Let me start by saying I am like the rest of Packer nation in that I would like to see Randall Cobb get signed to a long term contract.
Now lets be realistic about this. Randall has stated he wants 9 million a year which he is well worth.
His play on the field has been fantastic to say the least, he is a favorite target for Rodgers in clutch situations and more often than not, exceeds expectations after the catch. But if Thompson pays him the 9 million that he wants and also pays Bulaga how much does that leave for other free agents that are key players to the team? Kuhn is a fan favorite and is key in blocking for Lacy and picking up blocks to help Rodgers stay upright in the passing game so who wants to see him leave? Richardson has been a solid player in the secondary so losing him could be a down grade to our defense so do we really want that to happen? Bush and Williams are both getting old so maybe we could move on from them but what about House? He has proved he can cover big receivers like Marshall and Johnson and with more playing time he could be a asset to our defensive backfield!
Now back to the ramifications of signing Cobb to a big contract, while it would give the team a power house offense the next year or two, what happens when the rookies like Linsley, Baktiari, HaHa, Hayward come up for contract in a couple years? The Packers will not have the cap space to keep them because they are paying two receivers core player wages?
Do you think losing these players is worth the price of one receiver? Is being in the run every year for the play offs worth just one or two years with a strong receiver corp?
Personally I say no! If signing Cobb costs this team to fall from grace in the NFC North like the Bears did after signing Cutler then I say, let him test the market.
Slot receivers are a dime a dozen, are there any as good as Cobb? No! but are there some that can get
the job done with an MVP QB tossing the rock to them? Yes!
Bottom line as I stated in the beginning is that while it would be nice to get him signed but we should not do it at the cost of destroying the future of the team! I am sure a lot of you will disagree with my thinking on the subject and that’s fine,but before you judge to harshly think about what I said about the Bears! Remember when we looked forward to the rivalry before Cutler was signed and the team could pay their core players? I personally would hate to see this happen to our beloved Packers, I would rather see them in the run for the playoffs and beyond every year for years to come.
Go Pack Go!
Thanks,
Jeff
Jeff, I couldn’t disagree with you more. We have like $23 million in cap space. We can’t worry about fringe unproven players like Richardson or players on the slide like Williams. When you have a Blue Chip player like Cobb you keep him. He’s only 24 years old. I read we are going to keep Peppers at $9.5 million. So we pay a 35 year old $9.5 million and let a very good player walk? We have signed Rodgers, Nelson and Matthews to long term contracts so the salary cap impact of the others you mentioned can be taken care of as they come due.
You can not take care of them if there is no cap space!!! If losing the rookies like Linsley,Baktiari and HaHa in two years is worth signing Cobb now then good luck in the future!
Not to mention a little guy by the name of EDDIE LACY who will need to be paid!
I agree Jeff. If Cobb would remain a packer at 6 or 7 mil then thats what we should do. Otherwise he should do whats right for himself on a business level and test the market to make the 9mil.
Actually we have 33.16 mil in cap space as of now. There’s plenty of money available to sign all of our key FAs, including Cobb, the draft, and possibly go after someone else. All of this drama about cap space is ridiculous.
Just because a player signs a contract for $45 mil over 5 years, doesn’t mean they count $9 mil against the cap every year. Look at the contract of Nelson, who also got around 9 mil/yr, and he only counts $4.6 against the cap this yr. These contracts are very cap friendly. I see no reason Cobb won’t be the same.
And keep in mind that all teams must use 90% of their cap space this year and every year after. So it’s not like we can carry over huge amounts anymore.
Pay Cobb, period. We have the money to give him a nice signing bonus and be set very well for the future cap space.
KEEP COBB!!! We, (the pack), r going to need all of them if we r going to keep up! Tho we do need A LOT of help on DEFENSE
This is my favorite comment in this thread
I think we should keep Cobb. He’s definitely an asset to this team n is worth every dime.
I think we should keep Cobb. He’s definitely an asset to this team n is worth every dime.
We FINALLY have some star players that we missed for awhile. PAY him. If we lose the stars, we go backwards again…Nough said.
Cobb is outstanding! Would love to see him retire a Packer. However, it’s very difficult to balance a team when you spend on one player. He’s worth every penny and then some but we need to focus on the team as a whole. Let him test free agency and build the team to it’s strengths.
http://overthecap.com/salary-cap/green-bay-packers
http://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space
You worry about the future by front loading contracts when you have the money, as we do now.
Peppers has 1 more year after this, if he still wants to play and performs well. When he leaves that frees up another $10.5 mil, and with revenue the cap is increasing every year. Thompson has managed our cap very well, we’re 11th overall for available space.
Well as long as they have enough to get the future rookies signed as well..Baktiari,Linsley,HaHa,Lacy to name some that are key to the future of the team then go ahead and pay Cobb.I was just saying if he breaks the cap by wanting to much and they lose any or all of these guys it is not worth it!
But Jeff, that’s a huge “if”. The average NFL player’s career is 3.2 years, so you can’t possibly plan that far ahead. The average draft expense at pick 30 is just over $5 mil in cap money. We have $33.109 mil available now. The cap is expected to be $150+ mil by 2017.
Bahktiari’s rookie contract expires after this coming year. Lacy’s contract expires after 2016. Assuming they both get new contracts, Peppers’ salary alone ($10.5 mil) off sets their new contracts. Linsley’s and HHCD’s contracts expire after 2017. We have only 3 players signed through 2018 (Rodgers, Nelson, and Matthews). So worrying about these rookie contracts now is silly.
Thompson and McCarthy know that every year is a completely different team. They try to sign their key/core players to longer contracts, and the rest need to fit into the cap or find a new team. Cobb is a key/core player.
i say at 9 millioon dollars a year its a fair contract compared to what some other less productive recievers have gotten. if you let cobb walk it has a domino affect and changes what the draft stratagy may be set up for.They really dont have the depth at reciever to let him walk and im sure Rodgers numbers wouldnt be neer as good throwing to Abby or Janice outta the slotHe didnt complain about being underpaid and said he hadnt done anything to deserve a new contract then manned up and went out and earned it. He hedged a bet on himself and won. i say way to go Randall and way to believe in yourself and then back it up. Bulaga is a injury waiting to happen and truth of the matter is if they get in a money bind which i dont see in the near future they have some high priced borderline players they can cut.Namely sam shields with his insane contract
I say lets sign cobb, as always these sort of things have a way of working themselves out, if we want to continue to be playoff/super bowl contenders we need all of our free agents, I think the necessary changes that needed to be made were made and that was the coaching staff and play calling duties
Good to excellent slot wr’s are NOT a dime a dozen; & cobb is not just another slot wr. I think he’s worth 8-9M. The salary cap will not be a problem. House & buluga will cost some $$$; the other guys u named are low salary guys. THe cap is going up to 145M this year, & will go over 150M in a year or 2.
However, if Cobb & his agent was more than 9M a year, as some reports say, let him go. Davante Adams & R rodgers can likely step this year, & draft another wr.
I say we should sign Cobb and look at other players to let go to free agency. Bulaga has not been an asset to the team in a few years. I mean, he missed the entire season due to injury. Also, Cobb is a young receiver who continues to get better every year. I don’t think the Packers would of had 2 receivers with over 1,000 yards without Cobb and Nelson.
Sign him. Success of future players is an unknown. Cobb will produce he is a proven asset,as well as Mr Rodger, Mr Matthews, Mr Nelson and a few others let’s keep the Green Tide going …. Go Pack.
I say sign him. As others have said above, long term contracts are not front end loaded. Besides, if push came to shove in a couple years, you don’t think Rodgers or Mathews won’t restructure their contracts?
We love Cobb, and want him in the Packer Family! However he has to be willing to sign a cap friendly contract!
What a dumb question….of course he is worth it….
We need to keep anyone who can keep Rodgers upright first…didn’t u see how ordinary we looked when Rodgers was injured and we have no backups who are good..Cobb and Nelson look near ordinary when Flynn was under center..well..it is not their fault… (does it matter..in this case ?)
I truly disagree with your train of thought. If you measure effectiveness for the team, Cobb is where to spend the money. Neither Kuhn nor Baluga have had an impact such as Cobb. Kuhn is a fan favorite, however, he’s not as stellar as he once was. Both he and Baluga are easier to replace than a star like Cobb. It’s ridiculous to do the “what happens when Ha-Ha….etc” as who knows what will happen or how those players will develop. Cobb is an excellent player who deserves to be paid and should remain a Packer
I’m you watch all the games…we need high scoring momentum building play makers, like Cobb! In case you haven’t noticed, we need to solidify the defense and have the most high scoring offense as possible! Cobb is great in clutch situations, we need two more just like him! Our defense does NOT sustain leads. If we don’t score 31 points and be able to score 10 in half of the fourth quarter we will lose. More big time receivers the better!
Not a huge deal, but Bakhtiari was a second year player, not a rookie.
Anyway, Sean Richardson is an average player at best. There is cap room to get deals for all of these guys. But when it comes to Cobb, he’s not just a “dime a dozen” slot receiver. He lines up at running back, he lines up pretty much anywhere and is a NIGHTMARE for opposing defenses. Without him, the Packers would not have beaten New England this year. Do not forget that he is a security blanket for rodgers. When the play breaks down, Cobb knows how to get open fast.
If the Packers let Cobb walk, it will be a GIANT downgrade to the offense. I don’t think there’s any way Thompson lets that happen.
Well said, Wes
I agree with Jeff 100 percent. You have to look at all sides of the situation, not only are we risking not being able to sign the rookie players at contract time, but you also have to take into consideration that God Forbid Cobb gets hurt and put out for the season, there is 9 million spent with no return. Now having said that, I want to see our beloved pack win another Lombardi Trophy just as much as the next Packer Fan, but we have to take a good look at the business side of this situation as well. And as always GO PACK GO.
Sign him!!!
First and foremost…Cobb is a proven and very good receiver. hasn’t caused problems on or off the field keeps a low profile and does his job each and every time he hits the field! beluga has been hurt as often as not since we signed him…I understand we cannot keep everyone but what makes more sense? we have players or can find players to step into baluga’s place you just don’t find receivers like cobb everyday!sign him! get it done.
After cutting A.J. Hawk, we have $33 Million in cap space and it’s projected to grow exponentially from year to year after this year. Cobb’s our biggest free agent and is asking $9 Million per year. Bulaga will come with a smaller price tag. Let’s estimate it at $7 Million, making him by a good chunk our highest-paid offensive lineman. Signing Cobb and Bulaga would leave us with $17 Million. Kuhn is a Fullback. $3 Million a year brings him back. Sean Richardson is far from essential when we have names like HaHa Clinton-Dix, Micah Hyde, and Morgan Burnett at safety. Davon House is good, but tell me Casey Heyward-Bey wouldn’t be a solid starter. That said, $2 Million a year brings House back. As far as the future and re-signing all those players he mentioned, I already said, our cap space grows exponentially in the years to come. Also, he said signing Cobb long-term would give us a good receiving corps for a couple years at the price of annual playoff runs. Our offense is the reason we make annual playoff runs and extending Cobb long-term would give us a good receiving corps for a decade, not “a couple years”. We can afford to keep him and continue improving our defense, progress much needed if we want that next ring. And slot receivers are a dime a dozen? I can count on my fingers the number of productive slot receivers in the NFL. And Cobb’s not just a slot receiver, he can do it all in the slot, out wide, even out of the backfield. He’s arguably the NFL’s most versatile receiver. We have the cap space to make all the right extensions. Give me a break.
can we tap the brakes here folks. TT is all about paying and keeping core players. But it would be foolish to get into a bidding war with the likes of Oakland or Jax for the services of a slot reciever. BAP works as 4 years on top of a very tough division proves it. We have several young recievers looking to take the next step here. Id love to see young Cob return, but not at the expense of our future. 32 milion can go fast and cause huge cap issue in short order if TT spends likes Wwashington or Philly or Denver. So as Aran said…R E L A X