Latest On Bills WR Stefon Diggs
When we last checked in on the Stefon Diggs situation in Buffalo, quarterback Josh Allen was describing the issue as “not football related” despite contrary reports claiming the wideout was frustrated with his role on offense and a lack of input on play-calling.
[RELATED: Diggs Reportedly Frustrated By Role In Offense]
Allen was back at it during an appearance on Bussin With the Boys, stating that the media overreacted to Diggs’ psuedo-no-show during the first day of mandatory minicamp.
“The media has blown this so far out of proportion,” Allen said (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). “We are in minicamp. We’re not playing a game for four months. He doesn’t show up for one day, he’s still there, coach asked him to go home, they’re in talks, they’re trying to resolve some things. They’re still talking about it. Let it go. There’s no reason to continue talking about it.”
Diggs didn’t show up for voluntary workouts with the Bills, and he reportedly left the Bills’ first day of mandatory minicamp. Despite Sean McDermott initially telling reporters that he was “very concerned” about the Diggs situation, the coach quickly reversed course, describing his subsequent conversations with the wideout as “great” while excusing the absence.
As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com notes, the initial report hinted that Diggs left the Bills facility that day, but Allen’s most recent quotes indicate that the receiver may have been sent home by McDermott. Diggs may have been hinting at this mischaracterization on social media, leading Florio to wonder if things are actually okay between the two sides.
Diggs apparent dissatisfaction with the Bills could be tied to his inability to connect with offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, who replaced Brian Daboll this past season. The wideout still ranked in the top-five in targets (154), receptions (108), yards (1,429), and touchdowns (11) in 2022, but in the team’s final six contests (including playoffs), Diggs was limited to 63 yards per game while hauling in only a single touchdown. After finishing Buffalo’s playoff loss to the Bengals with four catches for 35 yards, Diggs reportedly stormed out of the locker room before coaches arrived and needed to be ushered back in.
Jets, Patriots Interested In Dalvin Cook
The Dalvin Cook market includes one well-known suitor, but a host of other teams are believed to be monitoring this situation. The Dolphins appear to have competition from two of their division rivals.
The Jets and Patriots have shown interest in the Pro Bowl running back. New England is intrigued by adding Cook to a Rhamondre Stevenson-fronted backfield, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com said recently (via MassLive.com’s Karen Guregian). While the Jets are expecting Breece Hall to return by Week 1, Fowler adds they are interested in the ex-Viking as well.
This is not the first time the Patriots have come up in connection with Cook. A report last week threw New England into the mix as a possible destination for the six-year Minnesota starter. The Dolphins have long been connected to Cook and have spoken with the Miami native. Cook has called the Dolphins a perfect fit for his skillset, and the team is believed to have made an offer.
Rumblings of a Cook-Patriots partnership comes not long after the AFC East club hosted DeAndre Hopkins on a free agency visit. The Pats made Hopkins an offer and, after a DeVante Parker extension that does not appear especially lucrative, the team remains in play to add the former All-Pro wide receiver. While these are separate markets, the two high-profile free agents have planned to discuss the possibility of ending up on the same team.
The Pats are interested in adding a back to pair with Stevenson, per Fowler. The team let its previous Stevenson complement, Damien Harris, walk for barely the league minimum. Harris signed a one-year, $1.77MM Bills deal that came with just $1MM guaranteed. Cook will cost more than that, though a deal that pays him close to the $10.4MM he was due with the Vikings should not be expected. As the Pats’ offense struggled last season, Stevenson broke through for 1,461 scrimmage yards. The team hired Bill O’Brien to clean up a mess this offseason, and Fowler adds Bill Belichick senses the urgency to improve on offense.
Stephenson and Cook would qualify as a top-shelf 1-2 punch, but Hall would make for a high-end backfield tandem partner as well. Cook called the Dolphins a perfect fit but brought up the Jets as a team he has seen linked to him as well. New York has made a more concerted effort to improve on offense, trading for Aaron Rodgers and adding a host of his ex-Packer teammates. Mecole Hardman also joined the Jets, who now have a clear window to load up their roster around Rodgers. Hall may be a candidate for the active/PUP list in training camp, but nothing has emerged to indicate the 2022 second-round pick will not be ready for the regular season.
The Jets carry third-year back Michael Carter, who as of now looks to be the favorite to back up Hall this season, and gave UDFA Zonovan Knight some work last year. The team re-signed and then waived Ty Johnson, however. The Patriots made a similar move in their backfield, signing ex-Jet James Robinson before cutting him before their offseason program ended. Injury concerns led to the once-productive Jaguar’s Foxborough exit. Behind Stevenson, the Pats roster 2022 draftees Pierre Strong and Kevin Harris. Those two combined for just 28 carries as rookies.
Cook, who is going into his age-28 season, has said he would like to sign with a contending team that has a steady role available. The Dolphins may check both boxes, as Cook could seemingly overtake the Raheem Mostert–Jeff Wilson duo for touches. Stevenson and Hall would not be as easy to leapfrog. The Patriots have recently created cap space as well, extending Parker and linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley. The Jets are likely to lose some 2023 cap space, with Rodgers’ contract needing a second offseason restructure. Such a move would raise his 2023 cap number from its current $1.2MM place.
Although the Dolphins are a ways down the road with Cook, he has clearly not been enamored by his hometown team’s initial proposal. As the running back market might clear up via resolutions for franchise tag recipients Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard at the July 17 extension deadline, Cook may be keen on waiting longer before committing.
Two Players Granted Eligibility For Supplemental Draft
On July 11, the NFL will hold its first supplemental draft since 2019, and we learned today that two players have been granted eligibility for the event. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter), Jackson State wide receiver Malachi Wideman and Purdue wideout Milton Wright were granted eligibility for next week’s draft.
Both Wideman and Wright were deemed academically ineligible for the 2022 season and lost 2023 NFL Draft eligibility. The two receivers are the only players who can be selected during the 2023 NFL Supplemental Draft.
Wideman is a former four-star recruit who started his college career at Tennessee. He later joined Deion Sanders‘ Jackson State squad and proceeded to haul in 34 receptions for 540 yards and 12 touchdowns during the 2021 campaign. Those 12 touchdowns ultimately paced the SWAC during the 2021 season. Wideman will audition himself to teams during a Pro Day this Saturday (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of KRPC2).
Wright left Purdue last May after being ruled academically ineligible for the 2022 college football season. When we last saw him in 2021, he hauled in 57 catches for 732 yards and seven touchdowns for the Boilermakers. He finished his college career with 99 catches in 27 games.
Any team that selects a player during the draft will have to sacrifice the corresponding round’s pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Between 2010 and 2019, there were eight players selected via the supplemental draft, highlighted by quarterback Terrelle Pryor (third round to the Raiders in 2011) and wide receiver Josh Gordon (second round to the Browns in 2012). There have been seven wideouts selected during the draft since its inception in 1977; besides Gordon, the draft has also produced Pro Bowl WR Rob Moore and Hall of Fame WR Cris Carter.
This Date In Transactions History: Raiders In Contract Dispute With Rookie RB
Josh Jacobs and the Raiders are currently engaged in a stare down regarding the running back’s next contract. Interesting, this isn’t the first time Jacobs and his camp have been embroiled in a contract dispute with the organization.
[RELATED: Raiders’ Josh Jacobs Could Sit Out Week 1?]
On this date in 2019, we learned that negotiations weren’t progressing between the Raiders and their rookie running back. In fact, things were so bad, there was growing belief that Jacobs would not report for the start of training camp.
This kind of threat was almost unheard of following the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, with rookie contracts and signing bonuses being mostly predetermined. So, while Jacobs was the team’s only unsigned draft pick at this point of the offseason, it was assumed that negotiations weren’t contentious and would be finalized eventually.
While some first-year players pushed for changes to the offset language in their rookie contracts, Jacobs was actually looking for changes to the payment schedule of his signing bonus. As our own Rory Parks pointed out at the time, teams don’t have to pay the full amount of a bonus upfront and can instead pay in installments. If the player suffers a non-football injury, the team can then withhold or even recover part of that signing bonus. While the running back surely wasn’t counting on an NFI stint, it made sense that he was looking to cash in as soon as possible.
Ultimately, Jacobs ended up signing his four-year, $11.9MM contract (not including a fifth-year option). The signing came three weeks after the organization inked their other two first-round picks, Clelin Ferrell and Johnathan Abram.
The rookie quickly showed off his first-round pedigree, finishing second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting after finishing with 1,316 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns. He topped 1,300 yards again in 2020, this time adding 12 touchdowns.
His counting stats took a step back in 2021, and with a new regime at the helm, the Raiders didn’t pick up Jacobs’ fifth-year options. As an impending free agent, the running back proceeded to have the most productive season of his career in 2022, finishing with 2,053 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns. The Raiders slapped Jacobs with the franchise tag following the season.
Despite the production, the Raiders and Jacobs still haven’t been able to agree on a long-term extension, with the two sides having until July 17 to negotiate a new contract. Throughout the ordeal, Jacobs has talked of taking a stance for future running backs, and he’s also hinted at “bad business” coming from the Raiders organization.
Even with the looming deadline, Jacobs is still threatening to sit out games in 2023 if he’s not signed to an extension. In that scenario, Jacobs still wouldn’t get his wish of a new deal, and he’d be sacrificing game checks once the regular season starts. Still, you clearly can’t put it past the running back to hold out, even if there’s little financial incentive when all is said and done. We can just point to the RB’s contract dispute with the organization back in 2019, and while Dave Ziegler has since replaced Mike Mayock as the Raiders GM, the front office is surely aware of who they’re dealing with.
49ers Aiming To Reduce TE George Kittle’s Workload?
The 49ers have a number of players set to serve in signficant roles on offense in 2023, but tight end George Kittle will once again be an instrumental member of the unit. He may be on the field slightly less than previous years, though. 
San Francisco has received high-end play from the 29-year-old during his six-year career, one which has involved a number of notable injuries. Kittle has nevertheless been able to suit up for at least 14 games in all but one of his campaigns to date, remaining a workhorse in the run and pass game during that time. Since his rookie season, his snap shares have ranged between 84% and 92%.
The 49ers are intent on lowering those figures, as detailed by ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. A small step back in Kittle’s usage rate would not, of course, be seen as a slight against his abilities but rather an attempt at keeping him fresher within games and over the course of the season. The team’s attempts at finding suitable complementary tight ends in recent years have not yielded much in the way of success, however, requiring Kittle to handle a signficant workload.
“It’s not that we want to take plays off of George, because he’s one of the best players in the league and you want to have him out there, especially in critical moments,” tight ends coach Brian Fleury said on the subject of Kittle’s playing time. “But we also want to have the ability to function at a high level in the event that he potentially breaks a chin strap and has to come out for a few plays.”
The 49ers used two of their draft picks on tight ends this year, selecting Cameron Latu in the third round and Brayden Willis in the seventh. The pair will join special teamers Charlie Woerner and Ross Dwelley at the TE spot, leaving a considerable gap between themselves and Kittle, a four-time Pro Bowler. The emergence of one or more of the team’s depth options as a capable pass-catcher (compared to a skillset used exclusively for run blocking) would go a long way in easing the two-way burden Kittle has carried throughout his career.
The All-Pro could very well find himself in contention for a third 1,000-yard campaign in 2023, given the expectations surrounding the 49ers’ offense. A 2022 restructure of Kittle’s five-year, $75MM extension means he accounts for signficant cap hits in each of the next three seasons, so his health and production will remain paramount moving forward. On that point, the former firth-rounder noted that he is better shape than previous offseasons, something which should be cause for optimism heading into 2023. How effective the team’s plan of finding extra time on the sidelines for him turns out to be will be a storyline worth watching as the campaign progresses.
RB D’Andre Swift In Line To Start For Eagles
The loss of Miles Sanders in free agency left a signficant vacancy in the Eagles’ backfield, one which is likely to see a by-committee approach in 2023. The newest member of the group is expected to operate as the starter. 
D’Andre Swift is set to serve atop Philadelphia’s RB depth chart this season, as noted by Andrew DiCecco and Geoff Mosher of InsidetheBirds.com. That will allow the draft-day trade acquisition to showcase himself ahead of his first foray into free agency next March, while also giving the NFC champions a two-way contributor in the backfield.
The 24-year-old spent three years in Detroit, missing at least three games due to injury in each campaign. That hurt his value to the Lions, a team which used one of its first-round selections in this year’s draft on Jahmyr Gibbs. That decision led to speculation that Swift would be on his way out, and he was indeed dealt to the Eagles as part of a pick swap which cost Philadelphia a 2025 fourth-rounder.
The deal represented a homecoming for Swift, who is likely to contribute in the passing game more than Sanders did in recent years. The Georgia alum has made 156 receptions in his career, averaging 7.7 yards per catch. His efficiency through the air could be a key element in an Eagles offense which will look to reduce the hits quarterback Jalen Hurts took last season. A productive campaign from Swift in the ground game as well (where he has an average of 4.6 yards per carry) could increase the willingness the team already reportedly has in exploring an extension.
Of course, health will be a key factor in Swift’s play, along with that of fellow newcomer Rashaad Penny. The former Seahawk inked a one-year deal with the Eagles in the hopes of putting together a healthy season and thus boosting his value on a new pact in Philadelphia or elsewhere. Penny has been limited to 18 games over the past three seasons, so it remains to be seen how much he will be able to contribute to a backfield which also includes returnee Kenneth Gainwell and 2021 49ers third-rounder Trey Sermon.
How snaps are allotted during training camp and the preseason will be worth watching as the Eagles look to repeat the success Sanders in particular enjoyed in 2022. Provided Swift works with the first-team through the summer and into the fall, he will receive plenty of attention and expectations ahead of an important campaign for player and team.
C Chase Roullier Announces Retirement
Chase Roullier worked out for the Cardinals last month, but the veteran center is now giving up the prospect of continuing his career. After two injury-shortened seasons, the former Washington snapper announced (via Instagram) Wednesday he intends to retire.
Citing the injury issues and the rehab journeys they required, Roullier said he will end his career after six seasons. The Commanders released their former starting pivot in May, doing so less than a week after drafting Ricky Stromberg in the third round. Roullier had intended to play in 2023, per KTSP’s Darren Wolfson, but changed his mind recently (Twitter link).
Roullier, 29, suffered a fractured fibula in 2021, wrapping that season after eight games. A torn MCL sustained late during Washington’s Week 2 game last season led to surgery that ended Roullier’s comeback effort. Roullier played just 150 offensive snaps last season. Barring a change of heart, the two-game 2022 will wind up as the Wyoming alum’s last NFL action.
Washington previously followed through will Roullier-centric plans on its offensive front. The team gave the former sixth-round pick a lucrative extension — four years, $40.5MM — in January 2021. Rather than move ahead to free agency two months after that point, Roullier committed to stay in Washington. That deal came with $19MM guaranteed in total, and considering how Roullier’s 2021 and ’22 seasons played out, the security wound up being vital for the Burnsville, Minn., native. Although Roullier restructured that deal after his latest injury, he still secured a nice payday before injuries changed his career path.
Prior to the injury-plagued seasons, Roullier worked as Washington’s starting center for three seasons. He broke into the team’s starting lineup as a rookie in 2017, starting seven games. After that, Roullier anchored the position for the team through the end of the 2020 season. During Roullier’s last fully healthy season (2020), Pro Football Focus graded him as a top-five center. For his career, the two-time All-Mountain West Conference O-lineman played 69 games and started 63 of those.
The Commanders have since shifted course inside. Stromberg and ex-Giants center Nick Gates are now in the fold. Gates gives the team flexibility, having played center and guard in New York. Gates has not been a full-time player since a September 2021 injury in Washington halted his run as New York’s starting center.
Giants QB Daniel Jones’ Asking Price Reached $47MM Per Year
The final part of the Giants’ long-running Daniel Jones–Saquon Barkley retention plan is still going, with the team remaining in talks with the Pro Bowl running back ahead of the July 17 franchise tag deadline. But the earlier discussions were more complex in nature.
Not only did the Giants need to find a way to keep both Jones and Barkley off the 2023 market, but they were negotiating with a quarterback with an uncertain price tag. Injuries and inconsistency during Jones’ first three years led the Giants to pass on his fifth-year option in 2022. The former No. 6 overall pick ended up navigating his contract year well, piloting Big Blue to the playoffs and setting himself up for a big payday.
Jones became the first quarterback to sign an extension with the team that declined his fifth-year option, and while the final numbers checked in far higher than anyone would have expected at this point last year, the four-year Giants starter is believed to have asked for a monster contract. As negotiations commenced, Jones’ camp sought a $47MM-per-year extension, Dan Duggan of The Athletic notes (subscription required).
That number is higher than what we heard leading up to his deal. A February report indicated that Jones, after changing agents, was gunning for a $45MM-AAV extension. It turned out the Giants needed to move their quarterback down from a number that would have at the time made him the third-highest-paid QB — per average salary — in the NFL. Jones’ ask would have placed him in front of Kyler Murray and Deshaun Watson‘s AAVs. Subsequent extensions for Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts have raised the market to $52MM per year, but when the Giants hammered out their Jones deal, only Aaron Rodgers was past $50MM. And Rodgers’ 2022 deal turned out to be a uniquely structured pact that produced a trade.
The Giants ended up reaching a happy medium with Jones, giving him the same overall terms — four years, $160MM — Dak Prescott and Matthew Stafford reached with their respective teams in the previous two offseasons. Prescott also did better than Jones on the guarantee front, securing $95MM fully guaranteed at the same offseason juncture Jones ($81MM locked in) scored his payday. Prescott possessed leverage of a whopping cap number — from a second franchise tag — hitting the Cowboys’ books in 2021. Jones, however, enjoyed negotiating weapons of an imminent free agency trip and the prospect of the Giants losing Barkley. New York found a way to retain both players, but Barkley is less than two weeks from being tied to the $10.1MM running back tag this season. The Giants were planning to tag Jones — at $32.4MM — had no deal been struck in March.
Jones, 26, managing to parlay a 15-touchdown pass season into a $40MM-per-year windfall may go down as one of the better negotiating coups in recent memory, but the Duke product was targeting a bottom-tier pass-catching corps that had sustained injuries and lost Kadarius Toney via trade (after the 2021 first-rounder missed most of the Giants portion of his season with injury). Jones offered an efficient passing performance to lift the Giants past the Vikings in the wild-card round, adding 78 rushing yards in that game. This followed a career year on the ground for Jones as well; he finished with 708 rushing yards to further aid the Giants’ shorthanded offense.
While the Jones deal has been scrutinized, the Giants can also escape it with fairly minimal damage by 2025. Should Jones’ 2022 season prove fluky, the Giants can move on by making the QB a post-June 1 cut in 2025 and absorb an $18MM dead-money hit. All parties will hope this agreement ends better, as the Giants are committed to the Dave Gettleman-era draftee for at least two seasons.
Dolphins Sign Round 2 CB Cam Smith, Finalize Draft Class Deals
Thanks to trades and a tampering penalty, the Dolphins navigated a draft light on picks. The Kansas City-based event ended up concluding with four Dolphins picks made. Miami now has each member of its rookie quartet signed.
The team reached an agreement with second-round cornerback Cam Smith, the 51st overall pick this year, on Wednesday. A South Carolina product, Smith will join an accomplished cornerback duo — Xavien Howard–Jalen Ramsey — as he readies for his first training camp in Miami.
More than 20 draft picks remain unsigned, with the second round comprising much of that total. While guarantee figures are largely holding up Round 2 draftees on the contract front, the Chargers coming to terms with Tuli Tuipulotu (No. 54 overall) last week likely helped move matters along. Still, the bulk of the players chosen in the 40-50 range remain unsigned. Smith’s agreement, in turn, should help clear up some terms for other teams with draftees in this neighborhood. The Nos. 50 and 52 overall picks — Packers wideout Jayden Reed and Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet — are unsigned.
The Dolphins played all of last season without Byron Jones, who has since been released as a post-June 1 cut. This depleted Miami’s cornerback contingent, but Vic Fangio will have both Ramsey and Smith at his disposal alongside Howard. Smith totaled six interceptions and 18 pass breakups with the Gamecocks, primarily operating as the team’s nickel corner. That allowed him to live up to expectations as a former four-star recruit and solidify his status as an early-round cornerback prospect.
When Smith declared for the draft in December, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., Matt Miller and Todd McShay ranked him as the draft’s second-best corner available. But the 6-foot cover man’s stock slipped a bit leading up to the April event. By draft weekend, ESPN’s Scouts Inc. had Smith ranked 80th overall and as this prospect pool’s 15th-best corner. The multiyear SEC defender will attempt to prove the slippage was unwarranted, and he will step into a rare spot given the talents of Ramsey and Howard.
The Dolphins attempted to land a long-term slot defender in the 2020 first round, taking Noah Igbinoghene. But the Auburn alum has not carved out a regular role as a pro. Smith’s arrival may well put the fourth-year defender on shaky ground to make the 53-man roster. The Dolphins also received promising play from UDFA Kader Kohou last season, providing more protection as Fangio assembles his first Miami defense.
Trades for Ramsey, Tyreek Hill and Bradley Chubb — and the tampering punishment related to the Tom Brady and Sean Payton pursuits — left the Dolphins with four picks. Here is Miami’s 2023 draft class:
Round 2, No. 51: Cam Smith, CB (South Carolina) (signed)
Round 3, No. 84: Devon Achane, RB (Texas A&M) (signed)
Round 6, No. 197: Elijah Higgins, TE (Stanford) (signed)
Round 7, No. 238: Ryan Hayes, OT (Michigan) (signed)
Offseason In Review: Green Bay Packers
In an offseason that eerily resembled the seminal 2008 period, the Packers made two key decisions at quarterback. A third Hall of Fame-bound passer’s Green Bay career has now wrapped, and like the second, Aaron Rodgers relocated to the Big Apple. As they did after trading Brett Favre to the Jets 15 years ago, the Packers will see if a three-year backup can start running with the baton.
Beyond the Rodgers and Jordan Love calls, Green Bay has gone through a low-key offseason. But the team, one looking to bounce back after a disappointing 8-9 season, packed plenty of intrigue into two transactions.
Trades:
- Sent QB Aaron Rodgers, No. 15 overall pick, No. 170 to Jets for Nos. 13, 42 and 207 overall picks, conditional 2024 first-rounder
Although Rodgers’ three-year, $150.8MM extension was largely hailed at the time as a pact that would allow the four-time MVP to finish his career in Green Bay, rumblings about a separation — while far quieter compared to a turbulent 2021 — came about shortly after the agreement. The Packers then outfitted their latest Canton-bound quarterback with a noticeable receiver downgrade, following the departures of Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, helping lead to Rodgers relinquishing his MVP throne. Brian Gutekunst deferred to Rodgers’ MVP trophies when asked if the 15-year starter or Love gave the 2023 team a better chance to win, but the veteran GM also began indicating the backup was ready to start. An eventful three-month period commenced to reach that destination.
At odds during a 2021 offseason in which Rodgers requested a trade, Gutekunst and the superstar QB did not hash out this situation this offseason. As the Packers parties stayed apart, the Jets entered the fray. Making their desperation for a veteran arm known — after Zach Wilson became the latest of their rookie-contract starters to underwhelm — the Jets courted Rodgers and were given permission to meet with him in March. The California summit led to Rodgers signing off on the Favre-ian path.
It took only a conditional third-round pick for the Jets to pry an unretiring Favre’s rights from the Packers. The Buccaneers were in that race as well. While the Jets oddly had the field to themselves for Rodgers this offseason, the Packers were able to obtain much more in compensation. Green Bay initially angled for a Russell Wilson-type haul — which the Broncos parted with after seeing their inquiries into Rodgers shut down during the 2021 and ’22 offseasons — talks eventually centered on a first-round pick changing hands.
It had been assumed the Packers could not fetch a first-rounder for a player no longer in their plans and one due a $58.3MM bonus before Week 1, but Green Bay did reasonably well in these trade talks. The Jets still made a 2023 first-round pick — though not the one they wanted to make, by almost every account — but even after Gutekunst said a trade not involving a ’23 first could happen, the Pack still made out with a first-rounder in this momentous swap.
Had the Packers shipped Rodgers to Denver two years ago, they would have obtained more compared to what they received this year. Rodgers was 37 then and coming off MVP No. 3. But Green Bay clearly had not seen enough from Love at that point. By 2022, Love’s career plunged into rare territory, as the unprecedented — since the 2011 CBA reshaped rookie contracts, that is — modern QB heir apparent to finish a third season as a backup. But the Packers viewed Love, who underwhelmed in his lone start of consequence (a short-notice Arrowhead Stadium cameo after Rodgers’ COVID-19 contraction in November 2021) as having made steady progress last year. Despite Love being the team’s preferred 2023 starter, the Packers managed to collect a second-round pick and swap first-rounders. Barring a notable Rodgers injury, they are likely to land the Jets’ 2024 first.
The Jets’ 2024 first will transfer to the Packers if Rodgers plays 65% of Gang Green’s offensive snaps. Since Rodgers took the reins from Favre in 2008, he crossed that threshold 13 times. Only injury-abbreviated 2013 and 2017 seasons featured the increasingly outspoken icon falling short. If Rodgers reaches that mark for the Jets, the Packers will enter a draft with two first-round picks for the third time in six years.
In 2008, the Jets and Packers placed conditions on how far Favre led that ’08 Gang Green iteration. Favre’s biceps injury burned the Jets in that trade, and the non-playoff-bound ’08 team’s 9-7 finish led to only a third-rounder coming Green Bay’s way. This time, Gutekunst and Joe Douglas tethered the pick to Rodgers’ playing time. And the Packers also escaped these talks without anything tied to Rodgers’ 2024 status. Rumors of the Pack sending a 2025 draft choice to the Jets — in the event Rodgers retired after one New York season — emerged, and the teams discussed this option. But no such terms made the trade’s final cut.
Rodgers told Pat McAfee Show listeners he was 90% retired going into his darkness retreat. While that could certainly spook Jets fans, the 19th-year veteran showed up for OTAs after passing on them during his final two Green Bay years. Rodgers attempted to downplay his 2022 workout absence’s connection to a substandard season, but after failed Adams extension talks led to a trade, the aging passer ranked 26th in QBR with a career-worst (by a substantial margin) 39.3 figure. Rodgers’ yards-per-attempt number checked in at 6.8 — his lowest since the 2015 Jordy Nelson-less season — and his 12 interceptions were the second-most he has thrown in a season. The Jets are betting the Packers’ situation led to that regression, while Green Bay cut bait after the MVP form faded.
The all-time QB talent leaves Green Bay with 10 Pro Bowls, a Super Bowl ring and five NFC championship game appearances. Even with Rodgers submitting countless memorable moments and some of the greatest throws in playoff history, his postseason resume figures to be discussed for decades. The Packers’ issues on defense and conservative approach in free agency during much of Rodgers’ career worked against their cornerstone player, but while the team famously avoided drafting a first-round wide receiver or tight end during this span, the Love pick led to Rodgers reigniting after down years in 2018 and ’19. As Rodgers will aim to prove the Packers wrong for ending his starter tenure, Green Bay will now see if trading up for a Utah State quarterback was the right call.
Free agency additions:
- Matthew Orzech, LS: Three years, $3.38MM ($300K guaranteed)
- Tarvarius Moore, S: One year, $1.13MM ($50K guaranteed)
- Jonathan Owens, S: One year, $1MM
Simone Biles’ sudden Green Bay ties, via husband Owens’ signing, probably serves as the most memorable component associated with the Packers’ free agency class. The team did add some safety depth during free agency, picking up multiple options ahead of a layered competition. The winner of the Owens-Moore-Rudy Ford position battle will be positioned, barring a late-summer addition, to start alongside Darnell Savage.
A former third-round 49ers pick, Moore has 13 starts on his resume and intercepted Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIV. Moore also missed all of 2021, seeing his contract year toll to 2022, due to injury. He of a 4.32-second 40-yard dash clocking, Moore played both cornerback and safety in San Francisco. A Division II success story out of Missouri Western, Owens started 17 Texans games last season. This did not generate the former UDFA much of a market; Pro Football Focus rated Owens and Savage as two of the NFL’s three worst regular safeties last season.
Re-signings:
- Keisean Nixon, CB: One year, $4MM ($1.85MM guaranteed)
- Justin Hollins, LB: One year, $1.28MM ($155K guaranteed)
- Eric Wilson, LB: One year, $1.23MM ($153K guaranteed)
- Dallin Leavitt, DB: One year, $1.5MM ($150K guaranteed)
- Rudy Ford, DB: One year, $1.5MM ($50K guaranteed)
Incentives can max out Nixon’s deal at $6MM, and void years — the NFL’s financial workaround of the moment — are present in the contract. Playing-time benchmarks start at the 45% threshold, and Nixon reaching 55% of the Packers’ defensive snaps will earn him a total of $750K. Two- and four-interception escalators at the same $250K rates are here as well, and given the role the Packers will give him a chance to earn, these numbers should not be considered farfetched.
