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Packers adding veteran QB Blake Bortles

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The Green Bay Packers are expected to sign veteran quarterback Blake Bortles to a one-year contract.  The deal was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Shefter on Wednesday.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said on draft weekend that the Packers would be looking to add a veteran quarterback and possibly another rookie quarterback to fill out the roster at the position.  Heading into this week, the Packers had just two quarterbacks on their roster with Aaron Rodgers and 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love.

Bortles was the third pick in the 2014 NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was the quarterbacks coach and eventually the offensive coordinator for Bortles from 2015 to 2018.  They reached the AFC Championship Game after the 2017 season.

Bortles last played in 2019 with the Los Angeles Rams and spent time with the Rams and Broncos as a backup last season.

In 73 career starts, Bortles has a 24-49 record with 103 touchdowns and 75 interceptions.

To date, Aaron Rodgers hasn’t participated in the Packers offseason program.  They’ll start OTA’s on May 24 with the team’s mandatory minicamp scheduled for June 8-10.

Rodgers draws his line in the sand, says he wants out of Green Bay

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Aaron Rodgers

Despite Aaron Rodgers telling the Green Bay Packers he no longer wants to play in Green Bay, the Packers are at least saying that they believe Rodgers will be barking out signals at Lambeau Field in 2021.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst delivered that message to reporters following day one of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.

Earlier in the day, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Rodgers had become so disgruntled with the team that he wanted out.

The 37-year-old quarterback, coming off his third NFL MVP honor, is under contract through the 2023 season.  But he has no more guaranteed money left on his deal.

ESPN reported that Gutekunst, Packers coach Matt LaFleur and team president Mark Murphy each met with Rodgers on separate occasions during the offseason and according to the NFL Network, Rodgers had his agent (David Dunn) recently fly to Green Bay for several days of meetings about the situation. [Read more…]

NFL Draft starts tonight

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GM Brian Gutekunst

The 2021 NFL Draft kicks off in Cleveland on Thursday night (7 p.m. CT) with the opening round.  Rounds 2 & 3 are Friday night with rounds 4-7 wrapping up on Saturday.

Armed with 10 selections for the third straight year, the Packers will have some opportunities to do some moving around if they wish.

General Manager Brian Gutekunst enters his 23rd draft with the Packers and fourth as GM.  Last year, Gutekunst selected nine players overall with four players seeing action in10-plus regular-season games as rookies (G Jon Runyan, 16 / S Vernon Scott, 15 / RB A.J. Dillon, 11 / LB Kamal Martin, 10). [Read more…]

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…]

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…]

Packers part company with Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine

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Mike Pettine

Just days after head coach Matt LaFleur publicly criticized a defensive play call from Sunday’s NFC Championship game loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Packers decided not to bring Pettine back in 2021.

The Bucs scored on a 39-yard touchdown pass on the play in question and it drew the ire of the coach after the game.

“It was man coverage…definitely not the right call for the situation and you can’t do stuff like that against a good football team and expect to win,” LaFleur said.  “You just can’t do that stuff.  I blame us as coaches for putting our guys in that situation.  That’s inexcusable.  That should not have happened.  So we’ve got to take a look at it, do some self-reflection and try to figure out ways on how that can’t happen again.”

ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky first reported that Pettine never signed a contract extension that was offered to him after last [Read more…]

Ted Thompson passed away at age 68 (AUDIO)

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Ted Thompson at 2019 Hall of Fame Ceremony – WRN Photo

One of the great architects in Green Bay Packers history, Ted Thompson passed away on Wednesday night, just days after his 68th birthday.

With Thompson as the teams general manager, the Packers compiled an overall regular season record of 125-82-1.  The Packers also made the playoffs nine times during his 13-year tenure, posting a 10-8 postseason record.  It included four NFC Championship games (2007, 2010, 2014 and 2016) and a 2010 Super Bowl victory.

When Thompson took over, his very first draft pick in 2005 was Aaron Rodgers (24th overall).  That pick put the Packers in the competitive drivers seat for years to come.

“I’ll never forget your loyalty,” said Aaron Rodgers during a prerecorded video at Thompson’s 2019 Hall of Fame induction ceremony.  “I’m going to always be thankful for the time I had to spend with you, and the fact that you took a chance on a [Read more…]

Packers lock up Bakhtiari for four years with record deal (AUDIO)

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#69 David Bakhtiari blocking during Sunday’s win over Jacksonville

It was a goal for David Bakhtiari to be the highest paid left tackle in the National Football League.  When the ink dried on the contract extension that he signed late Saturday night, the Green Bay Packers offensive lineman had just become the highest paid offensive lineman in league history.

Bakhtiari’s new deal, as reported by ESPN, is for four years and worth up to $105.5 million.  It includes $2 million in incentives and a $30 million signing bonus, all payable by the end of the current 2020 season.  The deal averages $23 million over the four years, surpassing the deal Laremy Tunsil signed with the Houston Texans in May ($22 million per year).  ProFootballTalk.com first reported the news of Bakhtiari’s extension during Sunday’s 24-20 win over Jacksonville.

“That was something that I’ve been chasing for a while,” said Bakhtiari after the game.  “In having the talks with my family, to have that monetary validation for all the hard work that I’ve put in really meant a lot and that was something that I can hold on to and have that title for the rest of my life.  That is something special that I’ve been chasing really ever since I got in the league.  I have goals, very lofty ones, and I always wanted to say that I was the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL [Read more…]

Packers wrap up training camp, head into regular season mode

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The Green Bay Packers wrapped up Training Camp with a practice inside Lambeau Field on Sunday.  Packers coach Matt LaFleur used the 2 hour, 14 minute practice to get his team ready for the Sept. 13th season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

Of the 100 or so plays run from scrimmage, the starters got 51 of them.  It would have been more, but a couple of players got nicked up late in the practice and the coach decided to pull the plug.

“They’ve got to realize that two weeks from today we’re going to be playing our first game,” LaFleur said.  “So, they’ve got to stack consistent practices on top of each other.”

The Packers begin regular season planning and practice this week.  Players get a workout on Monday, an off day on Tuesday and won’t practice again until Wednesday.  They’ll spend the rest of this week giving GM Brian Gutekunst as much [Read more…]

Packers to hold final Lambeau workout Sunday (AUDIO)

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Matt LaFleur

Sunday’s Lambeau Field practice will be the last big chance for players trying to make the Packers 53-man roster to show what they have.  Next week, the Packers will start to focus on the season opener against the Minnesota Vikings.

Sunday’s practice will be as close to game-like conditions that the Packers can get.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur said the players will wear their uniforms, coaches will be in the press box working with tablets and communicating through headsets.  the NFL is coming in to help with game-day procedures and the practice will include officials for the first time.

The Packers need to trim their roster to 53 players by the end of the week, so Sunday’s practice will be an opportunity for LaFleur and GM Brian Gutekunst to see how the young players react to game conditions.

AUDIO: Matt LaFleur on final Lambeau Field practice on Sunday :22

AUDIO: Matt LaFleur on what he’s looking to do on Sunday :22

AUDIO: Matt LaFleur said he’s looking forward to seeing WR group on Sunday :22