Clifton re-signed

[buchunter03]

Adam_Schefter

Filed to ESPN: Packers re-signed OT Chad Clifton. 3 years, $20 million, 7.5 million guaranteed.


Well they got the deal done. It may be more than they wanted to pay, but I think they had to do it for Aaron Rodgers' sake.

[mission]

That's GREAT to hear!!

We can argue what he's worth dollar for dollar at this age with his condition but I'm glad to know he'll be a lifelong Packer and love the move all around.

If we aren't gonna spend money on other teams' over-the-hill FA's, at least do it on our own (the ones we need)!

Way to go TT/Sexton/CC/etc!

[digitaldean]

WOW!

That sure didn't take long... :shock:

[Lurker64]

That's quite a bit of money and a lot of years for a guy who might not last 2, let alone three. But it's better than nothing. You have Clifton starting this year, with Lang and a Rookie behind him. Eventually, you'll find someone else.

[justanotherpackfan]

PRAISE GOD!!!!

[steve823]

Nice..great move. Didn't overpay him and that gives us time to develop someone to replace him. It also puts Lang at RT where he would be better suited..unless they re-sign Tauscher too.

[mission]

7 guaranteed... I'm sure a lot has to do with his health status as the final two years play out.

It looks like a standard TT deal.

[Joemailman]

That's quite a bit of money and a lot of years for a guy who might not last 2, let alone three. But it's better than nothing. You have Clifton starting this year, with Lang and a Rookie behind him. Eventually, you'll find someone else.

With only 7.5 mil guaranteed, it's not too bad. I wonder if this was the Packers original offer, or if they increased their offer after Clifton visited Washington.

[imscott72]

7.5 guaranteed? A bit much, but I'm not going to complain. He's got the experience and we know him as much as he knows us. Great signing. Now if we can get Tausch re-signed and draft a couple more OL I'll be happy..

[MJZiggy]

PRAISE GOD!!!!

Hey, welcome back!

[imscott72]

Forgot to mention, if they would have tagged him instead of Pickett he'd be owed 10.7 million, so TT did good here..

[mission]

Forgot to mention, if they would have tagged him instead of Pickett he'd be owed 10.7 million, so TT did good here..

Yeah, old or not he's still rated the #1 UFA LT on the market, right?

Even if we draft some good bodies for the OL, I think next year would be too full of growing pains to just cut our old farts.

[justanotherpackfan]

PRAISE GOD!!!!

Hey, welcome back!
Hey Ziggy!

The question is now, does this now shift the Packer's focus for the draft? Or will one of the numerous tackle prospects wind up in Green Bay with the Pack's 1st round pick?

[Joemailman]

I would still expect the Packers to draft an OT in the 1st 2 rounds. Doubtful that Clifton's long-term replacement is currently on the Packers roster.

[pbmax]

Well that guarantee makes far more sense than Cole's report of $20 million.

It's essentially a one year contract guaranteed and then two team/player options for 2 years. That's not bad at all. He got a raise of just over a million. Probably not TT's favorite signing ever, but at least McCarthy will talk to him next week.

[pbmax]

That's quite a bit of money and a lot of years for a guy who might not last 2, let alone three. But it's better than nothing. You have Clifton starting this year, with Lang and a Rookie behind him. Eventually, you'll find someone else.

With only 7.5 mil guaranteed, it's not too bad. I wonder if this was the Packers original offer, or if they increased their offer after Clifton visited Washington.
I suspect that for the cost of a plane ticket, Sexton got the Packers to up the guarantee by $2 million. A good days work.

[Lurker64]

I heard that the deal that Clifton signed with the Packers was actually the deal the Redskins offered him. Clifton gave the Packers the offer to match and they did, and the Redskins didn't want to go higher.

Simple! Rather than working for weeks before the start of free agency to negotiate a contract with Clifton, just let some other team do it for you!

[Joemailman]

I wonder if Julius Peppers made Clifton some money.

[steve823]

I heard that the deal that Clifton signed with the Packers was actually the deal the Redskins offered him. Clifton gave the Packers the offer to match and they did, and the Redskins didn't want to go higher.

Simple! Rather than working for weeks before the start of free agency to negotiate a contract with Clifton, just let some other team do it for you!

Well I think TT wasn''t willing to go higher then finally decided to. Smart move by Clifton's agent, use another team to get paid more.

[KYPack]

Clifton started looking better to me when it looked like we were gonna lose him. I was starting to get all ate up about acquiring Gaither and the other options. I mean, Cliffy looked like he was on his last legs at the end of the Cardinal game.

Then I started reading all this stuff on the net about Chad being the #1 UFA tackle. All of a sudden, big chad was looking like the next Anthony Munoz or something!

He's signed and we got him. I'm fine again.

[Lurker64]

He's signed and we got him. I'm fine again.

Now you can just put all of your worring toward who we're going to get to be his replacement...

[Kiwon]

Adam_Schefter

Filed to ESPN: Packers re-signed OT Chad Clifton. 3 years, $20 million, 7.5 million guaranteed.


Well they got the deal done. It may be more than they wanted to pay, but I think they had to do it for Aaron Rodgers' sake.

I'm glad we kept Clifton. Despite the injury history, he's worth keeping for another 3 years. A-Rod was getting killed while Clifton was hurt. Things improved significantly when he returned.

Give A-Rod protection and he's a MVP contender.

[RashanGary]

If it turns into 2 years, 14 million, that's not horrible. He had us bent over the barrel a little. We don't have a left tackle. We can't count on getting one in the draft and even if we do, very few step in and play right away.

Now we just have to hope for his health and hope we find one in the draft either this year or next year at the very latest.

[Gunakor]

I wonder if Julius Peppers made Clifton some money.

I wonder if Clifton will even be able to block Peppers effectively anymore. He's not a 29 year old in his prime anymore.

Good deal though I think. Maybe a bit more overall salary than I'd like, but it isn't too much in guarantees. If he doesn't last it won't hurt the Packers much, and it buys Thompson a bit of time to find and groom his eventual replacement.

[retailguy]

We overpaid. But, I'm relieved and happy, for a while anyhow.

One broken down pro bowl left tackle > no left tackle.

[red]

well this is a surprise, a few hours ago i thought he was as good as gone

this is good news, now we aren't forced in to drafting a LT with the 1st pick

he's not as good as he use to be, but he'll be better then a rookie this next season

[Gunakor]

I think we still have to seriously consider drafting a LT in the first round. Clifton's career clock is ticking faster than his contract. No guarantee he's back for 2011, putting us in the same predicament we were in before signing Cliffy.

[Lurker64]

I think we still have to seriously consider drafting a LT in the first round. Clifton's career clock is ticking faster than his contract. No guarantee he's back for 2011, putting us in the same predicament we were in before signing Cliffy.

Well, with Clifton on tap for this year, it puts us in the position of not needing to get a LT in the first round if there's significant value at another position that can help us, and then picking up one of the second tier tackles like Brown, Ducasse, Veldheer, Fox, or Capers in the second or third and giving him a full year to adjust to the pro game.

[imscott72]

I think we still have to seriously consider drafting a LT in the first round. Clifton's career clock is ticking faster than his contract. No guarantee he's back for 2011, putting us in the same predicament we were in before signing Cliffy.

Well, with Clifton on tap for this year, it puts us in the position of not needing to get a LT in the first round if there's significant value at another position that can help us, and then picking up one of the second tier tackles like Brown, Ducasse, Veldheer, Fox, or Capers in the second or third and giving him a full year to adjust to the pro game.

Yea we still need to draft a couple more OL, but neither necessarily has to be a 1st or 2nd rounder at this point.

[RashanGary]

Now we just need to:

D1 - Brandon Graham - OLB - Michigan - Not the sharpest tool in the shed, but maybe this years best pass rusher. If Brad Jones strengthens up to play the run better and really gets comfortable in the defense, maybe Graham is strictly a pass rush extraordinaire in his rookie season.
http://www.mockmydraft.com/images/Brandon_Graham.jpg



D2 - Morgan Burnett - S - GT - Great against the pass. Good tackler. Seems to be the complete package.
http://www.playatgatech.com/UserFiles/morgan-burnett.jpg




D3 - Jared Veldheer - OT - Hillside - Dominant small school player. Showed up a the Texas vs Nation game and impressed. Showed up at the combine and confirmed athletic ability. Really big framed kid. He's a lean 315.
http://api.ning.com/files/650FoUqjosZFB5TiJvIYMEuN0FMSQU5o7kCo0XKdujyLjnXynQ UMgl3TxIWwZ1*oh9RKCZPdxVtbrbdsQq7*EjIRHCU0dUYz/IMG_24351.JPG[/img]



Somewhere along the way. . . .

PUNTER

http://cdn.bleacherreport.com/images_root/slideshows/365/slideshow_36512/display_image.jpg

[RashanGary]

Super Bowl here we come!!

[Bretsky]

KUDOS TO TT

Now go sign Tauscher

and then Draft a dominating pass rusher to go along with Matthews like

Brandon Graham or Jerry Hughes :!:

[Bretsky]

If true, it was nice to see Clifton come back and give GB the chance to match

I still remember dam Allen Rossum......he gave Sherman the verbal he'd give GB the opportunity to match any offer he received and then he signed without doing so

My gut tells me TT is on the same honor agreement with Mark Tauscher.
Tauscher wants to keep playing for the Green Bay Packers.
He loves the city, team, and is a great locker room leader and team player.

I'd love to see them bring back Tausch now so they don't feel the pressure to grab a OL with round one.

One more dominating pass rusher could take this team to new levels.

My assumption....in all of this.....is Kampman is as good as gone and wants to leave

Use his money to sign Tauscher !!!!

[Lurker64]

and then Draft a dominating pass rusher to go along with Matthews like

Brandon Graham or Jerry Hughes :!:

Personally I'd like to see Thompson either get Graham in round 1 and a LT in round 2 (Brown, Vedlheer, Capers, Ducasse, or Fox) or a LT in round 1 (Okung, Bulaga, Davis, Williams, or Campbell) and Jerry Hughes in round 2. Either of those would make me exceptionally happy.

With Clifton on the roster, I'd be okay with taking Campbell in round 1 if he's there because as raw as he is techniquewise, he has the frame and the physical ability that's out of this world, but he basically needs to be taught the position from ground 0.

[Bretsky]

I have a hard time thinking Hughes is falling to the 50th pick; I think he may go in round one but end of round two might be tough to see

BUT If he is.....can we dream about Graham and Hughes ?? :lol:

[mission]

wrong thread, i know, but i really want morgan burnett drafted by the packers 8-)

[Gunakor]

We don't need a sack specialist to play opposite CMIII. We just need a guy who will create pressure, demand double teams, and allow guys like CMIII and Cullen Jenkins to make plays. I'm fine with Brad Jones in that role, and I think he'll keep getting better at it if given an opportunity to get with the #1's. I won't be hugely devastated if we don't spend a day one pick on a new OLB. I'm hoping that day one brings us a new OT and a new CB.

[wist43]

Well :)

It's really not a lot of money... but golly, TT has to look to the future at that position at some point.

I've always been a Clifton supporter though... he's just automatic in pass protection. Run blocking can be ugly, if not outright embarrassing, but he about as good as it gets in protection.

[Gunakor]

Well :)

It's really not a lot of money... but golly, TT has to look to the future at that position at some point.

I've always been a Clifton supporter though... he's just automatic in pass protection. Run blocking can be ugly, if not outright embarrassing, but he about as good as it gets in protection.

Other than being one of the worst offenders on the OL in terms of mental mistakes such as holding and false starts, I agree he's still top notch in pass pro. The penalties are drive killers though. He needs to stay more focused.

[Fritz]

The consensus here seems to be that while Clifton is not what he used to be and is a bit worn, it's a good signing for a one-year fix while Thompson uses a high level pick in this draft to nab Clifton's successor, who - ideally - would sit and learn this season, get into the weight room in the offseason, then come back in year two ready to compete for a starting job.

That would be great.

[RashanGary]

Now where is that dumb-ass Greg Bedard and his sky is falling crap?

[Fritz]

He's working on a story about how losing Kampman is going to cost the team its best pass rusher and is evidence that Thompson doesn't value his veterans enough.

[pbmax]

and then Draft a dominating pass rusher to go along with Matthews like

Brandon Graham or Jerry Hughes :!:

Personally I'd like to see Thompson either get Graham in round 1 and a LT in round 2 (Brown, Vedlheer, Capers, Ducasse, or Fox) or a LT in round 1 (Okung, Bulaga, Davis, Williams, or Campbell) and Jerry Hughes in round 2. Either of those would make me exceptionally happy.

With Clifton on the roster, I'd be okay with taking Campbell in round 1 if he's there because as raw as he is techniquewise, he has the frame and the physical ability that's out of this world, but he basically needs to be taught the position from ground 0.
Lurk, aren't you scared to death of Campbell? I barely follow this stuff and all the talk about his bad game tape makes me worry.

[pbmax]

We don't need a sack specialist to play opposite CMIII. We just need a guy who will create pressure, demand double teams, and allow guys like CMIII and Cullen Jenkins to make plays. I'm fine with Brad Jones in that role, and I think he'll keep getting better at it if given an opportunity to get with the #1's. I won't be hugely devastated if we don't spend a day one pick on a new OLB. I'm hoping that day one brings us a new OT and a new CB.
How is someone supposed to draw double teams as a LB if you are not a sack specialist? Teams rarely double team an LB on running plays.

[Lurker64]

Lurk, aren't you scared to death of Campbell? I barely follow this stuff and all the talk about his bad game tape makes me worry.

I'm with you, the game tape is pretty scary. The thing about Campbell is that in college he was a competent pass-blocker with technique issues that are correctable, and just a terrible run blocker. The thing is, though, that his upside is tremendous, and that's enough to get you excited.

So the longer that he will be able to sit on the bench, the better. If Clifton is good for one year, maybe not. If he's good for two, I think Campbell will be fine. If he's good for three, that's probably ideal. No way I would want Campbell playing as a rook, though.


Now where is that dumb-ass Greg Bedard and his sky is falling crap?

He no longer reads this message board, because some people were a little too abusive.

[Brandon494]

Wow glad I was wrong, thought he would be a redskin for sure. Still don't think drafting a OT in the first is out of the question with Clifton's injury issues. Bears getting Peppers put the pressure on TT to get this deal done.

[Joemailman]

I don't think the Clifton signing will have any impact on whether TT takes an OT in Round 1. It's doubtful anyone available at #23 was going to start as a rookie at LT anyway.

[Scott Campbell]

I don't think the Clifton signing will have any impact on whether TT takes an OT in Round 1. It's doubtful anyone available at #23 was going to start as a rookie at LT anyway.



BPA all the way.

[mission]

I don't think the Clifton signing will have any impact on whether TT takes an OT in Round 1. It's doubtful anyone available at #23 was going to start as a rookie at LT anyway.



BPA all the way.

+1

[Gunakor]

We don't need a sack specialist to play opposite CMIII. We just need a guy who will create pressure, demand double teams, and allow guys like CMIII and Cullen Jenkins to make plays. I'm fine with Brad Jones in that role, and I think he'll keep getting better at it if given an opportunity to get with the #1's. I won't be hugely devastated if we don't spend a day one pick on a new OLB. I'm hoping that day one brings us a new OT and a new CB.
How is someone supposed to draw double teams as a LB if you are not a sack specialist? Teams rarely double team an LB on running plays.

You create pressure. You don't have to always get the sack, just always be in the QB's face. That's what I meant.

[MichiganPackerFan]

Really happy to see him here. As a fan, I hate losing players who have spent so much time in the Packers uniform. (Unless of course they're backstabbing divas.)

[Tony Oday]

Really happy to see him here. As a fan, I hate losing players who have spent so much time in the Packers uniform. (Unless of course they're backstabbing divas.)

Agreed...Damn Antonio Freeman!!!!

[MichiganPackerFan]

Really happy to see him here. As a fan, I hate losing players who have spent so much time in the Packers uniform. (Unless of course they're backstabbing divas.)

Agreed...Damn Antonio Freeman!!!!

I was referring to Dorsey Levens.