Raji talks about Neal and Jenkins

[RashanGary]

Interesting comments by Raji about Cullen Jenkins. He said this year he and Mike Neal are dotting their i's and crossing their t's. He said they were communicating well and were feeling cohesive. He said last year Jenkins did his own thing.

Was Jenkins going outside the system to get sacks and money? Was that why Ted let him go for 5M /year?


You can find it at packers.com. The Videos.

[RashanGary]

Notice what they payed Hawk, a team player. 6M/year while Jenkins gets sacked for 5M/year. Is Ted keeping the team guys and letting the me guys go?

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

Maybe or maybe he is just thinking about Finley, Sitton, and Matthews who all need to be re-signed within the next year or so. But to be honest I actually thought the same thing. If thats the case TT is building a solid team full of serious hard workers who don't let their personalities over shadow whats most important - winning. Wasn't it Jenkins who was complaining about the 3-4 and saying he wanted to go back to the 4-3 in 09 when we first made the switch?

Barnett didn't want to move from the middle and made it seem like it wasn't even an option. Throw in his super bowl tweets..........where is he now? Gone.

[red]

well, for one, we don't even know if TT was in the bidding this year or was even offered a chance to resign him

everyone is saying, why did TT let him walk over 4 million? well, maybe TT didn't get the chance to get him for that cheap

jenkins wanted a new monster deal last year from the team, and didn't get it. we all thought he was going to be making huge bucks. maybe jenkins was looking for something more like 7.5 or 10 million per year and TT wouldn't give it to him. so jenkins feels disrespected by TT and the packers.

he then hits the market and finds out he's not gonna get what he wants and takes what he can get from a team with a chance to play and beat the packers.

also, remember, his deal is only really a one year deal. its a one year deal with no money up front and a 4 million dollar salary. next year there is a massive roster bonus due, he won't see that.

no one really wanted him and his injury history, the eagles were even scared. he took as much as he can get and he'll be trying to break the bank again next offseason

[Brandon494]

Or maybe TT knows you don't resign aging injury prone players.

[RashanGary]

Or maybe TT knows you don't resign aging injury prone players.

I highly doubt this had anything to do with it.

[rbaloha1]

TT usually makes the right call in resigning Packer roster players. Jenkins was a liability against the run. Neal may never develop Jenkins pass rush ability. But expect to be more stout at the point of attack allowing the backers to fill the gaps.

Yes, TT does like players that play within the scheme.

[3irty1]

What I keep thinking about was last year Dom Capers having a huge boner for Jenkins. Last year at this time he was even seeing time at OLB because Capers dug how well he could move for his size.

[Brandon494]

I highly doubt this had anything to do with it.

Its cool because I highly doubt Alex Green will be one of the most dominant runners in Packers history. :) Seriously though Jenkins was not resigned because just like his brother the guy can not stay healthy.

[VegasPackFan]

Let's see if a few months from now we are saying again: Thank God he didnt waste money on that guy! Seems to happen all the time...

[Guiness]

TT usually makes the right call in resigning Packer roster players. Jenkins was a liability against the run. Neal may never develop Jenkins pass rush ability. But expect to be more stout at the point of attack allowing the backers to fill the gaps.

Yes, TT does like players that play within the scheme.

Was he really that much of a liability? Early in his career, he got playing time at DE because he was better against the run than KGB. Until then, he had mostly been a DT, didn't he?

red - I wonder if he really thinks he'll break the bank next year? I think this was his only chance for a monster pay day. He's 30 now.

[pbmax]

I highly doubt this had anything to do with it.

Justin, this had everything to do with it. Unlike the vets T2 has signed to their third contracts, Jenkins was a part time player with an injury history who was no longer starting by the end of the season.

Add in a replacement player on the roster and it wasn't going to happen. He could have been a Nobel Peace Prize candidate and he wouldn't have been resigned.

[Patler]

Remember the TT interview in which he more or less said:
- the Jenkins contract went differently than they expected
- things happen in FA, and the Packers had no control once Jenkins hit FA
- it was Jenkin's decision to move on.

I think the Packers and Jenkins both expected an expensive, long term contract. When it didn't go that way, the Packers might have been interested in bringing him back for the type of deal he got from the Eagles, but Jenkins decided to move on. Call it ego, frustration, embarrassment, whatever. Jenkins preferred to go elsewhere rather than return to the Packers for a very cheap deal.

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

While being injured and getting older are certainly factors in them not re-signing him I don't believe it’s that cut and dry. Clifton was older than Jenkins and has chronic knees and they re-signed him and the same thing can be said about Tauscher. You had a similar situation with those players b/c they drafted Bulaga to replace one of them in the first round similar to how they drafted Neal.

Jenkins repeating throughout the season stated he wanted a new deal and that he wanted to remain on the team. TT never approached his agent to even talk according to Jenkins so it makes you wonder if TT saw something else he didn't like about Jenkins besides his age and injury history (plus 29-30 is not really that old for a DE).

When he was on the field he produced (7 sacks in 12 games).

[Harlan Huckleby]

I've given TT a pass on the Cullen Jenkins debacle, figuring that the packers just got unlucky with timing. But after reading Dougherty's chat yesterday, maybe TT really did screw this up.


Comment From Bob in Minnetonka: Pete -- Thanks for the chat. I'm still somewhat puzzled that TT did not resign Jenkins--especially if he essentially only got a one year $4-5 million deal with the Eagles. How worried should fans be w/o Jenkins and with Neal getting an MRI on his knee (i.e., his durability)?

Pete Dougherty: Agreed on Jenkins, he came at an incredibly cheap price for a player of his caliber with no immediate long-term commitment -- the big money doesn't kick in until next year, and it's not guaranteed, so he could be cut next February. Going into FA they had no way to know the price would be so low, but when he lasted on the market and the teams dried up, I'm surprised they didn't make a call. Concern with Neal's injury history is more than valid. They need him.

Comment From ChrisChris: Pete, what makes you think Jenkins even wanted to come back after not being shown 'the love' (aka contract) in-season? How do you know Thompson and his staff didn't reach out as free agency opened?

Pete Dougherty: He's said so publicly, a couple times in the offseason he said he was still open to it. He's generally been the kind of guy to speak his mind on such matters, so if he wasn't open to it there's a decent chance he would have said so. Also, I talked to Raji the first week of camp, and he said he spoke with Jenkins after Philadelphia signed him, and he thought Jenkins would have come back if the Packers had made a competitive offer.