When the dust settled on Monday, the Green Bay Packers were one of 24 NFL teams that didn’t use a franchise or transition tag on any of their soon
Greg Jennings
to be free agents. That means, despite rumors to the contrary, Greg Jennings will hit the free agent mark next week and be free to negotiate with any NFL team.
Players can begin negotiating with other NFL teams on March 9, but they can’t sign a contract until March 12 (3pm CT).
Had the Packers used the franchise tag on Jennings, it would have cost them $10.5-million next season. That $10.5-million would have counted against the Packers salary cap and eaten up nearly half of the nearly $22-million cushion that they’ve built.
Jennings is seeking a deal that would pay him $12-million or more per season, making him one of the top players at his postion in the NFL.
Jennings was hit by the injury bug in 2012. He finished with 36 catches for 366 yards and 4 TD’s in 8-regular season games.
If Jennings does sign elsewhere, the Packers would bring back Jordy Nelson, James Jones and Randall Cobb as receivers with considerable experience. There’s also a good chance that they’ll bring back tight end Jermichael Finley for the final year of his contract, which is due to pay him $8.25-million dollars for the upcoming season.