Packer Offseason Thread: Latest- Packers Sign Kenny Clark- 4 years/$70 Million

[PeaveyFury]

Honestly, if they can re-sign Jared Veldheer, Wagner/Veldheer at RT supplemented with a draft pick may be a good option for both 2020 and the longer-term.

[patrickgpe]

I love the wagner signing at that price. I have no opinion on Kirksey. But again it seems like he was gotten for a bargain because of an injury history.

[PeaveyFury]

Rumor has it that Wagner's contract is back-loaded, with a cap number of just ~$3 million for 2020, giving the Packers additional cap room to make some moves.

[patrickgpe]

From walterfootball:

 

Packers sign LB Christian Kirksey (2 years, $16 million): B- Grade

The Packers were thoroughly embarrassed in the NFC Championship, as the 49ers pounded the ball at them at will. Green Bay allowed Raheem Mostert to have a complete performance, so it was clear that it had to do several things to improve its run defense this offseason. This was the first step.

 

This signing should help, at least in theory. Christian Kirksey was once seen as a promising, young linebacker, but he has played in just nine games over the past two years due to injury. He has also struggled when actually on the field. The Packers will be hoping that Kirksey rebounds after buying low on him.

 

The thing is, it's not actually buying that low. Kirksey is getting more money than I expected he would per year. It's not an egregious sum, but this is too much money based on how he has performed. Still, it's only a 2-year pact, so the Packers aren't putting themselves at tremendous risk, so if this move doesn't pan out, Green Bay's financial status won't be too damaged by it.

[PeaveyFury]

Semi-official cap numbers:

 

Kirksey has a $1.75 million base, bonuses of $3.25 million, and a total cap # of $5 million for 2020.

Wagner is a $2.25 million base, bonuses of $2.56 million, and a total cap # of $4,812,500 for 2020.

 

Still ~$14 million to work with as of now.

[jjfanec]

Kirksey's deal is exactly why you wait to see the actual numbers before getting too excited. Initial numbers seemed high but looking at actual numbers it is a really solid deal.

[patrickgpe]

Hooper to the browns 4/44mm.darn, but that's a lot of money for a non-elite TE.

[homer]

Hooper to the browns 4/44mm.darn, but that's a lot of money for a non-elite TE.

 

I think he's the highest paid TE. No thanks at that price.

[jjfanec]

I really wanted a tight end but once Henry got franchised and it became apparent Hooper would get 10 million plus then it seemed much less likely. Still would like a cheaper veteran but DT or WR seem more likely at this point

[patrickgpe]

For some reason, the Texans traded DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals.

 

Bill O gonna Bill O.

for David Johnson, complete highway robbery for the cards.

[PeaveyFury]

I really wanted a tight end but once Henry got franchised and it became apparent Hooper would get 10 million plus then it seemed much less likely. Still would like a cheaper veteran but DT or WR seem more likely at this point

 

Any interest in Ebron?

 

And I agree with everyone, the Hooper money is crazy for a solid TE. Certainly not worth 'best TE in the league' money.

[CheezWizHed]

I'm actually "ok" with no more big FAs this year. Bring in a few more $2M/year types (e.g. Veldheer) and fill the rest in the draft. I'm worried about the pending FAs coming in 2021 (Clark, Bahk, King, and a few more key guys I'm forgetting).

[patrickgpe]

if they can get a TE and WR on the first 2 days, I'm OK with this strategy. Does anyone know how much cap room they have with their 2 signings today?

[PeaveyFury]

if they can get a TE and WR on the first 2 days, I'm OK with this strategy. Does anyone know how much cap room they have with their 2 signings today?

 

About $14 million left, even factoring in the draft class.

[patrickgpe]

if they can get a TE and WR on the first 2 days, I'm OK with this strategy. Does anyone know how much cap room they have with their 2 signings today?

 

About $14 million left, even factoring in the draft class.

Thanks then i'd like them to get one more guy, similar to what they paid for the 2 today. If they can get Littleton and then draft a WR and TE early, i'd be happy

[PeaveyFury]

I'm actually "ok" with no more big FAs this year. Bring in a few more $2M/year types (e.g. Veldheer) and fill the rest in the draft. I'm worried about the pending FAs coming in 2021 (Clark, Bahk, King, and a few more key guys I'm forgetting).

 

I think it's possible if not likely that a Bahktiari extension gets done soon to keep him here longer and adjust his cap number down to free up space. Clark's deal could be massive.

 

I'd still be in on Litteton. Kirksey is a nice boom or bust play at LB, but if he's injured again the position is actually worse off than last year since you're losing Martinez. Littleton would be a solid starter-type with Kirksey as your ILB2.

 

Ebron is still available if they're interested in a FA TE here. Beyond that, there are the Amari Coopers of the world that would be a legit blockbuster, but that may take some serious cap creativity for Green Bay.

[FVBrewerFan]

if they can get a TE and WR on the first 2 days, I'm OK with this strategy. Does anyone know how much cap room they have with their 2 signings today?

 

About $14 million left, even factoring in the draft class.

 

Doesn't the news CBA give them another $10MM or so in cap? Haven't trad the details yet, but thought I heard that somewhere.

[PeaveyFury]

if they can get a TE and WR on the first 2 days, I'm OK with this strategy. Does anyone know how much cap room they have with their 2 signings today?

 

About $14 million left, even factoring in the draft class.

 

Doesn't the news CBA give them another $10MM or so in cap? Haven't trad the details yet, but thought I heard that somewhere.

 

No, the cap was set lower than expected.

[CheezWizHed]

I'm actually "ok" with no more big FAs this year. Bring in a few more $2M/year types (e.g. Veldheer) and fill the rest in the draft. I'm worried about the pending FAs coming in 2021 (Clark, Bahk, King, and a few more key guys I'm forgetting).

 

I think it's possible if not likely that a Bahktiari extension gets done soon to keep him here longer and adjust his cap number down to free up space. Clark's deal could be massive.

 

I'd still be in on Litteton. Kirksey is a nice boom or bust play at LB, but if he's injured again the position is actually worse off than last year since you're losing Martinez. Littleton would be a solid starter-type with Kirksey as your ILB2.

 

Ebron is still available if they're interested in a FA TE here. Beyond that, there are the Amari Coopers of the world that would be a legit blockbuster, but that may take some serious cap creativity for Green Bay.

 

I'm hoping they can do both Clark's and Bahk's contracts this year (one good thing TT used to manage), which would eat up much of that $14M

 

For ILB, you can still grab a lower end guy, draft someone, plus hope for Burk to develop and stay healthy. I see Gute as a "not all eggs in one basket" guy, which was TT's main deficiency. Getting Littleton would be nice, but not if we are in cap-jail in the future and lose some of our key guys. Let's not turn into the Vikings...

[OldSchoolSnapper]

It's so refreshing to have a GM that finally just lets people go and doesn't retain them solely because he drafted them. Draft and develop is great until you're consistently drafting mediocre players and refusing to sever ties with them. We can discuss Gute's abysmal '18 draft but at least he has shown an ability to move on.

[jjfanec]

Right now i feel better about where the Packers sit in the division.

 

The Vikings have lost a ton of talent. They less cap space than the Packers and have added no new players. They still have all three starting cbs as free agents - Rhodes, Waynes, Alexander - the lost one d-lineman (Weatherly) and have two more who are free agents - Joseph and Griffen - and have lost their top wr from last year in Diggs - diva sure but he aeraged 18 ypc with Theilen missing a bunch of time - and they still dont have a Kicker and they offensive line is still terrible.

 

The Bears lost a good ILB and added an old TE for too much money. Bridgewater would be better than Trubisky but he isnt a needle-mover and honestly they would have to clear a bunch of cap space to do it

 

The Lions seem to be treading water. They have a ton of cap so maybe they make improvements

 

The Packers got worse at RT but not a huge dropoff. The at worst are the same at ILB. They still have some cap to improve other place.

[PeaveyFury]

Blake Martinez to the Giants, 3/$30 million.

[JosephC]

Am I the only one who is really surprised that Lane Taylor is still on the Packer's roster?

 

I loved Kirksey as a Hawkeye, but to me it's really risky to rely on a 28 year old ILB that's only played in 9 games over the last two seasons. To me it's obvious that the Packers needed to add two players at this position, so hopefully there will be another player added by free agency or a high pick will be used on the position. Martinez had issues, but I think part of those issues were that the Packers just didn't have a suitable guy lining up next to him for any length of time. Thompson really botched that position and it sure looks like Gutekunst completely whiffed on Burks.

 

It will be interesting to see how much Wagner has left in the tank. Another one of the great Badger walk-ons.

[PeaveyFury]

Getting Littleton would be nice, but not if we are in cap-jail in the future and lose some of our key guys. Let's not turn into the Vikings...

 

Keep in mind, they still can save an additional ~$4.5 million by cutting/trading Lane Taylor, and a Bahktiari extension would likely reduce his cap number to save another ~$5-ish million. Linsley can be re-done too, so there's more flexibility there if the Packers want it.

 

Am I the only one who is really surprised that Lane Taylor is still on the Packer's roster?

 

Posted at the same time as my post above! I wonder if they're trying to work a trade rather than cutting him, causing the delay.

[homer]

Hey guys, I split off the non Packer news into another thread. Let's keep this one about Packers (and ex Packers) and the other one about other teams. Seems like NFL is gonna be the only thing to talk about for a while so we might get some nice discussions going over here. Best to keep them organized.