Brad Jones

[Patler]

The funny thing is, if TT had signed the same contract with a player from another team, a player who started most of the season at ILB after having started a bunch of games at OLB, and who was a main cog in ST, fans would have been all excited about signing a versatile young player who seemed to be ascending.

[Fritz]

So the answer to that is easy. Cut him, then sign him as a FA, and everyone will be happy!

Good article in the JSO about Bill Polian's take on the annual off-season paper champion chase, which the Packers lose every year.

And for those who bring up Woodson and Pickett...neither of those signings was the open-walleted kind that so many Packer fans seem to pine for. Woodson shopped himself around and was signed to a very reasonable deal here - a typical TT move - and Pickett was seen at the time by the Rams as a slightly disappointing first-round pick. He didn't get too much interest on the open market, either.

These were classic Thompson-type free agent moves.

[3irty1]

No, but a lot of 5th year players do. There are really two questions:

On the one hand, is Jones really JAG, or can he be more than that? This is the question I was addressing. His pay is not relevant to that discussion.

On the other hand, is he worth what he is paid? This isn't limited to the age of the player, nor whether he is JAG or not, so long as he is paid like JAG if he is one.

Obviously. Jones is being paid more than JAG should be paid. My point is that we shouldn't assume he won't earn it, because his first 4 years might not necessarily indicate the value of his contribution in 2013 or beyond.

That's true. These guys don't get paid on commission, 4 million dollars is for what they expect him to do.

[sharpe1027]

The funny thing is, if TT had signed the same contract with a player from another team, a player who started most of the season at ILB after having started a bunch of games at OLB, and who was a main cog in ST, fans would have been all excited about signing a versatile young player who seemed to be ascending.

I probably am guilty of this.

[run pMc]

I probably am guilty of this.

Me too. I feel like it's a lot of money for a guy I think of as a backup/ST player, and I think people are still thinking about the contract TT gave Hawk. Does he overvalue LB's?

That said, I think TT is hedging against Bishop/Smith not coming back to play. The problems along the OL -- where there wasn't quite enough depth and had to shuffle around a gimpy Lang before they got lucky with Barclay -- might have taught him a lesson.

I'm in favor of GB having a truly open competition at ILB with Hawk, Bishop, Jones, Manning, Francois, Lattimore, Smith fighting it out, and letting the chips fall where they may.
Jones will be better at ILB with the experience, and he can play ST. If they don't feel like he's going to make it as a starter they can cut him without a huge cap hit.

I guess it balances out to a 'meh' signing for me, especially since he's not signed from another team and I still (erroneously?) see him as a backup.