Packers 2022 Discussion Thread

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

1 minute ago, young guns said:

Second round tender offered to Lazard.  Part of me hopes another team signs him, part of me wants him back.

Given Lazard's role and importance in the offense, especially considering MVS's likely departure, it's kind of a toss-up to me. They've whiffed on plenty of 2nd rounders.

[sveumrules]

Rodgers got the most money he could, structured in a way that doesn’t hinder the team over the next couple seasons.

Were people honestly expecting him to give the team some kind of Brady special?

[Fear The Chorizo]

Dude just won back to back MVPs of the league and his new contract reduces his 2022 cap hit by almost $20M - of course he's going to get paid in actual dollars, not salary cap accounting gimmickery, as much as possible at the end of his career, but he did so by inking a new contract that pays him market value while having it structured in such a way that the roster can remain a contender.  If people thought he was going to sign an extension for $15-$25M in actual dollars/season they just aren't ever going to be happy - that's fine to feel that way, it's just not being realistic.  

For all the comparisons to Brady and/or Favre...at least Rodgers hasn't already retired once or twice in his career before resuming playing.  He could have easily opted to do the same thing Brady did this offseason or Favre did at the end of his road in Green Bay, which would have likely forced his way out of Packerland and led to a cluster of an offseason.

 

 

[Matt Breen]

Well, Packers doing all they can to keep things rolling for another year.

• Rogers back and extended.
• P. Smith extended.
• Campbell with a new deal.
• Restructures on some veterans to clear cap room.
• Tendered Lazard.
• Franchise Adams.
• Released Turner and Z. Smith

Next moves:

• Work out new deal for Adams.
• See if they can re-sign Douglas.
• Figure out Tonyan's future.
• Restructure Cobb's deal to save a little money.
• Extend Alexander.
• Prepare for draft. We really need depth all over the place.

We'll jump through salary cap hoops for the rest of Rodgers' time here, but that's fine. We are all in for the next 2-3 years. I'll enjoy it, and hope Rodgers keeps playing well and we go out and win a Super Bowl. 

[PeaveyFury]

14 minutes ago, young guns said:

Second round tender offered to Lazard.  Part of me hopes another team signs him, part of me wants him back.

He's definitely of value right now assuming MVS is gone as RRB noted. There's immense value even if he gets pushed to WR3/4 for him on a 1 year $3.whatever million deal considering the loony numbers being given to mediocre receivers yesterday.

[adambr2]

People are missing the point, no one expects Rodgers to take a team friendly deal or begrudge him for getting paid. Just don't act like you're doing anything other than that or in any way doing the organization favors.  That's all. 

[PeaveyFury]

7 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

Dude just won back to back MVPs of the league and his new contract reduces his 2022 cap hit by almost $20M - of course he's going to get paid in actual dollars, not salary cap accounting gimmickery, as much as possible at the end of his career, but he did so by inking a new contract that pays him market value while having it structured in such a way that the roster can remain a contender.  If people thought he was going to sign an extension for $15-$25M in actual dollars/season they just aren't ever going to be happy - that's fine to feel that way, it's just not being realistic.  

The problem is that it really is Rodgers himself that is trying to spin all of this as something different. You can't continually say 'they're not doing enough to help me win' then at the same time demand to be the highest-paid QB, making you yourself one of the major reasons the Packers CAN'T make gigantic moves. He's trying to play both sides, as he has for two years now.

[adambr2]

17 minutes ago, young guns said:

Second round tender offered to Lazard.  Part of me hopes another team signs him, part of me wants him back.

No one is giving up a 2nd round pick to sign Allen Lazard to an offer sheet. He'll be back.

[NBBrewFan]

54 minutes ago, Ron Robinsons Beard said:

That isn't accurate. It is very much cap-friendly for 2022 and 2023, maybe 2024. That's the window. Things will be ugly for awhile after that, but that was expected.

1, 2, or 3 more tries at a super bowl followed by a pretty hard, parachute-less landing seems like a reasonable risk to make and a clear indication that this is our window followed by a hard rebuild.  Personally I like it as long as they build the defense into a monster. 

[adambr2]

Just now, PeaveyFury said:

The problem is that it really is Rodgers himself that is trying to spin all of this as something different. You can't continually say 'they're not doing enough to help me win' then at the same time demand to be the highest-paid QB, making you yourself one of the major reasons the Packers CAN'T make gigantic moves. He's trying to play both sides, as he has for two years now.

Yeah, this is it. He wants to be perceived as the guy doing team friendly deals while also enjoying the actual reality of milking every penny he can get.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

2 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

People are missing the point, no one expects Rodgers to take a team friendly deal or begrudge him for getting paid. Just don't act like you're doing anything other than that or in any way doing the organization favors.  That's all. 

I would be willing to bet that in his mind (considering how his mind works), he's doing the team a favor by deciding to come back and not retire. 

[SeaBass]

13 minutes ago, reillymcshane said:

Well, Packers doing all they can to keep things rolling for another year.

• Rogers back and extended.
• P. Smith extended.
• Campbell with a new deal.
• Restructures on some veterans to clear cap room.
• Tendered Lazard.
• Franchise Adams.
• Released Turner and Z. Smith

Next moves:

• Work out new deal for Adams.
• See if they can re-sign Douglas.
• Figure out Tonyan's future.
• Restructure Cobb's deal to save a little money.
• Extend Alexander.
• Prepare for draft. We really need depth all over the place.

We'll jump through salary cap hoops for the rest of Rodgers' time here, but that's fine. We are all in for the next 2-3 years. I'll enjoy it, and hope Rodgers keeps playing well and we go out and win a Super Bowl. 

Saw this tweet also, not that it is saying much in and of itself but still relevant.

 

[NBBrewFan]

16 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

Dude just won back to back MVPs of the league and his new contract reduces his 2022 cap hit by almost $20M - of course he's going to get paid in actual dollars, not salary cap accounting gimmickery, as much as possible at the end of his career, but he did so by inking a new contract that pays him market value while having it structured in such a way that the roster can remain a contender.  If people thought he was going to sign an extension for $15-$25M in actual dollars/season they just aren't ever going to be happy - that's fine to feel that way, it's just not being realistic.  

For all the comparisons to Brady and/or Favre...at least Rodgers hasn't already retired once or twice in his career before resuming playing.  He could have easily opted to do the same thing Brady did this offseason or Favre did at the end of his road in Green Bay, which would have likely forced his way out of Packerland and led to a cluster of an offseason.

I think Brady gets a lot of deference because of all the super bowl wins.  IMHO, Favre looked and looks worse in comparison to all three.  If Aaron wants to make a yearly offseason real-time TV show on his future, he certainly can try, but people got over LeBron James "Decision" after the first go-around. To me it's just noise.  Now that Aaron is signed and we are getting into cap shape for 2022, my attention will be to the final pieces they add then the biggest offseason event (the Draft).  Great Times for Packer Fans!

[Fear The Chorizo]

Rodgers was severely underpaid in his 1st team-friendly contract extension, and he's more than made up for it in his pocketbook with the last 3 contracts he's signed.  Ironic that the one Super Bowl victory he has on his resume happened in the midst of that 1st 6 yr, $64M extension, though.

Every player, besides Tom Brady, wants to enjoy milking every penny they can as a player.  Aaron Rodgers is one of the few that have actually realized that aspiration.  I don't think he actually wants to be perceived as a guy playing on team-friendly contracts or even cares what fans/detractors think about him - that supposed perception is based on fans and non-front office people sweating what yearly salary cap accounting looks like way more than players do.  

 

[adambr2]

The organizational obsession with Crosby is just weird to me at this point. Like, moving on from him should have been one of the easier decisions of the offseason. 

Hopefully Crosby can improve on his accuracy from 2021 and hopefully Bisaccia can drastically improve the coverage units because touchbacks will again be rare with Crosby's weak leg.

[Fear The Chorizo]

4 minutes ago, SeaBass said:

Saw this tweet also, not that it is saying much in and of itself but still relevant.

 

This could also mean Crosby could get cut post June 1 and give the Packers a bigger cap savings, I think - would be helpful for signing draft picks

[NBBrewFan]

Just now, adambr2 said:

The organizational obsession with Crosby is just weird to me at this point. Like, moving on from him should have been one of the easier decisions of the offseason. 

Hopefully Crosby can improve on his accuracy from 2021 and hopefully Bisaccia can drastically improve the coverage units because touchbacks will again be rare with Crosby's weak leg.

I agree.  They still need to cut for signing draft picks and providing buffer. I wouldn't be surprised if they find a decent option in the draft that it will just be a matter of time before he is gone.

[PeaveyFury]

2 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

This could also mean Crosby could get cut post June 1 and give the Packers a bigger cap savings, I think - would be helpful for signing draft picks

Yeah, I too am not taking the initial tweet at face value. He'd be a logical cut with a 6/1 designation, but you can't use the designation for pre-league year cuts. There's a strong possibility he's axed later this week after the league year starts to free up another $3.4m.

[SeaBass]

1 minute ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

This could also mean Crosby could get cut post June 1 and give the Packers a bigger cap savings, I think - would be helpful for signing draft picks

That tweet is a bit ambiguous (kind of a nothing new here) and you could be right. Bringing him back at a $4M plus cap hit doesn't make a ton of sense IMO.

[PeaveyFury]

JC Tretter was cut as a cap casualty today. He still graded out VERY well last year. I'd have a lot of interest pending their thoughts on whether he'd be willing/able to slide to OG.

[adambr2]

Yeah I suppose it's wise to reserve judgment until we see how the actual roster shapes up after the summer. 

[Matt Breen]

Regarding Crosby, it might just be a simple 'hang on to him and see if we find something better' type of move. They can still cut him. Or get him to take a lower salary. Right now, unless they need the $2M or whatever he will save on the cap it just isn't necessary. 

[adambr2]

The day of reckoning coming when Rodgers retires is going to be massive and take several years to recover from. Unlike the Favre to Rodgers era when we took careful measures to ensure a smooth transition, they're basically going all-in on now and saying screw tomorrow. 

If I had any confidence that Jordan Love would be a serviceable future starter, I think I would have gladly taken the picks and at least had plenty of flexibility building around Love. I'm assuming they really don't believe in Love in the same manner that the previous regime believed in Rodgers. 

[LouisEly]

7 hours ago, PeaveyFury said:

My goodness.... early reports are that if Rodgers retires after this season, the Packers must carry a $68m dead cap number for 2023.

I'm 99% sure that the "Barry Sanders rule" is still in effect and a team can go to an arbitrator to have the player pay back the portion of the bonus that counted towards the remaining years on his contract which will then not count as "dead cap".

I'm 99.9% sure that this was discussed during the negotiations.

[Fear The Chorizo]

10 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

The day of reckoning coming when Rodgers retires is going to be massive and take several years to recover from. Unlike the Favre to Rodgers era when we took careful measures to ensure a smooth transition, they're basically going all-in on now and saying screw tomorrow. 

If I had any confidence that Jordan Love would be a serviceable future starter, I think I would have gladly taken the picks and at least had plenty of flexibility building around Love. I'm assuming they really don't believe in Love in the same manner that the previous regime believed in Rodgers. 

It will essentially boil down to whether Gute (assuming he's still GM a couple seasons from now) makes the right decision on who the heir apparent to Rodgers is at quarterback that can be their starter on his rookie deal while they navigate through the couple years of dead cap $$ structured into this Rodgers extension for 2025 and 2026.  There's a really good chance the Packers are in for a 'blow it all up' type roster year 3 seasons from now in 2024 - that seems to be the year when all the recent cap gymnastics runs out of room to continue from both a dollars sense and fact that the veterans under these contracts will be far too long in the tooth to justify keeping around.  Big yearly increases in the cap limit would also really help smooth future bumps in the road to manage the cap, yet another reason to pull for no new pandemics and plenty of NFL revenue.

If they win a title in 2022 or 2023, this is all worth it - how the team looks in years 2024-2026 (continued playoff contender or instant doormat) will depend largely on finding good players in the next couple drafts. 

Love still has a role on this team, but assuming Rodgers plans to play through the 2024 season, Love will be traded next offseason for draft picks because he's going to get too expensive to be a backup quarterback in 2024, and the Packers would need to decide whether to exercise Love's 5th yr rookie contract option by May 2023.  The 2022 season is year 3 for Love (It wasn't until year 3 of Rodgers' career when he started looking competent behind center in the NFL), so if he's good enough to be an NFL starter this would be the year Love would actually show it in preseason to garner trade interest from other teams looking for a new starter before the Packers will be set to move on from Rodgers - have to remember he's still basically the same age as what this year's crop of rookie QBs will be.  

The other possibility would be to assess whether Rodgers plans to play in 2024 or retire in two offseasons - if he'd retire, Love could be the starter playing on his 5th year rookie contract option on what could be a cap dumpster fire of a roster.