Jennings - Last Season with the Pack

[mission]

"Unless we come to those numbers, then I don't want to hear anything about it."

"Whether the contract comes with Green Bay in the near future or (with) one of the other 31 teams, that's the reality of it," Jennings said. "That's the way I have to approach it. My mind-set is 20 weeks of football with the Packers and then this is it.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/jennings-says-this-could-be-his-last-season-with-packers-jl6nplu-168417706.html

Sure reads like a diva. Sure what he's saying is factual but the guy we thought Greg to be is maybe a bit different than reality. I'd like to see a "I'd love to play with this team, the best QB in the game my entire career" ... nope.

[King Friday]

Football is a business, and it is Jennings' career we are talking about. The guy HAS to get paid, because it has to last him the rest of his life. I'm sure Jennings is willing to take some kind of hometown discount, but he's not going to publically announce that. His best interest is to have all other 31 teams try to bid on him this offseason to maximize his deal.

It is easy as a fan to sit there and whine about being a "team guy"...but those same fans will pack a gas station with a line a mile long when the prices haven't been bumped up 30 cents like they have been at all the other places around town...to save less than $4. So if the fans are that anal about THEIR money, why do they hold the players to a different standard?

[HarveyWallbangers]

Jennings has always said the right thing. Many times. I'm sure he's a bit frustrated to think that he may not be a high priority. We'll see.

[packers11]

There is a thing called the Franchise Tag. He won't be going anywhere... Atleast for another 2 years...

[Lurker64]

There is a thing called the Franchise Tag. He won't be going anywhere... Atleast for another 2 years...

Yup, this is his second-to-last season with the Packers, potentially.

[MadtownPacker]

Mission, stop hating on another man for wanting to come up. You know better than that. He isnt even acting like a diva. Sounds like business to me.

I don't have any issue with what he is saying. He has done everything asked of him and more. We just gotta hope TT can find a way or if not someone else will.

[gbgary]

just playing hardball. it's cold but i think i'd string it out a bit and see how the concussion thing goes.

[RashanGary]

I think there is a lot to this, and in just about every way, it's nobody's FAULT.


You don't think the Packers want to keep Greg Jennings? Wrong. He's a hell of a player, could be the Packers all time leader in every receiving category there is if he stays around.


You don't think Jennings wants to stay with the Packers? Watch the SB DVD where Jennings and MM hug. Watch him with his teammates once. He loves it here. He loves the people he works with. They are a team.



And then come the harsh realities of real life. People don't realize this, but Mark Murphy has talked about it. The salary cap is staying flat for the next couple years. We're getting closer to it, and we have at least 5 monster contracts coming up in the next couple years (Matthews, Raji, Rodgers, Bulaga, Jennings.) Murphy said there are going to have to be some tough choices, that we can't keep them all. The Packers did this after they won the SB in 96. We had to let some get away. The Patriots have done it several times over the last couple years, the most notable being Richard Seymore.

After Ron Wolfe retired, he said himself, the game has passed him by, he wishes it were like baseball, where you could get with a team like the Yankees and waive his magic fairy wand around to get anyone he wanted. Unfortunately for guys like him, guys like Greg Jennings, and fans who want it all, that's not how it works.

The person who's going to be hurt most by this is Greg Jennings, so of course he's going to be the one reacting. TT and the Packers all stay together. They'll miss him, but they're still all a big happy group. Meanwhile, Jennings gets cast out of his second family, not having any clue where he might land or what the future holds while everyone else stays together laughing and hugging. Yeah, he could stay, at the expense of the future of his family. Sure, he could do that, but he won't and shouldn't. From his perspective, as good of a player as he is, as good of a teammate as he's been, he probably can't imagine why the Packers would offer him so much less than other players of his caliber get. He probably can't understand why they're willing to just cast him aside. So whatever he does in this whole thing, all is forgiven by me. And whatever the Packers do, they just have to do it. They don't have the money not to. The last time Ted let an irreplaceable player (as Brandon would call Jennings) go, it turned out alright. Let's please not get into a discussion of how great and irreplaceable Greg Jennings is. Like Favre before him, he might not even be the best player at his position on his own team. This is the NFL. TT puts it this way. Put your hand in a bucket of water. That hand is you. Pull it out and watch how quickly the hole fills with water. That's how quickly you are replaced. Welcome to the NFL. Favre was replaceable and so is Jennings. Those are just the facts.

[wootah]

Yeah, he could stay, at the expense of the future of his family. Sure, he could do that, but he won't and shouldn't.

Nice post, JH, although I don't agree with the quote above. Life can be more than just maximizing the amount of money you gain at all cost. It's all about priorities. Maybe he won't earn as much in GB as he'd get elsewhere, but here he gets to perform the job he likes with the people he likes in the setting he likes. That and the chance to be part of a contender for a longer time. Maybe those things are important to him as well, but either way, I'm fine with it.

[mission]

I really just have two problems here. The first is that he doesn't want to hear any offers unless the number is hit. That tells me really no negotiation, no recognition that he's a part product of #12 and this ridiculous offense. The other issue is even if you don't want to negotiate, you don't come out and say it, especially before the season even starts. It's not like we're leaving him hanging or doing him wrong.

[RashanGary]

I really just have two problems here. The first is that he doesn't want to hear any offers unless the number is hit. That tells me really no negotiation, no recognition that he's a part product of #12 and this ridiculous offense. The other issue is even if you don't want to negotiate, you don't come out and say it, especially before the season even starts. It's not like we're leaving him hanging or doing him wrong.

What's Nelson making? 3 or 4 per year. I do think the Packers are low-balling Jennings pretty badly, but I'm fine with it. Thompson knows how to build a team, and if he thinks losing Jennings over a pay dispute is the way to go, then it's the way to go. If this goes down, I'll bet Thompson feels he can better spend that money elsewhere. Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews maybe. . . I'm sure he has some plan. He might even like Randall Cobb a lot and wants to get him on the field. Who knows what the Packers are thinking, but I'm sure it has something to do with trying to win football games.

[hoosier]

I really just have two problems here. The first is that he doesn't want to hear any offers unless the number is hit. That tells me really no negotiation, no recognition that he's a part product of #12 and this ridiculous offense. The other issue is even if you don't want to negotiate, you don't come out and say it, especially before the season even starts. It's not like we're leaving him hanging or doing him wrong.

He wasn't saying he won't negotiate, he's saying he doesn't want to hear from his agent until they have such-and-such an offer. In other words, he doesn't want to be distracted by the negotiating process during the season. I think that speaks to his wisdom, not that he is drawing a hard line.

[Joemailman]

Jennings is saying two things. He's saying he doesn't want to negotiate during the season because he doesn't want a distraction to negatively affect his play which could then affect his market value. He's also saying he won't accept a home team discount just to stay in Green Bay. This I suspect is mostly, but not entirely true. He's not going to accept 30 million from the Packers if he can get 50 million somewhere else. However, would he turn down 45 million from the Packers because he can get 50 million from Jacksonville? I don't think so.

[Joemailman]

If Jennings can't be signed to an extension this year, the Packers will likely franchise him for 2013 and then decide whether they want to keep Jennings or Finley. They'll likely keep one, but not both of them.

[Patler]

... He's saying he doesn't want to negotiate during the season because he doesn't want a distraction to negatively affect his play which could then affect his market value.

He didn't really say that. What he said was:

Jennings said he told his agent not to contact him about the contract during the season unless he was close to a deal. He would prefer to focus on football. He said he's not ruling out a future agreement, he just prefers to take the emotion out of it and assume his contract will expire after this season.


"My agent knows, we know our march to what we're trying to reach," Jennings said of the price range. "That's it. Unless we come to those numbers, then I don't want to hear anything about it."

His agent will negotiate, but Jennings doesn't want the distraction of regular updates or involvement unless they get close to a number he and his agent have set. That number might be more or less than he will take elsewhere, he doesn't really say.

For the Packers, it is better if Jennings just stays out of it. Same for other players too. This way, it can be a straight forward, unemotional business negotiation. If they get close, Parker can go to Jennings and explain why it is a deal he should consider.