Packers Calendar: A Jermichael Finley Deadline of Sorts, $3 M Bonus Due Tuesday
The Packers tight end is due a $3 million roster bonus on Tuesday, which Green Bay could avoid paying by either cutting or trading him.
There have been differing reports as to when Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley is due his $3 million roster bonus, but according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, it's due tomorrow, Tuesday March 26...
@jasonjwilde If he's on there roster by tomorrow, the 15th day, he gets his bonus. Only way he isn't is if he's traded or cut… today.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 25, 2013
When Rapoport references "the 15th day," he means the 15th day of the new league year that began on March 12, which you might remember was the start of free agency.
In essence, Jermichael Finley's future with the Packers––at least for the 2013––will be determined by the end of the day. If the Packers don't take any action and agree to pay his $3 million bonus, you can be assured that they'll be making a commitment to him for the upcoming season. They wouldn't pay him millions of dollars and then cut or trade him.
There's a slim chance that the Packers could either cut or trade Finley by the end of the day to avoid paying his bonus, but that seems to be an unlikely scenario. After losing both Greg Jennings and Tom Crabtree to free agency, the Packers probably don't want to lose another one of Aaron Rodgers' targets all in the same offseason.
Finley's long-term future in Green Bay remains cloudy, however. His current contract has only one year remaining on it, and there has been no indication that the Packers have been working on a long-term extension.
It's possible that the Packers could avoid paying Finley his $3 million bonus if both sides agreed to a restructured contract extension by the end of the day, but that also appears to be an unlikely outcome.
Finley might agree to a contract worth less money per year on average if it included more years and more guaranteed money over the long haul, but he and his agent know if they can just wait one more year, he can test the free agent market once again.
There's no shortage of criticism when it comes to Finley from his drops on the football field to his outspoken nature off of it. But he also posted the best season ever for a Packers tight end in which he had 61 receptions for 667 yards.
Detractors will point out that despite having the most receptions for a tight end in franchise history, Finley's 61 receptions only ranked ninth in the NFL among players at his position in 2012.
Comments (14)
March 25, 2013 at 11:42 am
Still had more catches/yards than Martellus Bennett's best year, but Bears fans are over the moon about giving Bennett a $4.5m signing bonus.
At this point the expectation seems to be that Finley will stay on the roster this year. I'd put it at 50/50. I suppose it depends on whether they've given him a new offer to consider.
March 25, 2013 at 01:10 pm
50/50?
I'd say at this point, with the deadline a few hours away, it's 99/1.
March 25, 2013 at 12:34 pm
True but Bennett had over twice as many touchdowns... the stat line was pretty similar... nothing to be too proud of!
March 25, 2013 at 01:12 pm
Finley needs to catch more TDs, no doubt, but I don't believe they're a great indicator of a player's production. Too many variables to take into account.
March 25, 2013 at 12:57 pm
"But he also posted the best season ever for a Packers tight end in which he had 61 receptions for 667 yards."
When those numbers are taken/placed into perspective as to game changing stat terms,it qualifies as a true 'false positive' to what Finley is said/hoped and as yet truly shown to be..game changer.
March 25, 2013 at 01:13 pm
I wonder how Finley's stats over the last 8 games compared to other TEs over the same period.
March 25, 2013 at 01:39 pm
Those stats would be like any other for simple comparison sake and placement on a list accordingly.
I don't care if Finley caught more/less than a TE on another team,I care about the plus/minus impact of his catches/drops and other assumed tangibles for the Packers.After all,he takes our money,not the other teams.
Just saying.
March 25, 2013 at 01:51 pm
Tha
March 25, 2013 at 01:54 pm
Whoops.
As I was saying, that's a fair point. But I do think you need to have a sense of perspective when evaluating a player's production.
Also, I'm exactly sure what this means: "Those stats would be like any other for simple comparison sake and placement on a list accordingly."
March 25, 2013 at 02:17 pm
Those stats will place him in a numerical order accordingly on the list according to what stat is being analized as to all TEs.
Gronk has 77 Finley has 61..Gronk is 1st and Finley is 5th.thats relevant for over-all rankings but the impact for the Packers is different.
For example;
Gronk had 37 game impact catches out of 77...Finley had 43 game impact catches or Finley had 9 impact catches...what matters more,the number of impact catches or he was 5th on a list of total catches.
Is he moving the chains or making us punt,is he making the hard catch or dropping it,does he get the hard YAC or is he easily stopped.....Impact matters.
Gronk has impacted the game change for NE and Brady..Finley hasn't for either the Packers or Rodgers.
Does Gronk get more attempts than Finley sure,how much of that is based on his level of witnessed and performed impact compared to our Finley.
Stats are more often 'false positives' unless looked at other than a rankings list.
March 25, 2013 at 02:18 pm
He's not worth his current contract and a paycut would be fair, especially if the team extended his deal. Otherwise I'd cut him to continue making room for other extensions. Remember there's more than Rodgers and Matthews. Also Raji, EDS, Shields, maybe Jones, etc...
March 25, 2013 at 03:16 pm
Did not expect him to be back. They are a better team with him though and if TT didn't think there were FA's or other extensions worthy of $8m this season then I trust TT.
I still don't think he's a Packer after this year. Really hope he can put it all together(been saying that for a while now though).
March 25, 2013 at 03:24 pm
Finley needs to stop acting like a douche. I don't think any TEs are worth $8 million per. Hit the bricks, 88.
March 25, 2013 at 04:40 pm
My two cents is they will pay the money or they would have done something with him by now. You can't wait till the end of the day to lose someone and get nothing in return other than trying to save a buck.
Privately he could be doing another contract and they would not announce that in advance until its done but for sure, he will be Packer next season.