Tramon Williams Signs with Browns

The Packers secondary just got a little thinner. Tramon Williams, a starter at cornerback for the Packers last season, has signed a 3 year, $21 million dollar contract with the Browns.

This move is not surprising. Williams was still an above average starter last year, but had clearly lost a step, and was not worth the top dollar the Packers were paying him.

In the wake of Williams' absence, Casey Hayward and Micah Hyde are expected to compete for the starting job opposite Sam Shields. The Packers may also dip into later stage free agency for a veteran corner. The position is virtually a lock to be addressed in the NFL Draft, possibly even in the first round.

However the Packers intend to the fill the holes left by Tramon Williams and Davon House, one thing is certain: all of a sudden cornerback is probably the position of greatest need on the Packers' roster.

Ex-Packers CB Davon House Signs with Jaguars

CB Davon House has been identified as a player with worlds of talent for a while now, and last season was his best effort to date at becoming a dependable, every down starter; the Jaguars took notice.

House has signed a $25 million dollar deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars on the opening day of free agency, and figures to compete for a starting job. Most NFL analysts consider the price a very high for the services of House, since he doesn't have much starting experience, but the Jaguars were willing to pay for his youth and huge upside.

Best of luck in Jacksonville, Davon!

Back to Business: Packers Re-sign Cobb and Bulaga; Tolzien is back with one year deal

After leaving Packer nation in suspense for a while, receiver Randall Cobb and tackle Bryan Bulaga have decided to come back to Green Bay. Both players received offers for more money elsewhere, but decided to stay in Green Bay, both for the sake of familiarity and a realistic title shot.

In other news, developmental quarterback Scott Tolzien has agreed to return to the Packers on a one year contract, worth a little over $1 million dollars. Matt Flynn remains unsigned.

Just How Valuable is Bryan Bulaga?

I recently posted an article about Randall Cobb's actual value to the Packers from Pro Football Focus. They also did a piece on Bryan Bulaga, who, in my opinion, is a little more important to re-sign than Cobb, since the Packers have some depth at wide receiver already during a draft year with a strong wide receiver class.

Continuity is always a big deal on the offensive line, and last year's unit was in Mike McCarthy's opinion, "the best we've had... in my time here." I think the Packers will be bring back Bulaga for the sake of continuity and evident progress for the group as a unit.

We'll know for sure pretty soon.

Just How Valuable is Randall Cobb?

Randall Cobb watch is still in high alert. While we wait for March 10th to finally arrive, here's a great piece from Pro Football Focus on how valuable Randall Cobb actually is.

From the sound of it, Cobb was the best slot receiver in the league last year, and Aaron Rodgers put up a 134.3 passer rating when throwing to Cobb, which was the highest in the league.

Considering how gifted Jordy Nelson is as a boundary receiver, Cobb, in his slot role, really complements Nelson and provides A-Rod with a well-balanced 1-2 punch.

I'm not a GM, but if I were I'd be willing to go to work with Cobb's agent, so long as the price tag doesn't get ridiculous (i.e. $11-12 million per year).

Bears to Trade Receiver Brandon Marshall to Jets for 5th Round Pick

The Packers' DBs are letting out a sigh of relief: Brandon Marshall won't be lining up across from them twice a year anymore. The tall, talented receiver has reportedly been traded to the New York Jets for a 5th round draft pick.

Marshall, who had a down season last year statistically, had been a source of locker room drama, and the Bears' new management decided he wasn't worth the headache.


Still, though, Brandon Marshall is an elite receiver from a talent and size perspective, and a 5th round draft pick hardly seems like fair compensation for the veteran. I suppose the best thing the Bears got out of this deal was salary cap space. Here's a tid bit from overthecap.com:

"The Bears had signed Marshall to a contract extension last year that paid him a $7.5 million signing bonus and $7.5 million salary. The team ended up getting just one year for $15 million, essentially as if he was a franchise player, so from that perspective the extension was a disaster for the Bears. The Bears will now carry $5.625 million in dead money for Marshall this season, but that will allow them to create another $3.95 million in cap room. For Chicago this is probably a sign of the lack of faith that the new regime has in the roster that was constructed by former GM Phil Emery and they will be looking to turn over as many veteran pieces as possible."

Regardless of the Bears' reasoning, I am just happy not to have Brandon Marshall to worry about anymore.

Randall Cobb Watch: Cobb's Agent Declines Packers Offer

NFL.com is reporting that the Packers offered Randall Cobb a contract worth between $8 and $9 million per year, but his agent has declined. It is now even more likely that free agency will open without Cobb having been re-signed by the Packers.

The Raiders and the Jaguars are among the teams expected to get into a bidding war for the services of Cobb, who after the tagging of Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas, is the top free agent wide receiver left on the market. Both teams are reportedly willing to pay Cobb upwards of $12 million per year, with a hefty signing bonus.

Should the Packers Sign Ndamukong Suh?

The Detroit Lions decided against using the franchise tag to keep Ndamukong Suh from negotiating with other teams in free agency, and although the general thought is that the Lions will try to work out a long term deal with Suh, there are some who think the Lions may be willing to part ways with Suh if the price isn't right.

Recently, on the Packers team website, several readers have been submitting questions about whether or not Green Bay should pursue the big, bad Packer stomper.

Here's my opinion on whether or not it will happen:

NO WAY.

I can't believe that Packers fans are even excited about the idea! Sure, the Packers defensive line would improve, but have we forgotten this incident?

Or this one??

And this wasn't even the Packers, but it might be the dirtiest of all!

Beyond the dirtiness aspect of Suh's game, there are a few other reasons the Packers will pass on him.

First, the price tag will be far beyond what the Packers will spend in free agency.

Second, he would count against the compensatory picks that the Packers would receive in next year's draft and would virtually guarantee that the Packers would not receive any compensatory picks.

And third, it would be horrible for locker room morale, and not just for the reason you might think. Whenever a player from the outside gets signed and is suddenly one of the highest paid players on the team, it hurts morale. The Packers are one of the best in the league at developing their own players and rewarding those whom they have developed so that Green Bay is somewhere they want to stay. This signing would be flying in the face of that entire philosophy.

So for all those Packers fans who want to see Suh stomping on everybody except for Green Bay Packers, sorry but it's just not going to happen.

Why the Packers Won't Re-Sign Cobb

I know this title sounds like it's already a done deal. And I also know we still have a week before it's open season on unrestricted free agents. But the Packers refused to franchise the 24 year old wide receiver by the deadline, and now it appears as though Cobb will be the cream on the crop of free agent receivers this year. This could make him a little too expensive for Ted's taste.

Recent reports is that Cobb is looking to make around $9 million dollars a year. That would put him on par with what Jordy Nelson is making as the Packers top wide receiver (4 years, $39 million). That might be the ceiling for the Packers, who don't want to have to renegotiate Jordy's contract while the ink is still wet (he was extended just last year).

Also, there other reports that the Raiders and the Jaguars would be willing to pay Cobb $12 million per year. That would almost certainly be too much for the Packers.

I am sure that Green Bay will continue to negotiate with Cobb's agent like mad before free agency opens on March 10th. And maybe a deal will get done in the 11th hour, like with Sam Shields last year. But I'm beginning to think it's more and more likely that there will be a bidding war for Cobb, and that he will simply be too pricey for the Packers to keep around.

WR Andre Johnson cut by Texans; might he be a fit for Green Bay?

Andre Johnson has played his last down for the Houston Texans. He is probably a future Hall of Famer (and arguably, the best offensive player in Texans history), but as the team looks to rebuild by getting a little younger, they decided to cut ties with the veteran receiver.

But is it possible that A.J. could be catching passes from A-Rod next season? It certainly is a possibility. After being released by the Texans, Johnson is likely to come relatively cheap in free agency,  and perhaps more importantly, because he was released by the Texans, he would not count against the Packers' compensatory picks next season. With Randall Cobb about to test the open waters of free agency, it is possible that Ted Thompson will make a splash in free agency by picking up a big name veteran to fill a hole in the roster, much like the Julius Peppers signing last season.