Brady Poppinga Given Contract Extension

[HarveyWallbangers]

No details yet on the terms, but Brady Pop has apparently signed an extension with the team today.

[boiga]

Good for him. I always liked Brady on the team and was somewhat worried that he would be pushed out when we bargain hunted Chillar from the rams. He was a beast against the run last year, and while having issues in coverage has shown consistent improvement over the years.

Besides, the guy's hilarious in interviews.

[mmmdk]

Poppin' Champagne here in Europe. Poppinga is a Packer I like

[boiga]

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ic/blogs/insider/index.shtml

Poppinga gets a four-year contract extension
The contract extension for linebacker Brady Poppinga runs through the 2012 season, his agent Michael Hoffman said.

Packers General Manager Ted Thompson announced the deal at the annual shareholders meeting this morning.

"It was just finalized today," Hoffman said. "We finished it over the weekend, and Brady signed it today."

Hoffman wouldn't disclose the terms of the deal but said "it compares favorably to what other top linebackers received in the 2008 free agent market."

Poppinga was scheduled to earn $9270,000 in 2008, the final year of his original four-year rookie contract. The Packers signed free-agent linebacker Brandon Chillar this offseason, right about the time the Packers began contract talks with Poppinga.

"We’ve been working on this since March or April," Hoffman said. "That’s when they initiated discussions, and we were thrilled that we could finalize it before camp."

Poppinga is expected to compete with Chillar for the starting job at strong-side linebacker.

"In all honestly, he was happy that they signed Chillar," Hoffman said. "He’s excited about his future. I don't think he ever questioned his role at all. Brady's a competitor, and it shows a great commitment from the organization. But Brady knows he's still got to go out there and play."

-- Rob Demovsky, rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com

[prsnfoto]

Wow if he was due to make $9270,000 this year he must have got a 4 year 60 million dollar deal.

[RashanGary]

I'm guessing it's a base deal at 5 years, 17 million with 4 million coming in the first year either as bonuses or first year salary. I'd guess there is an additional 5 million in incentives.

Just guessing.

[packers11]

Poppinga deal worth around $17 million for five years

http://blogs.jsonline.com/packers/archive/2008/07/24/poppinga-deal-worth-around-17-million-for-five-years.aspx

[packers11]

That seems like a bit to much for him...

[Pacopete4]

a lot of money for a guy that cant cover a TE

[The Leaper]

His deal was roughly similar to these other two LBs:

Bailey (58 games) - 265 tackles (4.57), 7 sacks, 2 INT, 11 pass def
Mitchell (75 games) - 378 tackles (5.04), 8 sacks, 4 INTs, 18 pass def
Poppinga (44 games) - 138 tackles (3.14), 3 sacks, 2 INT, 6 pass def

Honestly, I don't consider Pop in the class of either Bailey or Mitchell. Pop is a one trick pony...run defense. He can't play in coverage, and he isn't overly effective rushing the passer.

Bailey averages almost 1.5 more tackles per game and Mitchell almost 2 more tackles per game.

Pop is not worth more than $3M a year.

[swede]

I'd be ticked if it's that much money.

The whole idea of managing a football team in the cap era is to spend way less money than everyone else on the average and above average players. Only the premium players should be eating up cap space.

That's why you have to let good guys go once in a while when some other team wants to pay them huge money. Carolina, Dallas, and Houston have done that favor for us in the past.

I'm happy Poppy is still with us, but I'd just hate to find out he's making more coin than the league average at his position.

[Lurker64]

I think this will depend on where Poppinga's ceiling is. He's steadily improved every year in the league so far; last year his run fills were outstanding and his pass coverage was adequate, better than the previous year on both counts. If he continues to improve and has a high ceiling, then this might be a deal . If he doesn't continue to improve or he has a low ceiling, you can always cut him.

I mean, after all, we did sign Kampman to his first extension when the consensus on him was that he was a "try hard guy with limited ability and potential." It's probable that the Green Bay Packers know things about Poppinga that we do not.

[HarveyWallbangers]

His deal was roughly similar to these other two LBs:

Bailey (58 games) - 265 tackles (4.57), 7 sacks, 2 INT, 11 pass def
Mitchell (75 games) - 378 tackles (5.04), 8 sacks, 4 INTs, 18 pass def
Poppinga (44 games) - 138 tackles (3.14), 3 sacks, 2 INT, 6 pass def

Honestly, I don't consider Pop in the class of either Bailey or Mitchell. Pop is a one trick pony...run defense. He can't play in coverage, and he isn't overly effective rushing the passer.

Bailey averages almost 1.5 more tackles per game and Mitchell almost 2 more tackles per game.

Pop is not worth more than $3M a year.

You can't really compare stats. Bailey has been on the field more than Poppinga. Poppinga didn't start as a rookie and rarely plays on 3rd down. Of course, he won't have as many tackles or passes defensed. Bailey has been a huge disappointment. I don't consider Bailey much better than Poppinga. I do consider Mitchell a better player.

[packers11]

they should have done Grant's contract before Brady's... Grant NEEDS to be in training camp

[HarveyWallbangers]

they should have done Grant's contract before Brady's... Grant NEEDS to be in training camp

It's not a choice that the Packers are making. They were in negotiations with both guys. Maybe Poppinga was easier to sign.