The Packers are hoping to get a new deal done with defensive tackle Letroy Guion in the New Year, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com writes. The Packers got a great value off of his one-year, $1MM deal and they want to re-up, even though the next contract will surely cost them more.
“Letroy has been everything we thought he was going to be,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said recently. “I’ve always had a lot of respect for Letroy in Minnesota. I think he’s come over to us, and I think he’s taken his game up a notch. He’s an excellent fit in the locker room; teammates love him. He’s an excellent teammate and he’s a damn good football player.”
The 6’4″, 315-pound former fifth-round pick had career-highs in tackles (62) and sacks (3.5) this season after coming over from Minnesota. While a new deal might not be struck in the next couple of days, agent Seth Katz says that discussions of a new pact are underway.
“We’ve had some very, very early conversations,” Katz said. “The Packers are obviously focused on the postseason, but we know how they feel about him, and they know he wants to be back. We’re not making it a secret that he wants to stay in Green Bay.”
After B.J. Raji tore his right biceps tendon, Guion stepped up in a major way, making his presence felt and making the Packers aware of his true value. Guion started all 16 games at the nose tackle position instead of Raji, who is also a free agent. While Raji has an unclear future at this time, it’s clear that the Packers want Guion to be a part of theirs.
Pro Football Focus (subscription req’d) hasn’t been all that impressed with Guion this season, rating him No. 61 out of 81 qualified nose tackles in 2014.
Test comment.
Will it go through?