick Collins gets an extra $2.5 million and his cap number goes up to $3.428 million.
Charles Woodson - $1.5 million, cap to $7.407 million.
Jason Spitz - $1.07 million, cap to $1.786 million.
Tony Moll's salary goes to $1.01 million and his cap to $1.046 million. This was an interesting one, it raised his salary to the lowest restricted free-agent tender for 2009.

If these numbers are correct, the Packers available cap for 2009 just went down about $5.5 million

[Patler]

Collins' increase is not surprising at all. I've been wondering if he had a Pro-Bowl bonus or escalator of some type. It is very common for players to have that, especially in rookie contracts.

Woodson, also no surprise. His could be based on lots of things, Pro Bowl selection, interceptions for the year or cumulative, etc.

The linemen are interesting. Not surprising necessarily, but I find it interesting that Spitz and Moll had escalators that were met, but Colledge did not. I assume these were based on playing time (starts). Maybe its just the higher expectations from Colledge's draft position, so it was anticipated that he would start much sooner than Spitz.

Looks like when all is said and done, Colledge and Spitz will have earned almost equal total incomes under their rookie contracts, absent any further bonuses earned by performances in 2009. That seems fair.

[KYPack]

Moll will get a lot of scrutiny this pre-season. He had a real suck year in '08. He's one of those guys who can play a number of positions and come off the bench. He does well in that role, but gets eaten up as a starter. He might make the team in a pinch, but will have to show he can play or they will unload him in a minor salary dump.

[Fritz]

The Moll thing surprised me. He's one of those end-of-the-bench guys whose value lies in his versatility, his youth, and his experience coming off the bench. Notice I did not mention performance, consistency, or talent as strengths...

[Packnut]

Look in the dictionary and under the definition of theft, you'll see a photo of Moll. Any money he made was theft at it's best.

[Patler]

Moll's increase wasn't huge, essentially giving him the RFA minimum tender a year early. I find him to be an interesting case. The coaches sure must see something in his potential, because they work with him, stick with him and move him all over. He was a TE until his last year of college, so his experience is very minimal. I'm sure moving between tackle and guard has been especially hard for him, with so little experience, and has probably slowed his development even more. His concussion and lack of practice time in 2007 didn't help him either. He could put it all together yet.

Surprisingly, he has 18 NFL starts in his three seasons.

[pittstang5]

The coaches sure must see something in his potential, because they work with him, stick with him and move him all over.

They must, because I thought for sure he'd be gone after TC in '08. He might be another Coston Case - they keep him around hoping one day the light comes on, then ultimately cut him loose when it doesn't. At least I think that's why they kept Coston for so long...maybe he was injured...either way I don't see a bright future in GB for Moll, other than a back-up.

[Patler]

The coaches sure must see something in his potential, because they work with him, stick with him and move him all over.

They must, because I thought for sure he'd be gone after TC in '08. He might be another Coston Case - they keep him around hoping one day the light comes on, then ultimately cut him loose when it doesn't. At least I think that's why they kept Coston for so long...maybe he was injured...either way I don't see a bright future in GB for Moll, other than a back-up.

Coston was around until 2008, and he was drafted the year before Moll, so they really haven't committed anymore time to one than the other at this point. They have shown more trust in Moll, it seems. He has started a lot of games.

2009 is critical for him. If he doesn't put it together early, I doubt they will commit a fourth year to his development if they have a rookie or two in the O-line to work with. Of course, if they don't sign Tauscher, and don't draft a couple, they might just need the extra body.

[Brandon494]

Give Moll some time, remember he played TE in college, still learning the position.

[bobblehead]

The coaches sure must see something in his potential, because they work with him, stick with him and move him all over.

They must, because I thought for sure he'd be gone after TC in '08. He might be another Coston Case - they keep him around hoping one day the light comes on, then ultimately cut him loose when it doesn't. At least I think that's why they kept Coston for so long...maybe he was injured...either way I don't see a bright future in GB for Moll, other than a back-up.

Moll is much nastier and has actually shown flashes of potential...I rarely saw either from coston. I'm still seeing Moll blowing Mario off the line on a few plays (only to get hosed by a phanton hold on the last one). I liked it, then he came up hurt. But regardless of flashes this is make or break. Either he is consistent this camp or he is gone.