Official Packers Offseason/Free Agency Thread

[texaspackerbacker]

So all the Rats who wanted the Pack to "cook the cap" to gather as much talent as possible . . . that was this season.

No Super Bowl. Hell, no NFC Championship Game.

And now, cap hell to pay. Even if the cap goes up, it goes up for all, and the Pack is still behind the eight ball.

So you have to admit that Gutes tried it, and it didn't work.

No, that's every season. You just keep kicking the can down the road or whatever that old expression is. You never arrive at the point where the major cap hits take place. Cut if the guy isn't performing; Extend if he still is.

It's amazing how some people just can't comprehend this. It's not like you need to be a CPA - although maybe that helps hahahaha.

[NewsBruin]

If you cut or trade someone, you have to count the rest of their signing bonus against the cap (or half-and-half it over the next season).

[HowardRoark]

No, that's every season. You just keep kicking the can down the road or whatever that old expression is. You never arrive at the point where the major cap hits take place. Cut if the guy isn't performing; Extend if he still is.

It's amazing how some people just can't comprehend this. It's not like you need to be a CPA - although maybe that helps hahahaha.

Modern Monetary Theory at work on the 3rd floor in GB……

[run pMc]

No, that's every season. You just keep kicking the can down the road or whatever that old expression is. You never arrive at the point where the major cap hits take place. Cut if the guy isn't performing; Extend if he still is.

It's amazing how some people just can't comprehend this. It's not like you need to be a CPA - although maybe that helps hahahaha.

While you're not completely wrong here, some years that can is more like a barrel full of water and kicking it will hurt your foot; you gotta drain it first. The FO rolled something like $50M in cap charges into future years, that isn't going away. They'd need to roll even more and basically hamstring the long-term future of the team. Imagine having a $270M cap with $80M+ in dead cap space. There's no way you could compete with other teams.

The other issue is - what do you do if a large number of your team's starters have performed, and their contracts are up? The NFL designed the salary cap and FA such that you can't keep everyone. There is no incentive for Rasul or Devondre or Davante to take a hometown discount when they likely won't have a better opportunity to cash in big on the market. With their cap situation, if rumors of Rodgers wanting to be the highest paid player are true you don't even have a leg to kick with.

All of that said, Gute and MLF aren't stupid; Rodgers at QB gives them a better chance to win than Jordan Love does, and if this team goes in the toilet their heads will end up on the chopping block within 3 years. Also, Pete Dougherty (JSO) pointed out that Murphy has mandatory retirement at age 70 in a couple of years -- he won't want to go out on a bad note.

I honestly have no idea what will happen (nobody does except possibly Rodgers) and I'm not sure I've come to a opinion on it. If they keep him, they will have poor depth/supporting cast/cap situation; if they don't, they will be at least retooling if not rebuilding but have cap flexibility.

[red]

my attempt at getting under the cap

3 guys get released (savings)
z smith 15.3 million
cobb 6.86 million
lowry 4.1 million

theres 26.2 million in savings


restructures

multiple guys have roster bonuses coming up that can easily be converted to signing bonuses for the remainders of their contracts. and or large salaries this season that can be converted

bakh 6.4 in savings this year

p smith 5.6 in savings (big cap hit in 2023)

kenny clark 9 million in savings

that gets us 6 million under the cap. a rodgers extension could save us 5 to 10 million more

getting rid of guys like lewis and crosby could save you a few more million

so with this. we keep the core of the team, plus rodgers and can maybe sign 1 or 2 of our free agents. i don't see us being able to afford adams in this situation

[Rastak]

While you're not completely wrong here, some years that can is more like a barrel full of water and kicking it will hurt your foot; you gotta drain it first. The FO rolled something like $50M in cap charges into future years, that isn't going away. They'd need to roll even more and basically hamstring the long-term future of the team. Imagine having a $270M cap with $80M+ in dead cap space. There's no way you could compete with other teams.

The other issue is - what do you do if a large number of your team's starters have performed, and their contracts are up? The NFL designed the salary cap and FA such that you can't keep everyone. There is no incentive for Rasul or Devondre or Davante to take a hometown discount when they likely won't have a better opportunity to cash in big on the market. With their cap situation, if rumors of Rodgers wanting to be the highest paid player are true you don't even have a leg to kick with.

All of that said, Gute and MLF aren't stupid; Rodgers at QB gives them a better chance to win than Jordan Love does, and if this team goes in the toilet their heads will end up on the chopping block within 3 years. Also, Pete Dougherty (JSO) pointed out that Murphy has mandatory retirement at age 70 in a couple of years -- he won't want to go out on a bad note.

I honestly have no idea what will happen (nobody does except possibly Rodgers) and I'm not sure I've come to a opinion on it. If they keep him, they will have poor depth/supporting cast/cap situation; if they don't, they will be at least retooling if not rebuilding but have cap flexibility.

Interesting post and makes a guy think. I don't have a horse in this race but it's certainly an interesting storyline to watch.

[Fritz]

And the thing of it is, the pieces were falling into place: the team had battled through serious adversity, were getting lots of good players back just in time for the big games, even the future match-up, the Rams was to their advantage and they choked it away.

Disappointing.

That's it, really. That's exactly it.

[Rutnstrut]

So all the Rats who wanted the Pack to "cook the cap" to gather as much talent as possible . . . that was this season.

No Super Bowl. Hell, no NFC Championship Game.

And now, cap hell to pay. Even if the cap goes up, it goes up for all, and the Pack is still behind the eight ball.

So you have to admit that Gutes tried it, and it didn't work.

If this was Gute's version of all in, it was pretty pathetic.

[bobblehead]

No, that's every season. You just keep kicking the can down the road or whatever that old expression is. You never arrive at the point where the major cap hits take place. Cut if the guy isn't performing; Extend if he still is.

It's amazing how some people just can't comprehend this. It's not like you need to be a CPA - although maybe that helps hahahaha.

Except teams like the 49ers have NOT kicked it down the road....so they have a serious advantage in the here and now. TB was another team that hadn't kicked it down the road when they signed Tom. The Rams have sold out all their draft capital to get to the NFCC. Not sure about their cap, but the Goff contract was an albatross and they ditched it. But if they don't win now, they won't be drafting much talent in the next few years.

[bobblehead]

my attempt at getting under the cap

3 guys get released (savings)
z smith 15.3 million
cobb 6.86 million
lowry 4.1 million

theres 26.2 million in savings


restructures

multiple guys have roster bonuses coming up that can easily be converted to signing bonuses for the remainders of their contracts. and or large salaries this season that can be converted

bakh 6.4 in savings this year

p smith 5.6 in savings (big cap hit in 2023)

kenny clark 9 million in savings

that gets us 6 million under the cap. a rodgers extension could save us 5 to 10 million more

getting rid of guys like lewis and crosby could save you a few more million

so with this. we keep the core of the team, plus rodgers and can maybe sign 1 or 2 of our free agents. i don't see us being able to afford adams in this situation

But if they don't bring back Adams I have to believe Rodgers throws a tantrum. Which means you must bring back Adams to make it work. It can be done. Like I said, they can be pretty good, but they will be less talented than this year. No 2 ways about it. If Rodgers doesn't want to be part of a rebuild he should consider taking less money to help fix the cap. If he wants to make $40 milliion a year and have a loaded roster he needs to go ahead and ask for that trade to denver.

[Teamcheez1]

I’m surprised that we are 6 days removed from the special teams debacle and Drayton is still on the payroll. What in the world are we waiting for???

[Joemailman]

I’m surprised that we are 6 days removed from the special teams debacle and Drayton is still on the payroll. What in the world are we waiting for???

They're trying to work out an extension.

[George Cumby]

They're trying to work out an extension.

That's not a nice thing to say.

[texaspackerbacker]

my attempt at getting under the cap

3 guys get released (savings)
z smith 15.3 million
cobb 6.86 million
lowry 4.1 million

theres 26.2 million in savings


restructures

multiple guys have roster bonuses coming up that can easily be converted to signing bonuses for the remainders of their contracts. and or large salaries this season that can be converted

bakh 6.4 in savings this year

p smith 5.6 in savings (big cap hit in 2023)

kenny clark 9 million in savings

that gets us 6 million under the cap. a rodgers extension could save us 5 to 10 million more

getting rid of guys like lewis and crosby could save you a few more million

so with this. we keep the core of the team, plus rodgers and can maybe sign 1 or 2 of our free agents. i don't see us being able to afford adams in this situation

A rare bit of good sense from you, red.

I think we might keep Cobb - cut him and bring him back at $2-3 million or less, as I doubt there would be much demand for him from other teams.

An Adams contract wouldn't need to hit the cap too hard even if it made him the highest paid WR. Campbell and Douglas also could be re-signed for fairly big/competitive contracts - not hometown discounts or whatever - by similarly structuring the contract to avoid a major cap hit.

run pMc, true about it getting progressively harder to beat the cap, but with inevitable increases and inevitable players getting cut as needed (think Z. Smith), it can be done. As much as I hate the idea of rebuilding like the loser franchises do, it might have to be done when the Rodgers years come to an end, but I'm fairly sure that won't be for a lot longer than many seem to think (think Brady age retirement).

[Teamcheez1]

You’re suggesting that Rodgers will play another 5-6 years? Not for this team, nor do I think he will last that long.