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NFL preparing for contingency plans

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With NFL teams holding virtual offseason programs, there’s a chance the league’s regular season won’t start on time.  According to a report in the Sports Business Journal, the league is considering several contingencies, just in case they can’t kick off the season on time.

The NFL schedule will be released early next month and it will be designed to handle a delay, even as far out as October 15th.  That would allow for a 16-game season without a bye week.

The league is also reportedly talking with Super Bowl host Tampa about the plan, which could push the league’s championship game back as far as February 28.

The main goals right now are to preserve a 16-game season and play the Super Bowl in February.

 

Packers release QB Manny Wilkins

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After drafting quarterback Jordan Love in the opening round of the NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers reduced their quarterback stable by one, releasing Manny Wilkins on Monday.

Wilkins signed with the Packers as an undrafted free agent last year and was in the mix to be Aaron Rodgers’ backup before being released after training camp.

Wilkins later returned and spent the season on the Packers practice squad.

Lazard, Sullivan sign tenders

Wide receiver Allen Lazard and cornerback Chandon Sullivan are back for 2020.  They each signed their exclusive rights tender, guaranteeing their return for the season.  It allows both to take part in the Packers virtual offseason program, which started on Monday.

Lazard had 35 catches for 477 yards and three touchdowns last year, while Sullivan had 30 tackles and an interception.

 

Packers 2020 draft class ranks among the NFL’s worst

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Packers GM Brian Gutekunst

After the dust has settled, the Green Bay Packers 2020 NFL Draft class ranks among the worst in the league and still has Packers Nation shaking their heads at what transpired over the weekend.

A record 37 receivers were selected in a receiver rich draft, but none of those 36 went to the Packers, who entered the draft needing to add help on the outside to improve the arsenal with which Aaron Rodgers has to work with.

The Packers traded a 4th round pick to move up from 30th to 26th in the first round and selected Utah State quarterback Jordan Love.  General Manager Brian Gutekunst had given us some clues over the previous three weeks that he would at least consider such a move.  We all shook it off as a smoke screen, because the Packers have Aaron Rodgers under contract for the next four years.

The scenario was similar when the Packers used the 24th pick in the first round on Aaron Rodgers back in 2005, when Brett Favre was still going strong.  But that move turned out alright, so we move on. [Read more…]

Packers trade up, select QB Jordan Love

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Jordan Love – Photo Courtesy of Getty Images

Nobody really expected the Green Bay Packers to pick Aaron Rodgers back in 2005, but when he fell to them at #24, Ted Thompson made the move that would shape the team’s future for years to come.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is hoping to find lightning in a bottle again after trading up from number 30 to number 26 in a trade with Miami to select Utah State quarterback Jordan Love.  The Packers traded their fourth-round pick to Miami to move up to select Love.

Love is 6’4, 224 lbs and has the ability to be the Packers quarterback of the future.  But he’ll have some time to watch and learn under Aaron Rodgers.

Love left Utah State a year early.  He threw for 3,567 yards and 32 touchdowns with just six interceptions in 2018.  Last year, his numbers dropped to 3,402 yards, 20 TD’s and 17 interceptions as Utah State struggled.

Gutekunst repeatedly said before the draft that if the right quarterback was available when they picked, he wouldn’t hesitate to make the move.  Obviously, it wasn’t lip service.

With the trade, the Packers now have eight picks left, including single picks in the 2nd and 3rd rounds on Friday night.

NFL Draft kicks off tonight

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Packers GM Brian Gutekunst

The 2020 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night, virtually.  The event starts at 7 p.m. CT.

The Green Bay Packers head into the draft with 10 selections for the second straight year.  The Packers have a pick in all seven rounds, plus two extra in the sixth and one extra in the seventh.

If the Packers draft 10 players, it will mark the third draft in the last four years that Green Bay selected 10-plus players (11 in 2018 and 10 in 2017).

Brian Gutekunst will be overseeing his third draft as the general manager of the Packers and 22nd overall in Green Bay.

Barring a trade, the Packers will have the 30th overall pick in Thursday nights opening round.  The last time the Packers had the 30th pick was last year, a pick acquired in a trade with Seattle.  The Packers used [Read more…]

Packers add a pair of former Dolphins

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The Green Bay Packers added a pair of undrafted free agents to their roster, just two days before the NFL Draft.

Outside linebacker Jamal Davis II and defensive tackle Gerald Willis were both released by the Miami Dolphins and claimed by the Packers.

Davis went undrafted last year, signing as a free-agent with the Houston Texans.  He later spent time on the practice squads of the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans before joining Miami’s practice squad.  He was then signed by the Dolphins for the final three weeks of the season.

Willis signed with Baltimore after going undrafted and ended up in Miami on the Dolphins practice squad after being waived by the Ravens.  Willis was elevated to the Dolphins regular roster for two games, playing 53 snaps before landing on I.R. with a hip injury.

Both are considered better than what the Packers could sign in the undrafted free agent pool following the upcoming draft.

 

Spriggs headed to the Bears

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David Bakhtiari & Jason Spriggs

Offensive tackle Jason Spriggs never lived up to expectations in Green Bay, is signing a one-year deal with the Chicago Bears.

Former Packers general manager Ted Thompson moved up nine sports in the 2016 draft to select Spriggs in the second round (48th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft.

The 25-year-old Spriggs appeared in 36 games in three years, making nine starts for the Packers.  But Spriggs spent the entire 2019 season on the Packers’ injured reserve list.

Thompson sent the Packers 2nd round pick (57th overall), a fourth-rounder (125th overall) and a seventh rounder (248th), to the Indianapolis Colts.

 

Ravens reach deal with LB Ryan

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Jake Ryan

The Baltimore Ravens have reportedly reached a one-year deal with former Green Bay Packers middle linebacker Jake Ryan.

The 28-year-old Ryan has spent most of his career with the Packers but hasn’t played a defensive snap since 2017 due to a knee injury.

Ryan has totaled 213 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries in 45 games.

Ryan was selected by the Packers in the 4th round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Michigan.

Ryan signed a two-year, $7.5 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars last year, but had a setback with his knee and played in just two games in 2019.  Ryan suffered a torn ACL during training camp with the Packers in 2018 and missed the entire season.

 

 

Hall of Famer Willie Davis passes away (AUDIO)

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Flag Media

Another one of the Green Bay Packers legendary greats passed away on Wednesday.  Defensive end Willie Davis, who played for the Packers from 1960-69, passed away in a Santa Monica, California hospital at the age of 85.

During his playing days, the Hall of Famer flourished after joining the Packers in a trade from the Cleveland Browns.  He turned his success on the field to one of riches, becoming a millionaire business owner.

Davis played at a time when sacks weren’t an official statistic.  But there’s no doubt that Davis was the best pass rusher in team history, better than the team’s career sack leaders Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (74.5), Clay Matthews (72.5) and Reggie White (68.5). [Read more…]

Virtual offseason workouts ahead for NFL teams

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The NFL and players’ union will kick off a virtual offseason workout program starting next week.  The programs are an alternative to teams being able to open their own facilities, which will not take place until all 32 teams are permitted to do so.

The three-week virtual offseason starts on April 20, and allows teams to hold classroom instruction, workouts and non-football educational programs using online platforms.

Players who don’t have the necessary workout equipment are being offered a $1,500 stipend to buy it.

The program also allows players with a workout bonus in their contract to collect on that bonus, as long as players participate in the percentage of workouts that are laid out in their contract.

For the Green Bay Packers, nearly 20 players with offseason workouts would be affected.  Those players [Read more…]