Free Agency So Far

[Pugger]

One saving grace about losing Lang is Ted is adept at finding gems in later rounds so perhaps he'll find another one next month?

[gbgary]

Really? The #1 TE in FA (and likely Top 5-7 in NFL) signed counts as "nothing"?

nope...not really. cook was hungry for success and wanted to be here. Rodgers wanted him back. Bennett, although good, has lots of business distractions in his life, has a ring. i wonder how hungry he is now. to me the small talent difference is off-set by a question of "want to." so it's pretty much a wash. that was just tt covering his ass. but you know...offense wasn't what needed bolstering. it was the D and NOTHING has been done there to improve the team except bring in a back-up cb. the needs of the D are well known and back-up cb isn't one of them.

[hoosier]

Maybe, but how often are those middle round guys able to step in and play well right away? Bakh was the exception, and his first year was not free of bumps. Lang, Sitton, EDS, they were all backups for at least a year before becoming dependable contributors.

[hoosier]

nope...not really. cook was hungry for success and wanted to be here. Rodgers wanted him back. Bennett, although good, has lots of business distractions in his life, has a ring. i wonder how hungry he is now. to me the small talent difference is off-set by a question about "want to." so it's pretty much a wash. that was just tt covering his ass. but you know...offense wasn't what needed bolstering. it was the D and NOTHING has been done there to improve the team except bring in a back-up cb. the needs of the D are well known and back-up cb isn't one of them.

Cook may have "wanted" to be in GB but he reportedly declined an offer that was more generous than the one signed by Bennett. I agree that the difference between Cook and Bennett seems relatively small, but I don't think it's fair to say that TT dropped the ball on this one. It sounds like Cook was trying to break the bank.

[gbgary]

Maybe, but how often are those middle round guys able to step in and play well right away? Bakh was the exception, and his first year was not free of bumps. Lang, Sitton, EDS, they were all backups for at least a year before becoming dependable contributors.

yup. the o-line is weaker now.

[gbgary]

Cook may have "wanted" to be in GB but he reportedly declined an offer that was more generous than the one signed by Bennett. I agree that the difference between Cook and Bennett seems relatively small, but I don't think it's fair to say that TT dropped the ball on this one. It sounds like Cook was trying to break the bank.

that report was discredited days ago. tt didn't drop the ball...he had to sign bennett after cook's agent fucked up. as i said tt covered his ass with the bennett signing. he had no choice. he offered less than market for cook and ended up signing bennett for market...and we know how he hates to do that.

[Smidgeon]

nope...not really. cook was hungry for success and wanted to be here. Rodgers wanted him back. Bennett, although good, has lots of business distractions in his life, has a ring. i wonder how hungry he is now. to me the small talent difference is off-set by a question of "want to." so it's pretty much a wash. that was just tt covering his ass. but you know...offense wasn't what needed bolstering. it was the D and NOTHING has been done there to improve the team except bring in a back-up cb. the needs of the D are well known and back-up cb isn't one of them.

Contributions on the field are more applicable to actual success than fans' projections on "hunger for success".

2016

Name		Rec	Targ	Rec%	Yds	Yd/Rec	Long	TDs	Car TD	Car Yr	TD/Yr
Cook		30	51	58.8%	377	12.6	47	1	17	8	2.1
Kendricks	50	87	57.5%	499	10.0	44	2	17	6	2.8
Bennett		55	73	75.3%	701	12.7	58	7	30	9	3.3

Kendricks is basically the replacement for Cook, and he had Goff & company throwing to him. Bennett is the over and above.

I'm not disagreeing regarding your comments as it relates to the defense. But to completely ignore the TE signing as "TT doing NOTHING" indicates a certain level of blindness as it relates to what the Packers have brought in so far. Just because the signings weren't where we were hoping doesn't mean they did "nothing". They vastly updated their receiving core, and gave M3 something to work with he has never had in his entire tenure: 2 starting quality TEs.

And honestly, considering Lacy was injured most of last year and fat most of the previous year, I don't really see it as a downgrade that he was signed elsewhere. He wasn't exactly reliable these last two years. The G is a downgrade, but I'll wait to see if it's a tire fire before calling the fire department.

[gbgary]

i imagine if cook hadn't missed so many games his stats would be better but there was no doubt about his impact when he was healthy. bennett will be bennett. like i said...a wash basically. kendricks will get dickrod's 20 catches. lost lang (starter) and tretter (good depth) on the oline, lacy (good when healthy), hyde (serviceable guy who made plays). all minuses. the team has not improved at all through FA...to this point.

[hoosier]

that report was discredited days ago.

Where?

[gbgary]

Where?

packers-didnt-offer-jared-cook-more-than-martellus-bennett/

Bennett received three-year, $21 million package, a “clean” $7 million per year arrangement with no incentives or fluff. (The contract eventually will be filed and reported on, so the truth on that specific claim eventually will come out.) The source also says that the most the Packers offered Cook was $6 million per year, and that included incentives.

The Packers, we’re told, made it clear to Bennett that they are loyal to the players who played for them, and they were candid about the intense effort invested in trying to get a deal done with Cook. That loyalty actually had a positive impact on Bennett, even though it delayed the team’s effort to pursue him — and potentially would have made an arrangement between Bennett and the Packers moot.

Ultimately, the Packers decided to pay more for the man they deemed to be better player, and to let Cook look for a better offer elsewhere.

Well so far La Canfora has been much more accurate than Demovsky or Wilde. At this point would not be surprised if the Cook offered more turned out to fizzle too.

Code:
CONTRACT:3 yr(s) / $21,000,000 SIGNING BONUS$6,300,000 AVERAGE SALARY $7,000,000
GUARANTEED:$7,200,000 FREE AGENT:2020 / UFA

YEAR BASE SALARY SIGNING BONUS ROSTER BONUS WORKOUT BONUS CAP HIT DEAD CAP
2017 $900,000 $2,100,000 $600,000 $250,000 $3,850,000 $7,200,000
2018 $3,600,000 $2,100,000 $2,600,000 $250,000 $8,550,000 $4,200,000
2019 $5,650,000 $2,100,000 $600,000 $250,000 $8,600,000 $2,100,000

[red]

yeah, that was cooks agent trying to make his client look more valuable to other teams

the story about the team offering cook more was shot down by the team within an hour or two of the story coming out

[red]

One saving grace about losing Lang is Ted is adept at finding gems in later rounds so perhaps he'll find another one next month?

hopefully, spriggs is ready to start, either at guard or RT and bulaga can stay healthy for the year and man the other spot not taken by spriggs

then hopefully TT can continue to find one of those mid rounds o-line gems to add some decent depth

we "might" be good to go for starters, but our depth is non existent right now, and between lindsly and bulaga, someone is gonna miss a lot of time

[hoosier]

packers-didnt-offer-jared-cook-more-than-martellus-bennett/

Thanks

[gbgary]

Thanks

no prob.

[Rutnstrut]

hopefully, spriggs is ready to start, either at guard or RT and bulaga can stay healthy for the year and man the other spot not taken by spriggs

then hopefully TT can continue to find one of those mid rounds o-line gems to add some decent depth

we "might" be good to go for starters, but our depth is non existent right now, and between lindsly and bulaga, someone is gonna miss a lot of time

It'll be Bulaga that misses time, especially if they move him. Playing with the O-line is going to bite Ted in the ass. Hopefully Rodgers doesn't get hurt too bad when it happens.