Official Free Agency/Offseason Thread

[red]

Maybe the team has already been “built” with a nice young core and we just need a fucking QB that will actually run the system the HC wants him to run, and not just do his own thing

There is a chance we have a better record next season if/when love is under center and everyone is on the same page as to what they should be doing

[RashanGary]

The last couple of years the packers pushed so much into this year that even after they clear all the space it’ll still barely get them back to even. When you get to the point where the can was already kicked, the advantage goes away.

[call_me_ishmael]

I don't hear anybody noting GB is going to rebuild.

Whether we end up with the Lova Machine or Karen as our QB's we're not looking to rebuid.

And ditching low level low upside older guys like Randall Cobb and Mercedes Lewis for younger talent who can improve a lot is NOT rebuilding, as some would like to us believe.

Eh, I 100% think they're rebuilding if they go to Love, but they still need to get under the cap this year and field a team. Restructures to me don't suggest anything one way or another.

[Joemailman]

Eh, I 100% think they're rebuilding if they go to Love, but they still need to get under the cap this year and field a team. Restructures to me don't suggest anything one way or another.

Teams that are rebuilding don't restructure contracts for guys like Aaron Jones and Preston Smith. They do what the Bears did last year and trade or release veteran players with big contracts to get draft picks and create cap room now and for the future.

[run pMc]

Eh, I 100% think they're rebuilding if they go to Love, but they still need to get under the cap this year and field a team. Restructures to me don't suggest anything one way or another.

I don't think so. I think if they go to Jordan Love at QB they will do everything they can to surround him with enough talent to be competitive. I think a young QB benefits from a solid OL, good run game and strong defense. Replacing a QB is not rebuilding.

If they really were rebuilding it might be smartest to rip the bandaid off...that would look closer to tanking this year though. Don't see that happening.
Doubt they bring back Preston if they are rebuilding.

[call_me_ishmael]

They're gonna have to pay the piper at some point. It is advantageous to all parties to do it quickly when they move on from the QB so the next guy gets a reloaded roster by year 3 and 4. Interesting philosophical question - did the Packers rebuild after 2007? Man, IDK

[Joemailman]

They're gonna have to pay the piper at some point. It is advantageous to all parties to do it quickly when they move on from the QB so the next guy gets a reloaded roster by year 3 and 4. Interesting philosophical question - did the Packers rebuild after 2007? Man, IDK

I think they're going to try to get out of this gradually. Last year they let Z go. This year it will likely be Amos and a few others. Next year might be Bakhtiari. It will likely be years before the Packers are a major player in free agency again, but the aim is to have a soft landing instead of having a fire sale 1 year like the Bears did last year.

[Fritz]

I think they're going to try to get out of this gradually. Last year they let Z go. This year it will likely be Amos and a few others. Next year might be Bakhtiari. It will likely be years before the Packers are a major player in free agency again, but the aim is to have a soft landing instead of having a fire sale 1 year like the Bears did last year.

My concern is that in doing so, you end up with mediocrity or less in Love's first year or two starting, and then when - if - he comes into his own as a QB, you don't have the financial means to take advantage. I wonder if they'd be better off doing what the Bears did, letting Love and the team suck for two years while he gets his sea legs, and then try to build more around him as he enters the best years of his career.

But it's all just guessing that I'm doing, so my point of view is only that.

[Joemailman]

My concern is that in doing so, you end up with mediocrity or less in Love's first year or two starting, and then when - if - he comes into his own as a QB, you don't have the financial means to take advantage. I wonder if they'd be better off doing what the Bears did, letting Love and the team suck for two years while he gets his sea legs, and then try to build more around him as he enters the best years of his career.

But it's all just guessing that I'm doing, so my point of view is only that.

I don't think you want to do what the Bears did. The fact that Fields has so little talent around him makes it difficult to judge how good Fields is. Great athlete, but is he a very good QB?

[texaspackerbacker]

My concern is that in doing so, you end up with mediocrity or less in Love's first year or two starting, and then when - if - he comes into his own as a QB, you don't have the financial means to take advantage. I wonder if they'd be better off doing what the Bears did, letting Love and the team suck for two years while he gets his sea legs, and then try to build more around him as he enters the best years of his career.

But it's all just guessing that I'm doing, so my point of view is only that.

That concern might be justified. However, it ain't gonna happen until after the Aaron Rodgers years, and unlike ya'all poor pitiful misguided types who expect that now or no later than a year from now, I fully expect that to be a few years away. But yeah, when he is gone, whether it's Love or somebody else, we can expect a period of mediocrity unless we get lucky and find the next Favre or Rodgers. If not, two mediocre years might be decidedly the low end.

What absolutely isn't gonna happen, though, is that lacking financial means either in actual funds or cap-wise.

[Fritz]

You know, Tex, he probably doesn't have to work until he's 67. I don't think he needs his full social security.

[run pMc]

That concern might be justified. However, it ain't gonna happen until after the Aaron Rodgers years, and unlike ya'all poor pitiful misguided types who expect that now or no later than a year from now, I fully expect that to be a few years away. But yeah, when he is gone, whether it's Love or somebody else, we can expect a period of mediocrity unless we get lucky and find the next Favre or Rodgers. If not, two mediocre years might be decidedly the low end.

What absolutely isn't gonna happen, though, is that lacking financial means either in actual funds or cap-wise.

Financial means to do what?
I agree they won't put themselves in a cap situation like the Saints - the team is run differently and smarter than that - but they have pushed a lot of money out and they will have to pay/absorb that eventually. It's likely they just plan to do that the year after Rodgers retires, but by then there may not be enough cap space to do anything except be shitty. If regular season wins matter so much to you I'd think you'd want to avoid that.

[texaspackerbacker]

You know, Tex, he probably doesn't have to work until he's 67. I don't think he needs his full social security.

Who do you mean? Rodgers? 67 is a bit of a stretch, even 57. I wouldn't be surprised if he could still be effective at 47 - just a couple years beyond Brady. Not saying he would, but coul;d? Probably. How did you get off onto that aspect of the topic anyway?

runpMc, you sort of have to ask Fritz that. He brought up "financial means". I'll just say, there are two sides to it: actual money and the salary cap. Say if Elon Musk owned a team, he'd never be short of money, but he'd still have the cap. The Packers aren't like Musk, but they are never gonna run out of actual money due to the corporate structure and all the extra revenue coming in. And as I always say, the cap can always be handled - just look at that chart in somebody's earlier post. The "cap hell" teams are the consistent winners, while the teams doing like some of ya'all would like are perennial losers - Bears, etc.

[sharpe1027]

Who do you mean? Rodgers? 67 is a bit of a stretch, even 57. I wouldn't be surprised if he could still be effective at 47 - just a couple years beyond Brady. Not saying he would, but coul;d? Probably. How did you get off onto that aspect of the topic anyway?

runpMc, you sort of have to ask Fritz that. He brought up "financial means". I'll just say, there are two sides to it: actual money and the salary cap. Say if Elon Musk owned a team, he'd never be short of money, but he'd still have the cap. The Packers aren't like Musk, but they are never gonna run out of actual money due to the corporate structure and all the extra revenue coming in. And as I always say, the cap can always be handled - just look at that chart in somebody's earlier post. The "cap hell" teams are the consistent winners, while the teams doing like some of ya'all would like are perennial losers - Bears, etc.

Nobody wants to be like the Bears. They have no cap issues because they don't have good players they need to keep.

Packers can sign anyone the want every free agency period because the cap doesn't really matter at all. They can just do some financial moves and it's all good. Why the hell don't they sign the top free agent options every single year? Idiots.

[run pMc]

To those who say "the cap can be cooked" -- it can, but not to an unlimited extent. The restructuring they are currently doing will cost them next year. Rodgers -- if he's back -- has a $59M bonus. If he retires after next season he has a Post-June 1 22.7M cap hit in 2024 and a 45.4M cap in 2025. That's on top of the restructured money you just kicked to 2024. What happens when you've kicked out 40-50M of money taking up 20% of your 2024 salary cap? What happens if you kick it further out, piling on top of the 45M Rodgers would count?

Cook away, sooner or later you won't be able to field a team (see: Bears).

If you only look at the team for 2023, they are better off at QB with Rodgers. If you look at the team over the next 3 years they are better off without him and giving Love a shot.
If he sucks you don't have to exercise his 5th year option and are likely drafting Caleb Williams or Drake May (both better prospects IMO than Jordan Love).
If he doesn't suck you have your next QB and can use the 5th year option to buy time to hammer out an extension. Either way, if Rodgers is gone you'd have the cap space to do it. You don't right now.