Packers Daily Links: Saturday Says Rodgers' Deal Will Exceed Flacco's
The newly released Packers center shared some thoughts on Aaron Rodgers in a recent interview. That and more in today's Daily Links...
During an appearance on ESPN's NFL Live, recently released Packers center Jeff Saturday said the new deal signed by Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco will be exceeded by that of Aaron Rodgers. “I am sure he (Rodgers) is happy this number is as big as it is, because he knows he is going to go above it," Saturday is quoted as saying by Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "If you look at him as a quarterback, what he has done for the team the past three years, I don’t know that there’s been a run quite that good in the history of the NFL." The only question is when the Rodgers deal gets done. The thinking here is that the Packers extend linebacker Clay Matthews in the very near future while the Packers wait until midseason with Rodgers in order to mitigate the cap hit in 2013.
More on Jeff Saturday comes from the Associated Press.
Even though the Packers did not place the franchise tag on wide receiver Greg Jennings on Monday, that does not necessarily mean he's a goner in Green Bay. A situation could happen similar to James Jones in 2011 when he didn't receive as much interest in free agency as expected. "If they thought they could get (Jennings) at an average of $7-8 million per year, they could sign him and release Finley, who is scheduled to make $8.25 million this year," writes Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "However, multiple sources connected to the team have said that they would be surprised if Finley wasn't around this season." The odds that Jennings returns to Green Bay appear to be long, however. All it takes is one team to offer him a lucrative contract, and he'll probably find a suitor.
More on Greg Jennings comes from ESPNMilwaukee.com, Packer Report and the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
The Packers attended the pro day workout at Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday where offensive lineman Terron Armstead was the star of the show. There was a lesser-known prospect on display, however, linebacker Brandon Thurmond. "Thurmond ran the 40 in 4.82 and 4.74 seconds, had a 32-inch vertical jump and 8-foot-11 broad jump, did the three-cone drill in 7.28 seconds and the short shuttle in 4.50 seconds," writes Gil Brandt of NFL.com. "Thurmond also had 20 lifts of 225 pounds on the bench press. Thurmond is a potential rookie free-agent pickup."
More on the pro day circuit comes from Packer Report with another account about the UTEP pro day from Gil Brandt.
This year's free agent class at running back is analyzed over at the Packers official website.
Former Packers linebacker and current board member Bryce Paup is leaving his high school coaching gig at Green Bay Southwest to become a position coach at Northern Iowa.
Over at Fox Sports Wisconsin, there's an article on the Packers offensive line and the annual checkup on defensive lineman Ryan Pickett.
Running back is listed as the Packers' biggest need in an ESPN article shared by JSOnline.
A few thoughts on the safety position in the NFL from LeRoy Butler are published at JSOnline as well.
An article in USA Today on defenses preparing for the read option in the NFL cites some quotes from Mike McCarthy.
A piece on free agent defensive lineman Chris Canty appears at Lombardi Ave.
The Packers Hall of Fame names its art contest winners.
Video: Mike Florio of PFT Live encouraged the Packers to get a deal done with quarterback Aaron Rodgers...
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Brian Carriveau is the author of "It's Just a Game: Big League Drama in Small Town America," and editor of Cheesehead TV's "Pro Football Draft Preview." To contact Brian, email [email protected].
Comments (7)
March 05, 2013 at 12:36 pm
If Flacco is worth 20.1M Rodgers is worth at least 22M. My guess is he settles for 21M.
March 05, 2013 at 12:41 pm
If Flacco is worth 20.1 million, Rodgers is worth at least $35 million.
March 05, 2013 at 02:57 pm
+1. but Flacco isn't worth 20 mil, which is crazy to me that he got it. ARod is worth every penny of that and more.
March 05, 2013 at 02:00 pm
Don't know what to think about this Flacco deal. He's been very pedestrian in the regular season, if that, but there's no denying his playoff history is pretty impressive. 11-0 TD to interception ratio and Super Bowl MVP to boot this year, and I believe I saw where he has the most road playoff victories IN HISTORY. But how much of that is him vs. the team around him (although admittedly the D this year isn't what is used to be but a lot of those victories in past years are mostly due to the D, and if Billy Cundiff could kick a 30 yard field goal they may just have had back to back Super Bowl victories). So if you look at the team as a whole, he fits the system they run and they really have no other options (although if I were them I might have kicked the tires a bit on Alex Smith as he could play that role too and would likely be a hell of a lot cheaper than $20 million, but would probably cost a second rounder or even a first since isn't KC giving up their second rounder which is pretty close to the Ravens first round pick).
That said, if he's worth $20 million, Rodgers is worth $50 million, but I hope he goes the Tom Brady route and saves some cap space for some of his teammates. Is there really that much difference in your life if you're making $18 million or $22 million, after taxes especially? Guess I'd like the opportunity to find out for myself!
March 05, 2013 at 03:01 pm
If ARod breaks the bank, I hope he doesn't spout off on how the top priority for the Pack is to keep all its "core players". Even if they have reserves in the vault, teams are still restricted in how much they can dole out to their players in any given year. You might get by in the short-term with excessive cash outlays, but will pay for it in the future.
So for every dollar ARod gets, the less the Pack have left for those other core players. I'm certain he knows that releasing CWood et al was in part to pay his salary. Not saying he doesn't deserve the big payday, but I know he realizes the consequences of one player getting near 20% of the cap versus the teams ability to sign or resign other quality players. There's a way for star players to help with the teams success, even off the field.
March 05, 2013 at 04:30 pm
I feel compelled to comment on this article for some reason...
I say give him same contract just with everything guaranteed, barring serious injury. Are the Pack actually going to cut ARod?
March 05, 2013 at 06:37 pm
What if he has a catastrophic injury? Then we're screwed for years.