Packers 2022 Discussion Thread

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Z turns 30 and they went basically the entire season without him. Cutting him is prudent even without the cap situation.

[PeaveyFury]

Gute was apparently asked about Z today and said that his cap number would have to be ‘fixed’ for him to remain with the team. Factually accurate, but that sounds like there’s a window open on a return to me…

[Jenkins5]

I honestly feel for Rodgers it is extension or retire. Think you can structure the deal with voids and spread out so it gives relief. Listening to him talk, he doesn't sound like the same guy who a few years ago wanted to play into his 40s. He seems very at peace retiring, enjoying post football life, and trying to start a family. Due to that, think you have to be prepared that he could retire after 22', 23', 24...etc. Even with extension, retiring is now an every year situation going forward.

 

That leads into Love. For him being traded. I put chances extremely small. Like slim to none. Makes zero sense really. A team will have to blow you away and really overpay. His agent can cry all he wants, they have zero leverage. He needs to perform in preseason and in those chances he gets in the season. To this point, he hasn't shown enough for a rational team to give up good capital for. Trading him just to trade him is awful management. At worst Packers have a cheaper 2nd string QB that you have spent 2 years developing and will be facing season after season possible retirement of franchise QB if ARod is back. You for sure keep him for year 3 then play it by ear for year 4. If Rodgers is back this year and after next year decides not to retire again + Love shows growth that he could be a legit starting QB...then situation gets interesting. Right now unless a team is pulling a Ron Wolf giving up a 1st for a big wildcard move (extremely doubtful) you just move forward preparing him.

 

Love Z but right now as long as we have Gary and Preston...we are in good shape. We did it all season and D looked good for most of the season. Now that said, we are better with Z in mix but he has to be willing to restructure. His leverage for new deal (wanted one before season) is low due to missing pretty much a whole season and other teams may have concerns about his health moving forward the way it lingered this year plus his age. If he wants to get paid, restructure, maybe add a void after 22' making it a prove it season.

 

Campbell and Douglas need to be brought back. Campbell was the difference this for our D this season. You replace him with any of the other MLBs we have had past decade, our D would of been hurting. His coverage, Sideline to sideline open field tackling, and overall playmaking was something we haven't seen out of that position. He was just a complete backer playing at elite level. Douglas just sures up our DBs. Him and Stokes being able to play at high level on outside gives D a lot of options of how to use Jaire!

[PeaveyFury]

Second cap domino is an Aaron Jones restructure: "The Packers have created $3.08M in 2022 cap space by converting $3.85M of RB Aaron Jones' 2022 compensation into a signing bonus and adding two void years, per source. "

 

[ThisIsMyCrew]

 

$50+ mil a year for Sir Master Rodgers. Sheesh. I know that’s the going rate but that’s a lot. Ken Ingles the cap guru says if that’s true his lowest cap hit would be $35 mil with $75 mil signing bonus. Back to Back MVPs meaning backing up the brinks.

[PeaveyFury]

Man, that cap number is almost uncarry-able for the Packers. That report is obviously speculation and that number is coming from an estimate, but I see zero way they can carry Rodgers at $35 mil without gutting the rest of the team. The $20m savings of a trade/restructure is pretty crucial to their cap planning, I'd think.

[Fear The Chorizo]

That number is pretty much uncarry-able for any NFL team that hopes to field a roster capable of winning a Super Bowl for more than 1 season when the 2022 cap is still based upon a total less than $210 million. I just don't see a "set the QB market" contract extension for a player headed into his age 39 season and after the 2nd year of salary cap constraints caused by a pandemic. Any new contract the Packers extend to Rodgers (or Adams for that matter) absolutely has to include a couple extra non-guaranteed years tacked onto the end of it to both allow for more future years to prorate out the initial signing bonus, and try to take advantage of what ***should*** be progressively higher salary caps several years from now as gameday revenues have fully returned and TV contract money continues to balloon the NFL's coffers.

 

Heading into both the 2021 and 2022 salary cap announcements I was vocal in my opinion that the cap was going to drop (2021) and wasn't going to explode into the $220's or higher(2022) because COVID screwed up gameday revenue for all of the 2020 regular season. The NFL weathered that storm remarkably well, and now I'd anticipate seeing a few more years of 12-16% cap bumps in order for their cap to both catch up where it would already be there not been a pandemic and to allow for teams to have an easier time managing escalating player contracts. The Packers are going to gamble on those future caps 2-3 seasons out to be much higher than the current one to make this all work and avoid a total team gutting as early as next offseason, but I'd consider that gamble to be a pretty safe bet.

[tmwiese55]

Numbers like that just seem impossible to get to and to field a team, and makes his top priority of keeping Adams brutally tough. IDK, for a guy who try to play everybody love everybody feel good mantra similar to his thankfulness post the other day you'd think he'd be flexible to help everyone else get paid too. Plus, he has to know how much one more SB would mean for his legacy/rep and all that after the chokejob this year. In his mind I'm sure he feels he's the best to ever play but doesn't get the credit due to only one SB, if he got one or two more it would change everything.

 

But, after what they did showing they'd be willing to move on from him I get it if he wants to get as much money locked in. Really can't blame him, he's that good, has to take the pressure/heat, risking his body at an older age, etc. He's made a ton of money from State Farm but he doesn't have a 100 million wife like Brady had that made it so easy to take 20-25 mil to field loaded teams.

[homer]

I get the impression that teams aren't all that concerned about cap room.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

IDK, for a guy who try to play everybody love everybody feel good mantra similar to his thankfulness post the other day you'd think he'd be flexible to help everyone else get paid too.

 

I genuinely don't think Rodgers is cognitively capable of doing this sort of thing. He just simply can't set aside that he is the best and so he should be paid that way. I don't mean to judge him either. It's a job and he is the best. No other profession really expects the best to take less money. I get why that frustrates Packers fans, but I just don't think Rodgers has it in himself to do this sort of thing.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I get the impression that teams aren't all that concerned about cap room.

 

Cap room has become this odd fan obsession the last several years, I blame Twitter. Nobody really has a firm grasp on it so it's the perfect thing to argue about after the season. Then it never really ends up mattering and teams always find some way to do what they need. I disengage from those discussions completely because I don't understand it and it is too boring to want to figure out.

[LouisEly]

I get the impression that teams aren't all that concerned about cap room.

Right now the Packers are only committed to $130M for 2023, and that includes $33M for Rodgers and $20M for Aaron Jones, and only $86M for 2024.

 

Cap space clears quickly.

[OldHeidelberg]

I get the impression that teams aren't all that concerned about cap room.

 

Cap room has become this odd fan obsession the last several years, I blame Twitter. Nobody really has a firm grasp on it so it's the perfect thing to argue about after the season. Then it never really ends up mattering and teams always find some way to do what they need. I disengage from those discussions completely because I don't understand it and it is too boring to want to figure out.

 

In the Packers case I feel like all the cap pants pissing has really just emerged because of the COVID year and the resulting unexpected drop in the cap. The Packers have been pretty steady In their spending and rarely get involved in an all in sort so spending spree on free agents. I remember a lot more whining about not going after the big names than worry about cap space until recently, I was one of those whiners. Teams don’t care that much because the cap has increased so rapidly with revenue that even teams who get burned only have to take their lumps for a year and are usually in a rebuild when they have to do it anyway.

[nodakfan17]

Very true - COVID put the Packers in their current cap crunch, not poor management.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Man, that cap number is almost uncarry-able for the Packers. That report is obviously speculation and that number is coming from an estimate, but I see zero way they can carry Rodgers at $35 mil without gutting the rest of the team. The $20m savings of a trade/restructure is pretty crucial to their cap planning, I'd think.

 

Exactly. He knows that if he counts that much against the bottom line, they won't be able to surround him with enough talent to realistically compete for a Super Bowl. The guy has made a lot of idiotic choices in the last couple years, but I don't believe him to be an actual idiot.

[CheezWizHed]

Man, that cap number is almost uncarry-able for the Packers. That report is obviously speculation and that number is coming from an estimate, but I see zero way they can carry Rodgers at $35 mil without gutting the rest of the team. The $20m savings of a trade/restructure is pretty crucial to their cap planning, I'd think.

 

Exactly. He knows that if he counts that much against the bottom line, they won't be able to surround him with enough talent to realistically compete for a Super Bowl. The guy has made a lot of idiotic choices in the last couple years, but I don't believe him to be an actual idiot.

 

Idiot no... narcissist or ego maniac? Its on the right track at least.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I get the impression that teams aren't all that concerned about cap room.

Right now the Packers are only committed to $130M for 2023, and that includes $33M for Rodgers and $20M for Aaron Jones, and only $86M for 2024.

 

Cap space clears quickly.

 

That's sort of true...but that also doesn't include new contracts for players like Alexander, Gary, Savage, Jenkins, Dillon etc. that the Packers would most likely not want to just let walk away and need to pony up significant dollars to keep around. That 2023 number is also for roughly 25 players, several of which have no cap amounts because of 5th year rookie options yet to be determined.

[adambr2]

If the salary demands are legitimate, it leads me to believe Rodgers' preference is to start over elsewhere. He knows our situation quite well. Makes it look like an issue of affordability rather than the actual desire to play elsewhere.

[PinaMadness]

Then just trade him for a bunch of draft picks and rebuild. The Packers can win the division just as easily with Love for 10% of the cost.

[nodakfan17]

The Packers intend to tag Adams if they can’t work out an extension, per Rob Demovsky. It would be a darn shame if they couldn’t get more than a 3rd round comp pick for Adams.

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/packers-expected-to-use-franchise-tag-on-all-pro-receiver-davante-adams-per-report/

[nodakfan17]

I’m fully at peace with whatever happens. If Rodgers wants to come back? Great, that will make games this Fall more exciting. If Rodgers wants to be traded? Great, let’s clean up the cap and start the re-build with some extra picks. If Rodgers wants to retire? Congratulations on a great career.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I’m fully at peace with whatever happens. If Rodgers wants to come back? Great, that will make games this Fall more exciting. If Rodgers wants to be traded? Great, let’s clean up the cap and start the re-build with some extra picks. If Rodgers wants to retire? Congratulations on a great career.

 

I get the feeling this is how at least 3/4 feel. They'll be fine with chasing the Super Bowl again but also see the benefit of just moving on.

[True Blue Brew Crew]

I find it odd how everyone just believes something called a Diana Russini when it hasn't been right about anything since the start of this saga

[MrTPlush]

Rodgers has already denied the report about him wanting to be the highest paid player/wanting $50mil.

[PeaveyFury]

It’s the nature of the social media offseason cycle- one person makes a report that clearly includes speculation, and everyone else runs with it as fact. IE, “the Packers could offer Rodgers the highest paid QB contact which would mean paying him $50m per year” immediately becomes “the Packers are offering to pay Rodgers $50m per year.” Add in some attention-seeking sour grapes from Greg Jennings, and there’s your inaccurate story.