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Tramon Williams retiring from the NFL

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Tramon Williams

After 14 seasons in the NFL, 10 of those 14 coming with the Green Bay Packers, defensive back Tramon Williams announced his retirement on his 38th birthday Tuesday.

Williams played in 205 career games with 153 starts.  He was originally signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2006 out of Louisiana Tech.  He was signed to the Packers practice squad later that season and then made the regular roster the following year.

Williams played for eight seasons in Green Bay and was a big part of their 2010 Super Bowl run.  He then signed with Cleveland in 2015, played for Arizona in 2017 and then returned to Green Bay for two more seasons. [Read more…]

Packers tender Tonyan, Sullivan

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Robert Tonyan

The Green Bay Packers may have cap issues, but they’re not about to let talented right end Robert Tonyan get away on them.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Packers on Tuesday offered Tonyan a restricted free agent tender, a one-year deal worth $3.384 million and would require any team that signs him to give up a second-round draft pick.  The Packers would also have the right to match any offer for Tonyan.

Tonyan had his best season in 2020, catching 52 passes for 586 yards and 11 touchdowns, which tied a league high.

The Packers also submitted a restricted free agent tender to defensive back Chandon Sullivan.

The moves mean the Packers salary cap is more than $10 million over the league limit of $182.5 million heading into Wednesday’s deadline.  So the Packers will have more moves to make to get under the cap by the start of the new league year on Wednesday afternoon.

 

Packers reach four-year deal with RB Jones

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Aaron Jones

With the deadline to negotiate a deal with their own free agents fast approaching, the Green Bay Packers have reportedly reached agreement with running back Aaron Jones on a four-year deal worth $48 million.  The deal includes a $13 million signing bonus.  ESPN was first to report the deal.

Jones switched agents late in the season, hiring Drew Rosenhaus.  Rosenhaus told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Jones offered the Packers a hometown discount.  He said would have received much larger offers had Jones hit free agency.

The $12-million yearly average puts Jones in a tie with Joe Mixon of the Cincinnati Bengals for the sixth-highest paid running back in the league.

The Packers restructured a number of contracts over the weekend to clear cap space.  They’ll need to do more to fit Jones under the cap by the start of the new league year on Tuesday.

Jones rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons.  He’s scored 30 touchdowns over the last two years.

 

Packers don’t use franchise tag

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Packers RB Aaron Jones

The Green Bay Packers elected not to put the “Franchise Tag” on running back Aaron Jones, although reports say they’re trying to sign him to a long term contract.  But the deadline to do so is Monday (March 15), otherwise Jones will become an unrestricted free agent and Green Bay would only get a compensatory draft pick in return.

ESPN reports Jones turned down multiple offers from the Packers because they lacked the guaranteed money he was seeking.

The Packers are strapped by the league’s new salary cap which is set at $182.5 million for 2021, down 8% from last season.  Right now, the Packers are roughly $10 million over the cap.

Jones has rushed for more than a thousand yards each of the last two years and last season he had a career high of 1,104 yards with a 5.5 yards per carry average.

Jones is one of only two players in NFL history to post 3,000-plus yards rushing (3,364) and 35-plus rushing touchdowns (37) with an average of 5-plus yards per carry (5.2) in their first four seasons.  Jim Brown is the other.

The Packers selected running back A.J. Dillon in the second round of the 2020 Draft last year.  If the Packers can’t reach a deal with Jones, Dillon stands to become the teams top running back heading into the 2021 season.

 

Can Packers make a splash in free agency? Aaron Jones?

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Brian Gutekunst

The Green Bay Packers still have to cut more than $12.5 million just to get under the adjusted $180 million salary cap before the start of the new NFL year, they’ll need to go beyond that if they hope to make any moves in free agency, including bringing back any of their own, such as Aaron Jones and/or Corey Linsley to name two.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst spoke with reporters via zoom on Tuesday.  Certainly a long term deal with Jones would be considerably better for the salary cap, but he didn’t rule out using a tag on Jones.

The last time the Packers used the franchise tag was in 2010, on nose tackle Ryan Pickett.  Losing Jones, without exploring every opportunity to keep him, would be a mistake.

Jones is tied for second in the league the last two years with 30 total touchdowns.  His 5.17 yards per carry career average [Read more…]

Watt agrees to deal with Arizona

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J.J. Watt – Photo Courtesy of Mike Clemens

Three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt has decided not to championship for less money, agreeing to a two-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals on Monday.

Several reports say the deal is worth $31 million with $23 million of it guaranteed.

A number of teams were said to be interested in Watt, including the Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills, all of which have better chances at an NFL title.  But Watt decided not to chase an NFL Championship for less money.  If he’s going to win a championship, it’ll be at his price.

In Arizona, Watt will be paired with fellow pass rusher Chandler Jones, who leads the NFL in sacks since he was drafted in the first round of the 2012 draft with 97.  Watt is second on that list with 95.5.

Watt was drafted by the Houston Texans in 2011 with the 11th overall pick.  He asked for and was given his release last month, ending a 10-year run with the Texans.  He has 101 career sacks during his 10 NFL seasons in Houston.

Packers Among Teams Interested in Watt

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J.J. Watt

The Green Bay Packers are reportedly one of a dozen teams said to be interested in signing former Houston Texans All-Pro J.J. Watt.

ESPN.com’s Ed Werder reported “approximately a dozen teams have shown interest.  SI.com’s Bill Huber reported over the weekend that the Packers are said to be one of those teams.

The former Badger and Pewaukee, Wisconsin native would most likely have interest in the Packers with a chance to win the Super Bowl championship that has eluded him during his 10-year career.

The Packers will have to do some serious cap work just to get under the salary cap by the start of the new league-year on March 17. [Read more…]

Houston releases J.J. Watt, Could Packers be next?

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Former Wisconsin Badger standout J.J. Watt asked the Houston Texans for his release and it was granted today, ending a 10-year run in Houston.

Watt broke the news in a 2-minute video on Twitter Friday morning.

“I came here 10 years ago as a kid from Wisconsin who never really been to Texas before and now I can’t imagine my life without Texas in it,” Watt said.

Watt is a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and was named the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2017 for his humanitarian work after Hurricane Harvey devastated the Houston area.  He set out to raise $200,000 to help out and by the time he was done, the total collected was $41.6 million. [Read more…]

Pettine joins Bears as Senior Defensive Assistant

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Mike Pettine

After three seasons in Green Bay as the Packers defensive coordinator, Mike Pettine is joining their rivals, the Chicago Bears as a senior defensive assistant.

Pettine has 17 seasons of NFL experience, spending time with Baltimore, the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills.  He then spent two seasons as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, one year with Seattle before joining the Packers in 2017.

After the 2020 season, the Bears promoted Sean Desai from safeties coach to defensive coordinator, among a number of other defensive moves.

Pettine helped the Packers win the NFC North title and reach the NFC Championship Game each of the past two seasons.  Last season, Pettine’s defense ranked ninth in the league in total yards (334.0), eighth in red-zone touchdown percentage (57.7) and tied for 10th in sacks (41).

 

 

Order is set for 2021 NFL Draft’s opening round

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The completion of the NFL season means the first round order for the NFL Draft is set.

Jacksonville, following their 1-15 season, holds the number 1 pick, followed by the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins (trade from Houston), Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals rounding out the top five.

The next five are Philadelphia, Detroit, Carolina, Denver and Dallas at number 10.  The New York Giants have the 11th selection, followed by San Francisco, the L.A. Chargers, Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots at number-15.  Arizona has the 16th selection, followed by Las Vegas, Miami, Washington and the Chicago Bears at number-20.

Indianapolis has the 21st selection followed by Tennessee, New York Jets (from Seattle), Pittsburgh and Jacksonville (from the LA Rams) at number-25.  Cleveland has the 26th pick, followed by Baltimore, New Orleans, Green Bay and Buffalo at number-30.

Kansas City picks 31st after falling to Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl, with the Buccaneers getting the 32nd and final selection of the opening round.

The 2021 Draft starts with the opening round on Thursday, April 29, in Cleveland, Ohio.  The second and third rounds will be held Friday, April 30, followed by rounds four through seven on Saturday, May 1.