Upcoming contracts

[texaspackerbacker]

Make that Jones, Linsley, Bakhtiari, and Williams in that order, and let King walk. It CAN be done.

[Fritz]

Why would you sign a center over a left tackle if both are equally skilled? Are you kidding, Tex?

[texaspackerbacker]

Well, as I said, far more important than either of those is re-signing Aaron Jones.

To answer your question, I'm not all that convinced it is harder to find a quality LT than to find a quality Center. Also, even though I have grudgingly come around to the view that Bakhtiari is better than I probably thought he was, I still don't see him contributing much as a run blocker - the best plays go right over Linsley and Jenkins. And while Bakhtiari probably goes against the opponent's best pass rusher a lot, and he does a good job most of the time, most of the time even if one of the OTs miss a block, Rodgers is one of the best at just dodging the pass rusher and making the play work anyway. A pass rush up the middle on the other hand, is more difficult to deal with.

Bottom line, as I said several times, is that I want the Packers to prioritize Jones, but to manipulate the cap to keep both Linsley and Bakhtiari - and probably Williams too. Kevin King I don't care if they let go. It CAN be done.

[RashanGary]

As the season progresses, the cuts that should be made are becoming clear.

Cut Preston 8M savings in year 1. 16M/year in year 2
Cut Turner 3.5M savings in year 1. 8M/year in year 2

Those two cuts cover Bakh. I'd rather go with Bakh and Wagner than keep those two above.



Let Lindsley walk and start Patrick
Letting Lindsley go allows us to keep Aaron Jones.



Let King walk.
This finishes off the Aaron Jones contract and id also keep Jamaal Williams on a small deal. Keep the RB room stacked.


So we lose
Preston
Turner
Lindsley


We keep
Bakh
Jones
jswaggdaddy

[RashanGary]

It's not ideal. Losing guys always hurts, even if they're just decent.

But I think Z and Gary in year 2 can cover the edge spots
Kekes emergence sort of quells some of the loss of P too


King just isn't great. We won't miss him too much. The NFL allows pick plays and rubs now. They're refereeing man corners out of the league. We’ll miss him, but maybe Jackson would be barely servicable. We’ll find out now that King is injured if we have the options.


I'd also cut kirksey and go with Barnes, Kamal and Greene inside

[RashanGary]

Guys we’d be depending on stepping up:

Gary
Keke

Patrick
Wagner
Runyan (starting RG)

Sullivan (starter)
Jackson (outside in nickel or dime with Sullivan moving in)
Hollman (probably outside in dime with Alexander moving in)

Barnes
Kamal
Greene


Our biggest draft needs most likely would be
Corner (preferably starting)
DL depth
OT depth
Edge depth
ILB depth

Keeping the guys I've kept and letting go the guys I've let go.... I think our window stays open going forward. Alexander is a must keep, obviously. I'd even consider signing him to a deal two years early. It would average in the last two years of his deal so the average per year would be down even if the new money is really high.


I think they should extend Jones right now. Bakh too.

[Sparkey]

My opinion is the left side of(Bahktiari, Jenkins and Linsley) is more important than a rb. (A.Jones is a stud, but he runs a lot behind Jenkins/Linsley blocks and especially is LaFluers offense, a stud O-line makes everyone else's jobs easier.

[run pMc]

Agree with Sparkey and Fritz:

I'd sign Bahk, Jones, King, in that order. Let Linsley walk, as good as he is.

a stud O-line makes everyone else's jobs easier.

I don't think they can pay both Linsley and Bahk, and it's easier finding a C than a top shelf LT, which Bahk is. He's also been healthy and I think has a few good seasons left in him.

Jones is trickier. I am NOT in favor of paying big money to a RB, but they really don't have a lot of offensive playmakers, so losing him would be a step back. They can replace some of his productivity with Jamaal and Dillon, but he's a dynamic player that defenses prepare for. I think the hope was Dexter Williams would give them some of that and he hasn't panned out. After spending a high round pick on Dillon, do they let Jones go and pick another?

King is decent and seems to be figuring out how to stay more healthy, but I think they can draft a couple of corners and get one to fill his spot. I'd let him test the market and consider matching it if it's reasonable, but I don't know if he's worth something like $8M over 4 years.

I really like Linsley, but I get the feeling he's going to wear down faster than Bahktiari as a smaller guy in the trenches. They have Lucas Patrick, Jake Hanson, and even Jenkins who could play C, so I think he's gone. Some team needing a veteran center will snap him up and overpay him, he'll have 2 good seasons and then end up hurt all the time like Sitton/Lang.

[Zool]

Jackson is a dumpster fire. King isn’t an all-pro, but Jackson should be cut as soon as possible.

[RashanGary]

The price for King keeps going down. A. He's just playing ok and should be in his prime. B. The injuries.

King and Jamal should be low priced

[texaspackerbacker]

I say again, keeping Aaron Jones is the highest priority of those guys becoming free agents this year.

Just the same, there's absolutely no reason to sacrifice anybody who it's a good idea to keep - by that, I mean in addition to Jones, we should not have to choose; We should be able to keep both Linsley and Bakhtiari in addition to Jamal Williams.

I'm not so sure King and/or Jamal will be cheap.

We can easily afford to lose Kevin King, and Kirksey should be cut regardless of the cap situation. Preston Smith, unless he snaps back to last year's level, is very expendable too.

Josh Jackson is gonna need to show a helluva lot more than he has for me to defend him. but I'm not nearly as negative as some people about him.

[run pMc]

Food for thought:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/running-backs-are-as-replaceable-as-ever-this-year-so-why-did-kansas-city-pick-up-leveon-bell/

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-secret-to-the-rams-blocking-success-isnt-the-linemen-its-sean-mcvay/

I still think Jones is a talented back and a playmaker in this offense, but I also think a solid OL takes precedence. RBs can be found/drafted, and GB has a few good ones on the roster. That's why Bahk is a higher priority in my mind than Jones. Plus, spending $15M/yr on a RB (using Kamara's contract) feels like a luxury they won't be able to afford with a shrinking cap.

[bobblehead]

I say again, keeping Aaron Jones is the highest priority of those guys becoming free agents this year.

Just the same, there's absolutely no reason to sacrifice anybody who it's a good idea to keep - by that, I mean in addition to Jones, we should not have to choose; We should be able to keep both Linsley and Bakhtiari in addition to Jamal Williams.

I'm not so sure King and/or Jamal will be cheap.

We can easily afford to lose Kevin King, and Kirksey should be cut regardless of the cap situation. Preston Smith, unless he snaps back to last year's level, is very expendable too.

Josh Jackson is gonna need to show a helluva lot more than he has for me to defend him. but I'm not nearly as negative as some people about him.

I'll say it again. Jones is zero priority whatsoever. RBs should never get big contracts if you want to win. Fair..no. Real..yes.

[texaspackerbacker]

I used to think that too - you can always go out and find some plodder or some little fast guy who falls down when they breathe on him. Aaron Jones, though, is unique. He has the speed and burst that I absolutely do NOT want the Packers to be without, but he also runs with decent power and very good durability. He would be very very hard to replace, and if we did luck into somebody as talented, odds are the guy wouldn't have the attitude and character of Jones.

Speaking of A. Jones, I see the Packers are trying out Alvin - Aaron's twin, who was an excellent DB in college but had a bunch of injuries in the NFL.

[RashanGary]

Jones gets stopped easy in short yardage. Almost complete tho