Sammy Watkins is available(snicker).

I don't see how the Packers can't add a veteran WR or two to the room. D-Hop would be nice but he'd also be nice and EXPENSIVE, and that's if he can even stay on the field given all the injuries the last 2 seasons. There's also HOW can they even make that contract work if traded? I also have to wonder would he REALLY want to go to GB to play with an unproven QB? Personally I think he should, but I'm also a big ole Homer who think's anyone who wouldn't want to play in GB is a friggen moron!

IMO they should wait until after the draft and see who gets cut. There will also be more cuts after June 1st.
I agree 100% with Cory though. They HAVE to get him more weapons. Not only in the draft but also those Vets the Packers WR room need desperately IMO. I mean common, just LOOK at the weapons Rodgers had his first season in 2008. Driver, Jennings, Jones, Jordy Nelson had just been drafted. You HAVE to give the kids some tools to survive.

"Veteran leadership" is over rated and we do not have 20-30 million to burn on an aging veteran. Should we get Sammy Watkins back? I don't think so. That said, we should definitely look for a TE in the second and there will be a number of really good TE's available in the second round. Maybe we could get a veteran WR from the Jets along with a second round pick in exchange for Rodgers? My fear is the Jets may use their three top draft picks to trade for a premier draft pick in the top five to draft a QB. That would screw the Packers from getting anything for Rodgers. This is why the Jets have the leverage. Love needs help and something is better than nothing. I also liked the RB Jaymir Gibbs who could can and has played slot RECEIVER as well as RB.

Does a vet take away from valuable reps of our young receivers? Maybe I am just more willing to suffer the growing pains than Lafleur. Jarvis Landry is still out there, but at what cost and for how much is left in the tank? We should also be passing to Jones and Dillon more as well. I just don't see the panic. I do think a vet TE should be considered.

So how did Sammy Watkins work out?
And we did have Cobb, who knew the offense.
And let's not forget about Amari Rodgers next step.
Why can't the packers take a Wr early?
That makes more sense to me than spending money.
And what about those extra weapons?
Thats beating a dead horse.
Ok- you can't draft two Tes, Wrs, and a rb.
If you want a great Defense.
But be real. Who created the holes?
Jordan Love knows the offense.
Thats all I heard. He knows the offense!
So let's just forget about spending money on a WR.
And spend it on Defense instead.
Next draft the weapons!. Make Love work!
Bijan Robinson if there!
@ 45 a TE will be there. If not WR.
And Mingo, Kuntz, Etc. Sleepers.
Are at the top of the RAS.
And while No Safety has elite speed.
Turner and Robinson are just perfect in 3 and 4.
They made Time for Love.
Either you have faith in Love.
Or we're screwed anyways.
Cory if you're that worried.
THEN keep Rodgers.

Hahahahahahah!

Once again Corey has suckered you in!

The GBP do NOT need a veteran WR.

The available veterans are all overpaid prima donas, talent-less never were's, or attitude problems waiting to infect another locker room and oh by the way,, when was the last time you saw ANY WR display leadership on the football field?

WR is the epitome of selfish positions and taking on some other teams cast off is NO WAY to win in the NFL.

Build the stable, draft 2 or 3 and COACH THEM UP! GBP need veteran COACHING and discipline, not a retread old guy trying to run routes against young CB and S getting NO SEPARATION and being worthless. Isn't Randall Cobb still available? LOL!

Face it fellow GBP fans, the team is rebuilding. It was a good run, the team gave their all, it just wasn't good enough for a Championship. Now all of the can-kicking and pulling the team together for "one last run" is over. It is time to "BE NEW AGAIN". That includes the WR room.

C'mon draft, you can't come soon enough!

I saw a report yesterday that said its highly likely that Corey Davis is coming to GB as a part of the compensation. If that becomes true then that is our veteran WR. I think that would be a good move. Obviously they would need to figure the contract part out, but Davis would provide the veteran presence we need. He also has experience with LaFleur.
Perhaps they look for another veteran on the cheap. A 1 year deal for minimum kind of thing. A few players that are still available. Kenny Golladay, Jarvis Landry, N'Keal Harry, Breshad Perriman, TY Hilton. There maybe more that would become available after the draft or post June cuts.

I think the goal is to add more talent through the draft. LaFleur made the comment about needing to surround Love with talent. Last year they got a start by drafting Watson and Doubs. I think we will see them use 2 more draft picks on WR this year. 1 within the first 3 rounds and another mid to late rounds. I wouldn't be surprised if they took the same approach for TE. Drafting 2, 1 in the first couple of rounds and 1 mid to late.

I think the front office is going to surround Love with as much talent as they can. I would not be surprised if this is a very offense oriented draft.

Does a veteran WR have to be…good…in order to provide that leadership? Or can it be a guy who used to be good? (Like Cobb. Not a threat in 2023, but, had some productive years.)
I don’t think GB has the $ to bring in a currently good veteran WR. Maybe a guy with experience, sure, but not someone who caught 80 for 1,000+ last year.
How about we just let the coaches coach?

I find it very interesting when comparing the expectations for Love versus Rodgers. There is a loud voice in Green Bay saying it's time to move on from Rodgers. That voice proclaims we did not win the ultimate prize because of Rodgers, either because of what he did or did not do. It seems it was all up to Rodgers and he failed. Now, when it is apparent the Packers are moving to Love, the same voice says Love can't be expected to win due to the lack of top-notch talent around him. How can we fairly evaluate Love if he is set up to fail? When Rodgers was the QB this management chose not to go after top flight talent at WR and TE. In fact, after Adams developed into one of the best receivers in the league our brain trust mismanaged the situation and we ended up losing him. Rodgers was expected to perform miracles with this group yet Love is set up to fail. Interesting!

A little off topic, but, in regards to the passing game overall:

Can Love be as good this year as Brock Purdy was last year?

Only try to add a vet WR after the O and D lines are set which includes (in my opinion) TEs and edge. Those places could very well use some FA help too (especially edge) before we worry about WRs.

"It wouldn’t make any sense for the Packers to burn a high draft pick on a receiver."

I'm trying to take this comment seriously.

Nope. Didn't work.

No.

“Well, I think some veteran leadership would be nice,” LaFleur added. Tack on "if it's not too much trouble" or "if you have any" to that quote and Matt's transformation to a midwestern Thanksgiving guest accepting an offer of dessert will be complete.

We are a young team at the skill positions on O. Could a veteran presence help and if so how? We don’t have the cap for Hopkins, certainly not without delaying the return to cap health. That seems to me to be a significant negative if we are serious about returning to a position to contend.

Last year we added Watkins. Overall, in mind he actually made us worse by taking up a spot in an O that usually only had two receivers on primarily receiving routes. That’s the problem with veterans in a O like we saw last year, one safe but slow and just not very threatening guy and your O becomes really easy to defend and guys like Watson can be routinely blanketed and the short area packed at the same time. The result being impotence in the passing game, more pressure on the OL, a tougher proposition for the running game and less time for the QB. To my eyes, that was what teams figured out last year.

What I’d like to see is us draft a couple of WRs and foster some serious competition but initially maybe as role players not all around ready plug ins. Make the assimilation curve less steep . Let them get time with Love day in day out. If a WR with some time in the league breaks free cheap who can plausibly improve a role, then by all means, but one that accepts that he earns his snaps by what he does on the practice field and isn’t expensive. That’s likely a player whose chances were limited by others at his last team and still has some upside.

Give Love as much speed and diversity of weapons and see whom he gels with. To be honest, with a young QB, absent greatness at WR, that’s the most important thing. Give snaps to talent based on effectiveness and let them develop. I don’t see a lot out there that makes us better in a meaningful sense.

Draft a couple and take some flyers in UDFA and maybe a SFA or two and let them fight it out. Create a platform for development for those who win out. The more potential we have, the more competition and the more likely 3 or 4
will start to emerge as viable contributors with some rapport with the QB as well. That shouldn’t be underestimated. Mutual understanding is integral to success for QBs and WRs.

In hindsight the refusal to deliberately blood guys like Toure and maybe even Melton last year looks as foolish as the failure to start Love. Let’s not make that mistake again. I’d rather we hired an extra coach who was a recently retired WR if we just want a wise old head in the WR room. One that doesn’t eat up snaps ineffectually.

I also don’t want to give LaFleur a crutch. I see with him a tendency to go safe in personnel and then never change despite struggles. He seemingly would have kept trundling out Watkins had Gute not pulled the plug. His reaction to the release was concerning. Force him to find ways to get young talent involved.

Bo Melton is a freaking BOSS, and so is Toure. The more I've thought about this, and the risk assessment with burning an R1???

No.

Adding a veteran?

Hell no. Just so our young impressionable WRs can watch a veteran struggle to learn the same system? How much sense does that make? Can we afford THAT level of veteran WR? I hate to include the word "help," as I don't see what we might afford in FA as being any help at all; more a hindrance.

Adding WR R2-R5-6? OK.

Pound TE early with both Dalton Kincaid and Darnell Washington and this becomes a non-issue. This Packers team is loaded at WR & RB. Maybe add an R4 or R5 WR to backup Watson.

Cory, you want to add a veteran? Make it in the trenches: OL and/or DT.

We needed a #1 and #2 WR last season, which along with the OL issues were why AR numbers were not good. I wanted Moore at the deadline. Now he’s a Bear. We need 2-top WR picks and 2-TE picks in top 4 rounds. Time to burn a 2024 #1 and 2 pick and surround this young man with depth at WR and TE...Maybe a RB replacement for Jones also. Get it done Gute. GPG

There isn't one early pick that will make everyone happy.

I do know a selection or two from the R1-R4 pool will make many fans happy:

Quentin Johnston
Jordan Addison
Rashee Rice
Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Josh Downs
Jalin Hyatt
Zay Flowers
Jonathan Mingo
Cedrick Tillman
AT Perry
Marvin Mims
Trey Palmer
Tyler Scott
Parker Washington
Dontayvion Wicks
Jayden Reed
Elijah Higgins

I think adding a rookie to this current team makes for a better fit. A veteran? Not so much.

"The Packers are good right now. I still think they could win the NFC North and make noise in the playoffs. But in order to do that, this offense needs to evolve and change."

Everything Cory said in this sentence could be true, right up to the word 'but', which I cal the great eraser of all that was stated prior to it, based on what is stated after but. When a statement is contradicted in the same sentence to such opposing views, neither can be easily accepted as true. This is the food for the 'if only' fans to gorge on all season long.

"It wouldn't make any sense for the Packers to burn a high draft pick on a receiver."

Wrong!

It wouldn't make any sense to add an older veteran receiver when the team is going through a transition year and should be continuing to develop the young veterans we already have--in addition to the one(s) we are going to draft. If you can find one that's relatively young and cheap, then fine, but otherwise stay out of the scrap heap.

Lions win this division, bank on it..they are making all the right moves and have a coach who fires them up and shows some passion...Packers have way too many question marks, starting with Love...

Why didn't the Packers re-sign Lazard $3.2 million 2023 cap hit for the Jets who have $9.8 in cap space relative to the Packers $22.6?

Please read on for the answer.

The Packers are one year removed from 13-3, 13-3, and 13-4 seasons - and 3-1 last year when their QB broke his thumb so bad that he could not take snaps behind center and had to use the shot gun and that injury was preceded and followed by injuries to the offensive line and wide receivers and followed by a flurry of defense injuries, including the teams 2nd year corner Stokes, team's sack leader Gary and the the teams' leading tackler Devondre Campbell - all young players on a young team.

This young Packer team that was coming off a 13-4 season just 12 months ago had and has plenty of cap space to resign its young players and reliable vets too.

So what does Packer Management do?

1) gets cheap
2) disrespects and alienates its players that we cheer for - my fellow Packer fans who I have been watching Packers games for decades with don't cheer for management, we cheer for the players!

Packer management has so disrespected Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers - two future NFL hall of fame players - over the last few years that the Packers are losing other players that the Packers could have easily fit under the salary cap, but the players chose to go elsewhere - Davante Adams ($12.1 cap hit, 2022, 14.7 2023) , MVS in 2022 (Chiefs $4.8 million cap hit, 2022; $11 million cap hit, $8.560 salary 2023), Equanimeous St. Brown (0.965 million cap hit 2022, $1,165,000 2023), Lazard (Jets 3.2 million 2023 cap hit), Tonyan (Bears $2.6 million cap hit), Kyrs Barnes (Cardinals, cap hit $1,035,000 - 1 year) Jarran Reed (Seahawk cap hit $3 million), Mercedes Lewis ( $2.38 million cap hit in 2021 and $4.53 million cap hit 2022), Randall Cobb ( $4.149 million 2022 cap hit) and Mason Crosby ($4.735 million 2022 cap hit)

The Packer 2022 13-4 was a young team and there was no need to let young talented players and reliable vets go.

The Rodgers 5 yr contract (4 remaining years through 2026-27 season) is no "ticking time bomb" as it is being portrayed nor are the Packers short of cap space.

Here is a comparison with other top QB's salary cap numbers and none of these QBs was at the top of all 32 starting QBs in passer rating 2 of the last 3 years or won the MVP 2 of the last 3 years:

Rodgers' if he plays for the Packers is $31.6 (13.9% of Packers adj salary cap of $226.8) in 2023 and $40.6 (16.2% of proj $247.2 2024 salary cap) in 2024 - reasonable relative to any star QB.

For 2023 the cap hits for other QBs are:

Mahomes $39.6 which is 18.1% of Chiefs $220.2 adj salary cap,

Tannehill $36.6 which is 15.85% of Titans $230.8 adj salary cap,

Lamar Jackson's $32.4 franchise tag amount is 14.5% of the Ravens $223.6 adjust salary cap,

Goff $30.9 is 13.6% of the Lions $ 227.2 adjusted salary cap,

etc. etc. etc. - The Giants w Daniel Jones, with 36 more starts than Jordan Love, did not exercise their 5th yr option on Jones but did just sign Jones to a $160 M 4 yr contract with $80 dead cap/guaranteed $.

"Adjusted" salary cap space is the new 2023 cap space number of $224.8 with an addition for rollover of free/unused cap space from the previous year.

Rodgers contract was purposely structured with the projected cap for future years in mind.

With the NFL now sharing in gambling revenues - which the NFL owners are promoting and growing like a weed - in addition to television, merchandising, licensing of NFL shield and team logos to thousands of corporations, the expectation is that NFL revenues in future years are going to be increasing more than 10% per year and that means the salary cap is going to be increasing by more than 10% each year.

2024 Projected salary cap $224.8 * 1.10 = $247.28
2025 Projected salary cap $247.28 * 1.10 = $272
2026 Projected salary cap $272 * 1.10 = $299.2

Here are the historical NFL salary cap numbers each year since the salary cap was instituted in 1994 - 7.97% this year, 2023:

If Rodgers retires his cap hit - with his % of total Packer salary cap - is the following year by year:

After June 1, 2023 $15.9 in 2023 ($15.9/$226.8) = , $24.5 in 2024 ($24.5/$247.28 = 9.9%)
After June 1, 2024 $22.7 in 2024 ($22.7/$272 = 9.2%) , $45.5 in 2025 ($45.5/$272 = 14.1%)
After June 1, 2025 $38.4 in 2025 ($38.4/$272 = 14.1%), $38.4 in 2026 ($38.4/$299.2 = 12.8%)
After June 1, 2026 $38.4 in 2026 ($38.4/$299.2 = 12.8%), $0 in 2027
After June 1, 2027 $0 in 2027

These are ordinary cap hits and cap %'s for any top NFL QB.

The Packers currently have $22.6 M in free salary cap space (1st 51 players, $13.7 M counting all players).
There are many teams with less cap space than the Packers, including the Jets!

The Jets currently have less than half as much free salary cap space as the Packers $22.6 with the Jets at $9.8 (1st 51 players, $1.3 M counting all players).

The Chiefs currently have $5.5 million in cap space when counting their top 51 players and negative -$2.3 million when counting all their players. Titans $8.0 and $2,0, Ravens $6.9 and $1.4.

Next year:

a) the Packers dead cap of $16.9 M for such void year hits for players as Amos, Lowry, Reed (who should have been extended & resigned) Tonyan (who should have been extended & resigned), Cobb (who should have been resigned & extended), Lewis (who should have been resigned & extended) and others will be gone

b) the current $224.8 M salary cap will increase as it usually does by about 10% of $22.5 M to $247.2

That dead cap going away + the annual salary increase by themselves will provide the Packers with about an incremental $40 M + the current $22.6 M for a total of $62.6 M in Cap space for 2024 to deal with:

1) Aaron's $9 M cap hit increase

2) other veteran extensions

3) 2nd contracts for rookies coming off their first 4 or 5 years (1st rounders if 5th yr option was exercised in lieu of new contract),

should Aaron not renegotiate his $47 M option payment for 2024 - as he had alluded to doing in different interviews - or other players not convert their salaries to signing bonuses or simply take salary cuts like many do - Aaron Jones this year, Randall Cobb last year, etc..

If Packer Management's ignorant emotion driven trade of Rodgers to the Jets goes through - for peanuts no less - and Packer Management continue to bust apart and alienate this young Packer team that was coming off a 13-3, 13-3, and 13-4 season just a year ago, my Packer fan friends and I who have watched the Packers together for decades will likely be watching a Packer team that will probably not make the playoffs more than once in the next 4 years - management has to be really terrible in the age of parity to miss all 4 years - while Aaron fulfills his 4 year contract and leads the Jets into the playoffs each year through 2026-27 after which Rodgers retires with no cap hit to the Jets.

And all my Packer friends – who watch every game with me from preseason until the end of the season – feel the same way. Only Packer management plants and the NFL Owners’ talking heads – who are there to create hysteria and maximize viewership and clicks – and Rodgers to New York will be right in line with that – think differently.

And if Packer Management ego, emotion and ignorance prevails and this trade does though we will be cheering loudly for all the Packer players – including Jordan Love – as we did Don Horn, Scott Hunter, Jerry Tagge, John Hadl, Carlos Brown, Lynn Dickey, David Whitehurst, Randy Wright, Don Majkowski, Anthony Dilweg, Blair Kiel, Mike Tomczak, and others, while booing Packer management at every opportunity to do so.

And the young spoiled Packer fans, who complain about the Packers winning “only” 1 Super Bowl during Aaron’s 15 years as starter will be long gone.

But Packer Management’s writers will still be on these websites writing to protect Packer Management and the 31 Billionaire Owners’ talking heads will still be out there each day creating hysteria and pushing those Billionaire’s agenda to maximize collectively shared television, internet, and gambling revenues.

And Aaron Rodgers in his 15 years as Packer QB succeeded in leading the Packers to as many Super Bowl wins as any other NFC QB despite the fact that over the last 20 years only the Packers and Seahawks failed to draft a receiver in the first round.

The Packers last draft of a wide receiver in the first round was Javon Walker in 2002. Walker - google him, he is a competitive body builder in his 40s today - was a 6 foot 2, 225 pound stud that ran a faster 40 – 4.35 - at the combine than Christian Watson’s 4.36 last year. Walker made the pro bowl in 2004 and established several NFL records in first 3 years, but the Packer management played hard ball with Walker – with the help of Favre – and alienated Walker much like they did Davante Adams last year.

And don’t let anyone tell you’re the probability of finding an all pro receiver in rounds 2 through 7 are higher than finding an all pro receiver in round 1. You are nearly 10 times more likely to find an all pro receiver in the first round – 20% chance - than in rounds 2 through 7 – 3.38% chance.

“Of the 80 first-round receivers, 16 (20%) have been selected to multiple Pro Bowls, including 11 with at least four. In the final six rounds, 562 receivers were drafted. Of that huge group, 19 (3.38% have been selected to multiple Pro Bowls, including eight with at least four.”

https://www.si.com/nfl/packers/news/first-round-receiver-you-mostly-know...

"2023 NFL Draft: Packers All-Pro player suggests who Green Bay should take at 15th overall -- and it's not a WR"

Longest drought without 1st-round RB, WR or TE (since 1967)

TEAM YEARS DRAFTS

Packers

2003-2022

20

Seahawks

2003-2017

15

Commanders

2002-2015

14

Obviously Rodgers performed MAGIC for the Packers and is the ONLY reason Brian and Mark still have their jobs.

And it is not like the draft picks on defense created the best defense so that Aaron wouldn't be faced with:

1) poor field position, with long drives needed to score

2) point deficits to overcome time and time again

Despite Packers never having drafted a receiver, tight end or running back in the first round in Aaron Rodgers 18 years as a Packer;
And despite the Packers only having spent 2 first round draft picks (Sherrod & Bulaga) on the offensive line in Aaron Rodgers 18 years as a Packer;
And despite the Packers having used their first draft picks on defense in 14 of the 17 years since Aaron Rodger was drafted in 2002 and despite the Packers STILL never having a top ranked defense and a top 10 ranked defense only 3 times in Aaron Rodgers 15 years as a starter;
In Aaron Rodgers 15 years as the Packers' starting QB the Packers played in 21 post season games, more than any of the other 15 NFC teams during that 15 year time span, all of those teams rotating through multiple QBs during those 15 years.
During those 15 years with Rodgers as the starter the Packers also played in 5 NFC Championship games, more than any other QB during that 15 years.

During those 15 years with Rodgers as the starter the Packers have been in the playoffs 11 years - more than any other of the 15 NFC teams.

"The Packers are good right now. I still think they could win the NFC North and make noise in the playoffs. But in order to do that, this offense needs to evolve and change. "

You couldn't discredit yourself as being nothing more than fan than you could with this sentence. Lots of things need to change in order to win the North and have any chance at making anything more than a whimper in the playoffs. Roster is thin in many positions, WR just being one of them.

Why waste the money and reps on a player who will make little to no difference? Give those reps to young guys and let them grow.

Hopefully the Packers are able to draft Jaxon Smith-Njiba - who had the best times of all positions in the 3 cone drill and 20 yard shuttle: and also ran a faster 40 than Davante Adams' combine 40 - and TE Darnell Washington..

Do that and drop the ignorant, emotion driven trade of Rodgers and bring back Cobb and Lewis and Crosby as well and every TRUE Packer fans I have watched games with for decades with and I would be happy.

The rest of the draft, quality edge rusher and run stopper and anything beyond that is a bonus.

Here was Bleacher Report's 2014 draft analysis of Davante Adams:

Davante Adams NFL Draft 2014: Highlights, Scouting Report for Packers WR

Negatives
Plays very sloppily and inconsistently.
Timing of his routes and effort when making cuts is inconsistent, at best.
Seems to play lazily at times and rounds off his routes.
He lacks the athleticism to have such a passive approach to the game.
Extremely inconsistent in his body placement on 50-50 balls.
Faster than he is quick.
He can pick up chucks of yardage after the catch when given space, but he struggles to shake defensive backs if he doesn't haul in the pass with immediate room to run.
Played a fairly simplistic role in Fresno State's offense, featuring a lot of screens, comebacks and go routes.