Official 2020 Free Agency Thread

[Joemailman]

Packers sign CFL All-Star Reggie Begelton to futures contract.

https://packerswire.usatoday.com/202...-with-packers/

The Green Bay Packers signed one of the best players in the CFL to a futures deal.


The team announced the signing of receiver and CFL all-star Reggie Begelton (6-0, 200) to a deal that will ensure he’s on the Packers’ 90-man roster this coming offseason.

Fullback Elijah Wellman (6-1, 241) also signed a futures deal with the Packers.

Begelton, the all-time leading receiver at Lamar University, caught 102 passes for 1,444 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL in 2019. He finished second in the league in receptions and third in receiving yards and touchdowns.

Begelton was one of 27 CFL all-stars and a unanimous selection as the team’s MVP this past season.

The Stampeders released Begelton from his CFL contract so he could pursue NFL opportunities. He worked out for several teams but decided to sign with the Packers.

Begelton, who turns 27 in August, will join an evolving receiver group that could feature several additions this coming offseason.

Wellman is an undrafted free agent from West Virginia. He spent time with the Washington Redskins during the offseasons in 2018 and 2019.


Reggie Begelton
✔
@LUcrew_Frenchy
First off, all the Glory to God 🙏🏽. Second, Green Bay is that you? Yes! Yes it is. You Cheesehead lovers. I’m happy to be apart of the family moving forward. #GoPackGo #blessed #cheesehead #packers

[texaspackerbacker]

Begelton is not real fast - 4.53 40. Just the same, he sounds like a worthwhile signing.

[Anti-Polar Bear]

The cap can always be cooked, but not sure capitalist pig Jerry Jones wants to pony up for Cooper. Jones is already paying big bucks to Zeke, their Yokozunas (O and D linemen alike), Jaylon Smith, etc. And Prescott is also in line for a big payday.

I say German Shepherd should pony up for Cooper if the Cowchicks let him walk the walk of life.

#walkoflife: Cool song by Billie Piper.

[pbmax]

The cap can always be cooked, but not sure capitalist pig Jerry Jones wants to pony up for Cooper. Jones is already paying big bucks to Zeke, their Yokozunas (O and D linemen alike), Jaylon Smith, etc. And Prescott is also in line for a big payday.

I say German Shepherd should pony up for Cooper if the Cowchicks let him walk the walk of life.

#walkoflife: Cool song by Billie Piper.

Isn't Jaylon Smith on a rookie deal?

[run pMc]

Isn't Jaylon Smith on a rookie deal?

On August 20, 2019, Smith signed a five-year, $64 million contract extension with the Cowboys with $35.5 million guaranteed, keeping him under contract through the 2024 season. - teh Interwebz

If they let Cooper go they are dumb. He had a few clunker games, but he really opens up that offense and when paired with Gallup gives them a decent WR duo. Cooper isn't a top 5 WR but for how he's played in DAL I'd say he's worth about 5y/$60M (which puts him inside top 15)

https://overthecap.com/position/wide-receiver/

[Cleft Crusty]

Cooper was struggling with injuries I do recall, though I confess that the cocktail of Razadyne, etanercept and galantamine sometimes creates it's own memories.

[pbmax]

On August 20, 2019, Smith signed a five-year, $64 million contract extension with the Cowboys with $35.5 million guaranteed, keeping him under contract through the 2024 season. - teh Interwebz

If they let Cooper go they are dumb. He had a few clunker games, but he really opens up that offense and when paired with Gallup gives them a decent WR duo. Cooper isn't a top 5 WR but for how he's played in DAL I'd say he's worth about 5y/$60M (which puts him inside top 15)
https://overthecap.com/position/wide-receiver/

Ah. Must have torn up an under valued rookie injury deal.

[pbmax]

What do you do with a problem like Blake Martinez?

Resume: After leading the NFL in tackles in 2017 and ranking second in 2008, Martinez finished second in the league with a career-high 155 tackles. He did it while playing the second half of the season with a broken hand. He added three sacks, five tackles for losses, one forced fumble and a key interception in the come-from-behind win at Detroit. Over the last four seasons, Martinez’s 512 tackles trails only Bobby Wagner’s 597.

Sign him: In the 2016 draft class, Martinez has 103 more tackles than anyone else. For some reason, it’s chic for Martinez’s critics to scoff at statistics like that one. Someone’s got to make the tackle, right?

Too many tackles are made too far down the field, you say? Pro Football Focus has a stat called run-stop percentage. Essentially, it measures impact tackles. For instance, a first-and-10 tackle that limits the play to 3 yards or less is a “stop.” Among the 60 off-the-ball linebackers to play 50 percent of the run snaps, Martinez ranked fourth with 37 run stops, just behind Luke Kuechly (38) and Bobby Wagner (39). He was 15th in run-stop percentage, tied with Dallas star Jaylon Smith, ahead of touted top-10 draft picks Devin Bush and Devin White, and ahead of former Vikings All-Pro Anthony Barr. In the passing game, of 47 off-the-ball linebackers to play 50 percent of the passing snaps, he ranked 16th in snaps per reception, according to PFF. He missed 16 tackles, a number that seems high but put him 19th in tackling efficiency among the 58 off-the-ball linebackers who played 50 percent of the snaps overall.

https://www.si.com/nfl/packers/news/fascinating-free-agency-blake-martinez

He's never off the field, inferring from those percentages. Which means the depth behind him is poor or he is secretly dominating.

Going just by rankings here, he's an average to above average run ILB who is not dominant and will not make a bad D line look good.

He is average in snaps per reception which might be remarkable given how often opponents targeted the middle of the field, but I am not sure it makes him good.

His tackling is below average.

Getting a solid not spectacular starter for four years is what the middle round of the draft is all about (fourth round). If more Packer picks had performed like this on D, you might have something a single signing like Kahlil Mack would put over the top.

But is he worth a second contract and will someone get mesmerized by those tackle numbers?

[pbmax]

By numbers, his projected contract is insane:

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/blake-martinez-19085/market-value/

Market Value
5 yrs, $81,796,481
Avg. Salary: $16,359,296
NFL Rank: 37
ILB Rank: 3

[GB-Brandon]

By numbers, his projected contract is insane:

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/blake-martinez-19085/market-value/

Market Value
5 yrs, $81,796,481
Avg. Salary: $16,359,296
NFL Rank: 37
ILB Rank: 3

I saw that last week and if some team pays him that their INSANE but imagine somebody will get close. See Ya Blake.

[texaspackerbacker]

For that kind of money, yeah, see Ya, but somehow I think he will be available for a helluva lot less, like half that much. And for that, I'd keep him.

[GB-Brandon]

For that kind of money, yeah, see Ya, but somehow I think he will be available for a helluva lot less, like half that much. And for that, I'd keep him.

I could see a team like Carolina getting to 12ish with him with Keuchly retiring and what they do on defense with talk of switching to a 4-3.

This is where if Littleton is at the same contract level as Martinez as I’ve posted(4 year 50 mill) I would prefer Littleton. If we can re-sign Martinez at around 6-8mill per I take Martinez.

[pbmax]

Brian Bulaga

https://www.si.com/nfl/packers/news/fascinating-free-agency-bryan-bulaga

Sign him: This was one of his best seasons – and critically so, since his season started with Chicago’s Khalil Mack, Minnesota’s Danielle Hunter and Denver’s Von Miller and never got much easier. As we noted starting before the season, the days are gone when the defense’s best pass rusher lines up almost exclusively against the left tackle. In today’s NFL, a right tackle arguably is just as important as the left tackle. Bulaga was up to the task most weeks. This season, 57 offensive tackles played at least half of the snaps. Of that group, Bulaga ranked 17th in ProFootballFocus.com’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap.

~snip~

Let him go: Injured players tend to get injured. It’s a football adage that’s accurate more times than not. Bulaga has battled back from some big injuries – a hip in 2012 and ACLs in 2013 and 2017 – to provide years’ worth of quality play. Bulaga will turn 31 just after the start of free agency. With age and injury history, can he be counted on to play through most of what’s likely to be a lucrative contract? Speaking of contracts, his last deal was worth $6.75 million per season. That ranked 11th among right tackles last season – a bargain given his performance. Last offseason, the Packers signed Turner a four-year deal averaging $7.0 million per season. It’s hard to imagine Bulaga taking less than those deals. Is that too much?

[pbmax]

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/bryan-bulaga-6532/market-value/

Market Value
3 yrs, $30,446,121
Avg. Salary: $10,148,707
NFL Rank: 144
RT Rank: 4

[GB-Brandon]

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/green-ba.../market-value/

Market Value
3 yrs, $30,446,121
Avg. Salary: $10,148,707
NFL Rank: 144
RT Rank: 4

Hurry up and sign him. Don’t have near the resources to replace him. He wants to finish out his career in GB so 3 years 26 isn’t out of the question.