Cardinals WR Rondale Moore In Store For Increased Workload
Cardinals WR Rondale Moore is expected to see more of the field in 2022, as Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus writes (subscription required). Given the departure of Christian Kirk in free agency and the six-game suspension that DeAndre Hopkins will serve to start the season, that should not come as much of a surprise, but it is noteworthy nonetheless.
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury acknowledged earlier this year that Moore — who saw 45% of Arizona’s offensive snaps in his rookie campaign in 2021 — will be a bigger part of the offense, and he specifically referenced the need to give the second-year pro more opportunities in space. Indeed, Moore’s size (5-7, 180) makes it difficult for him to physically dominate off the line of scrimmage, and his high-end speed will be best-utilized if QB Kyler Murray can get him the ball with room to run.
Interestingly, Moore’s ostensible big-play potential was not put on display last year. The Purdue product posted a measly 1.2-yard average depth of target in 2021, which, according to Kevin Cole of Pro Football Focus, was the third-lowest mark among rookie wideouts since 2006 (subscription required). Especially surprising is the fact that, of Moore’s 54 receptions, 37 came behind the line of scrimmage (h/t Neil Dutton of 4for4.com). And, as Cole posits, Arizona’s draft-day acquisition of similarly diminutive speed merchant Marquise Brown could mean that the club does not see Moore as a legitimate field stretcher.
The good news for Moore is that he was quite efficient with his targets, as one would hope for a player running primarily short and intermediate routes. His 54 catches came on just 64 passes thrown in his direction, good for a terrific 84.4% catch rate despite a low 8.1 yards-per-reception average.
Per Alex Sutton of CardsWire.com, the slot receiver role vacated by Kirk is generally assumed to belong to Moore. That is where he saw the majority of his snaps in 2021, and that familiarity can only help. Both Kingsbury and assistant head coach Shawn Jefferson have said that they will expand Moore’s route tree in 2022, and even if he is not asked to run many go routes in 2022, the presence of Brown — and Hopkins, when he returns from suspension — could open up the field for Moore to make the most of his speed and post significant YAC.
In addition to his expected uptick in snaps on the offensive side of the ball, Moore still projects as the club’s primary return man. He returned 21 punts and 13 kickoffs last year, though his averages (8.1 yards per punt return, 22.4 yards per kick return) were not particularly notable.
During Hopkins’ absence, the Cards are expected to have Brown and A.J. Green receive the bulk of the work outside the numbers.
CB Joejuan Williams Unlikely To Make Patriots’ Roster?
Patriots cornerback Joejuan Williams is presently a longshot to earn a place on New England’s 53-man roster, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. Given the uncertainty surrounding the club’s cornerback room, failing to make the cut would be rather damning for Williams.
In his weekly piece touching on 10 topics concerning the Patriots — in which he cites a subscription-only article he published after mandatory minicamp in June — Reiss examines the shortcomings of the Pats’ 2019 draft class. That group sustained another blow earlier this week when the team traded its first pick in that year’s draft, wide receiver N’Keal Harry, to the Bears in exchange for a 2024 seventh-rounder. Williams, the No. 45 overall pick in 2019, could be next up on the chopping block.
New England moved up 13 spots to nab Williams, doing so with the belief that his size (6-3, 212) would allow him to match up well with larger receivers and tight ends. That has not, unfortunately, proven to be the case.
After appearing in just 80 defensive snaps in his rookie season, Williams took a step forward in terms of playing time in each of the next two years, but that did not come with a corresponding improvement in play. In 2021, the Vanderbilt product saw action in 35% of the Patriots’ defensive snaps in the regular season, but he was also deactivated for five games — including three of the final four contests of the regular season — and struggled mightily in his two starts.
One of those starts came in the team’s wildcard round loss to the Bills, and Williams was inserted into the lineup for that game only because Jalen Mills had landed on the COVID-19 list. In New England’s 47-17 drubbing at the hands of its division rival, Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen completed four of the five passes he threw in Williams’ direction, racking up 72 yards and a TD. That performance is emblematic of Williams’ struggles as a whole throughout his pro career, as he has allowed opposing passers to generate a 113.4 QB rating and has yet to record an interception (h/t Bernd Buchmasser of PatsPulpit.com).
Plus, after carving out a role as a core special-teamer in 2020, Williams also saw a lessened workload on the Pats’ third unit, appearing in just 25% of the club’s ST snaps in 2021 after posting a 47% number the year before. All told, he certainly looks like a player on the wrong side of the roster bubble.
As noted above, however, the Patriots’ cornerback contingent is not exactly a top-flight crew, with Mills, Malcolm Butler, Terrance Mitchell, and fourth-round rookie Jack Jones penciled in as the top boundary corners. Jones may well find himself in the starting lineup sooner rather than later, and a strong training camp could allow Williams to force his way back into the picture in Foxborough. Even if that does not happen, his draft pedigree should allow him to find another opportunity on a team that believes his potential can be unlocked with a change of scenery.
Buccaneers Not Interested In Jimmy Garoppolo
On Friday, Grant Cohn of SI.com published an article suggesting that the Buccaneers want to trade for 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and install him as Tom Brady‘s successor. The report stemmed from a conversation that Dan Sileo, a former NFL defensive tackle and current sports radio host, had with renowned agent Don Yee.
Yee represents both Garoppolo and Brady, who shared a quarterback room in New England for three-plus seasons after the Patriots drafted Garoppolo in 2014. However, while a Brady-Garoppolo reunion would certainly be an interesting story, there are a number of issues that would make such a trade difficult. Although Brady is entering his age-45 campaign and briefly retired this offseason, he is still playing at a high level, and Tampa may want him back in 2023 if the legendary signal-caller wants to continue his career. Plus, Garoppolo, who comes with a laundry list of injury problems and whose throwing shoulder surgery in March already complicated the Niners’ trade talks with other clubs, is due a $24.2MM salary this year. Although the 49ers are willing to let their 30-year-old passer negotiate a new contract with interested teams, the money that Garoppolo will want and the uncertainty of Brady’s future would make it difficult for Garoppolo and the Bucs to find middle ground.
Of course, all of those obstacles would only come into play if the Buccaneers truly wanted Garoppolo. Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times throws cold water on that notion, saying, “Not a chance” (Twitter link). Stroud cites an unnamed Buccaneers coach who said, “[i]f (Garoppolo) could throw a deep ball, he would’ve won two Super Bowls already.”
The 49ers doubtlessly welcome any reports of outside interest in Garoppolo — reports that Yee might be trying to drum up — as the club does not have many potential trade partners at the moment. The Panthers took themselves out of the running when they traded for Baker Mayfield earlier this week, and if Mayfield’s prior team, the Browns, receive good news vis-a-vis Deshaun Watson‘s expected suspension, then Cleveland likely would not be in the market for Garoppolo either. Without the Browns in the picture, the 49ers may be forced to wait for another club to suffer injury or underperformance during training camp or the preseason to consummate a trade, or they may end up with no choice but to release Garoppolo before Week 1, when his salary becomes guaranteed.
Ben Volin of the Boston Globe offers a few potential landing spots other than Cleveland, but those are all imperfect, speculative fits. The list includes teams with established starters like the Raiders (Derek Carr) and clubs that have young quarterbacks that they want to continue evaluating, like the Texans (Davis Mills) and the Giants (Daniel Jones).
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson On Contract Negotiations
When asked during his fourth annual “Funday with LJ” event on Saturday if he and the Ravens will agree to a new deal before training camp begins on July 26, Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson said, “[h]opefully. I’m not going to say ‘yeah’ right now. Hopefully. But it’s God’s timing” (via Safid Deen of USA Today). Jackson added that he is not presently considering a training camp holdout.
Jackson’s contract status has been the biggest storyline surrounding the Ravens this offseason. The 2019 MVP is scheduled to earn just over $23MM in 2022 under the fifth-year option of his rookie deal, but the booming quarterback market and the cost of a franchise tag in 2023 (roughly $35MM) suggest that Baltimore would want to work out a long-term extension sooner rather than later.
According to the team, the reason that a deal is not in place, or at least closer to the finish line, is because Jackson had not come to the table to negotiate. But there are other complicating factors. The fact that Jackson represents himself is one of them, as is his statistical regression from his MVP campaign — first in QBR in 2019, seventh in 2020, and 17th in 2021 — his sprained ankle that ended his 2021 season prematurely, and the fact that much of his value is tied to his running ability. Then there is the matter of Deshaun Watson‘s fully-guaranteed five-year, $230MM contract with the Browns, though Jackson has implied that Watson’s deal will not have any bearing on his own.
In November 2021, it was reported that Jackson was targeting a contract with a $45MM AAV and that the Ravens were not willing to go that far. The team was reportedly amenable to $40MM/year pact, but of course, cash flow and guarantees are the true indicators of a contract’s value. Speculatively, it could be that the gulf between the two sides was such that the quarterback felt further engagement in contract talks would have been a fruitless endeavor, and that he would be better off playing out the 2022 season to prove that he is deserving of a top-of-the-market pact. To be clear, Jackson has never suggested as much, though he did reportedly tell the team he was focused on having the best possible year and did not want to discuss a contract until after the 2022 campaign.
There was something of a sea change at mandatory minicamp in June, when Jackson and Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta touched base on the contract situation. It is unclear where negotiations stand at this point, but his comments yesterday indicate that Jackson is now willing to put this matter behind him before the end of the year.
As Deen observes, Jackson recently made some waves on social media when he changed his Instagram profile picture and his Twitter header to a picture of a mouth with a gold grill that reads “I Need $.” The image is from a movie called “How High” starring rappers Method Man and Redman, and Jackson says he simply found it amusing and wanted to post it. It was not, he asserts, intended to be a comment on his dealings with the Ravens.
“I don’t know why people are blowing it up,” Jackson said. “I just saw Bleacher Report post it. They just take anything that’s posted on social media and just blow it up, and try to think for you. I don’t take it too seriously. … Our contract discussion is going on already. But it ain’t about that though. I’m not putting my business life on social media. I won’t ever do that. I won’t put my personal life on social media. I’ll show stuff, but I won’t throw subliminal [messages] out. That’s not me.”
His remark that “our contract discussion is going on already” is certainly notable given the history of his extension talks. It would seem that neither player nor team would want to continue negotiating into the regular season, but there is no real deadline since Jackson is not playing under the franchise tag. So while a new deal may be likelier now than it was a month ago, it is still difficult to put any sort of timeframe on it.
Dolphins, TE Mike Gesicki Unlikely To Agree To Extension?
The Dolphins and franchise-tagged tight end Mike Gesicki “have not really engaged” in contract talks, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports (video link). Gesicki, who signed the franchise tender back in March, is set to earn $10.9MM in 2022.
In April, Gesicki offered a few comments on the matter that made it sound as if Miami was not prepared to commit to a long-term contract for its 2018 second-rounder, even though the club is willing to keep him in the fold on an eight-figure salary for the upcoming season. “I am absolutely open to negotiation, but it’s not really up to me,” he said. “If they reach out, my agent will be listening.”
Since those comments were made, the Browns and fellow franchise-tagged TE David Njoku agreed to an extension that features an average annual value just shy of $14MM, making Njoku a top-five tight end in terms of AAV. Gesicki, who has thus far been the more productive of the two players, will doubtlessly be trying to top that mark, as well as Njoku’s $28MM in practical guarantees.
The deadline for tagged players to sign multi-year deals is July 15. Garafolo acknowledges that deadlines spur action, and that a deal can theoretically come together over the next few days. However, given that there have been virtually no negotiations to this point, it seems as if player and team will be revisiting the situation in 2023. At that time, Gesicki could well be the top tight end on the free agent market, particularly if Cowboys and TE Dalton Schultz — another player who has been slapped with the franchise tag — can work out an extension before July 15.
If the Dolphins want to hit Gesicki with a second franchise tag next offseason to prevent him from getting to the open market, they would be committing to a salary of roughly $13.08MM — 120% of his 2022 pay — which is still below Njoku’s AAV and which would seem to be a reasonable price point for a player like Gesicki, assuming he continues performing at the level he has established over the past several seasons. If, as Gesicki suggests, the team is the party that has been reluctant to engage in contract discussions, that could be one of the primary reasons why.
From 2020-21, the Penn State product has averaged a 63/741.5/4 triple-slash despite a less-than-ideal quarterback situation. While QB Tua Tagovailoa is still a major question mark, the ‘Fins have invested heavily on the offensive side of the ball this year, bringing in the likes of WR Tyreek Hill, LT Terron Armstead, and RBs Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert, among others. With improved O-line play and a stronger cast of skill position players, Tagovailoa could be well-positioned to live up to his potential in his third professional season, which should improve Gesicki’s stock.
Free Agent LT Duane Brown Arrested
Free agent left tackle Duane Brown was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at roughly 2pm on Saturday, per TMZ Sports. Police say that Brown tried to go through security screening with a gun in one of his bags, and he was booked on possession of a concealed firearm.
Brown, who will turn 37 in August, has long been one of the top left tackles in the game. Despite his strong 2021 performance, in which he enjoyed perfect attendance, earned the fifth Pro Bowl nod of his career, and rated as Pro Football Focus’ 37th-best OT out of 83 qualifiers, there has not been significant interest in his services this offseason.
The Seahawks had deployed Brown as Russell Wilson‘s blindside blocker since acquiring him in a trade with the Texans in October 2017, and Seattle was reportedly interested in a reunion earlier this year. However, that was when the ‘Hawks, who held the No. 9 overall pick in April’s draft, were not expected to have a chance to land a top collegiate tackle. Ultimately, the club selected Mississippi State LT Charles Cross with its first choice, and it appears that Cross will open his rookie season as the starter at left tackle.
Similarly, the Panthers were in pursuit of Brown back in March, but a deal never materialized. The door to a contract with Carolina may have closed when the Panthers drafted NC State tackle Ikem Ekwonu with the No. 6 overall pick, although the team is reportedly not committing to Ekwonu — who lined up at guard in high school and at times during his college career — as the Week 1 LT starter. Carolina could bring in Brown on a one-year pact while Ekwonu gets his professional sea legs on the interior of the line, but that is merely speculation at this point.
One way or another, it would be surprising if Brown were unable to land a starting gig at some point this summer. Quality left tackles are hard to come by, and Brown demonstrated in 2021 that he still has gas in the tank. While his arrest could theoretically complicate matters, it presently does not seem as if it will have a dramatic effect on his NFL future.
We will update this story as more news becomes available.
Extension Candidate: Marquise Brown
The Cardinals are interested in an extension for draft-day trade acquisition Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, and while Brown himself is presumably willing to talk contract, it is unclear where negotiations stand at this point, or if they have even commenced. Brown is scheduled to earn a $2.1MM salary in 2022 (the final year of his rookie deal), and a fully-guaranteed $13.4MM in 2023 under the fifth-year option of the rookie contract.
The 2019 draft class of wide receivers, which includes the likes of Deebo Samuel, A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf, Diontae Johnson, and Terry McLaurin, has been a key source of material at PFR in recent months, as those players became extension-eligible for the first time this offseason and either have contributed, or soon will contribute, to the booming receiver market. A.J. Brown landed a $25MM/year contract from the Eagles upon being traded to Philadelphia from the Titans, and McLaurin just agreed to a $23.3MM/year deal with the Commanders. As Joel Corry of CBS Sports recently tweeted, four wide receivers enjoyed $20MM+ AAVs when the offseason began, and there are now 12 receivers who are sitting at or above that threshold (despite the release of Julio Jones). Samuel and Metcalf seem poised to join the club at some point in the near future.
Marquise Brown, the No. 25 overall pick of the Ravens in the 2019 draft, has not yet produced at the same level as his above-mentioned contemporaries, but that can be at least partially explained by the fact that his three years in Baltimore were spent in a run-centric offense focused upon the dual-threat capabilities of quarterback Lamar Jackson. The passing scheme of offensive coordinator Greg Roman — who has served as OC since Brown’s rookie year — has been heavily criticized for being too simplistic and predictable, and Brown’s trade request was largely a function of that system.
“It was just … my happiness,” Brown said when asked about his desire for a trade. “I talked to Lamar about it after my second year. And then after my third year, leading up to the end of the season, you know, [Jackson] wasn’t playing. I let him know again, like, ‘Yeah, bro, I can’t do it.’
“You know, it’s not really on Lamar, like I love Lamar. It was just, you know, it’s just the system just wasn’t for me personally. You know, I love all my teammates. I love the guys. It was just something I had to think about for myself.”
Brown’s diminutive stature (5-9, 170) will likely prevent him from ever becoming a true “alpha” receiver, but he possesses elite speed and is a solid enough route runner. In head coach Kliff Kingsbury‘s offense, he will have a chance to shine, although it will be interesting to see if the absence of DeAndre Hopkins for the first six games of the 2022 season will allow him to earn a larger target share and thrive, or if it will make his life more difficult since opposing defenses will not have to key in on Hopkins.
At present, Spotrac estimates Brown’s market value to be a little over $17MM per season, suggesting that he could reasonably expect a four-year, ~$68MM deal if he were a free agent right now. Again, there is no way of knowing what Brown’s camp is targeting at this point, though it could be that the Oklahoma product is content to prove that he is worthy of a larger contract by living up to his potential in Kingsbury’s aerial attack.
Brown managed to crack the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in 2021, though it required 146 targets to get there, and his 11.1 yards-per-reception rate — which was the lowest mark of his career — belies his abilities as a deep threat. It stands to reason that the Cardinals, who gave up the No. 23 overall pick of this year’s draft to acquire Brown and the No. 100 overall pick, would want to extend Hollywood before he can truly break out, but Brown himself might hold off unless Arizona is willing to bet on his upside by making him yet another $20MM man.
Latest On Raiders’ O-Line Situation
Third-round rookie Dylan Parham represents the only major addition the Raiders have made to their offensive line this offseason, which makes one wonder if the unit will allow the team’s offense — which features a quality quarterback in Derek Carr and several high-end skill position talents in tight end Darren Waller and trade acquisition Davante Adams — to live up to its potential. Indeed, Carr was sacked 40 times in 2021, and Las Vegas’ 95.1 rushing yards per game was a bottom-five figure, even though the offense as a whole ranked 11th in total yardage.
In fairness, the OL suffered several key injuries last year, and in the estimation of Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com, there are two major potential developments that will help the Raiders’ blockers perform at a “workable” level: the return of Denzelle Good to the right guard spot, and 2021 first-rounder Alex Leatherwood seizing the right tackle role.
In May, we learned that Las Vegas’ new regime was giving Leatherwood reps at RT during spring practices, and as Guiterrez recently wrote in a separate piece, head coach Josh McDaniels said Leatherwood would be given every opportunity to win the job. In his rookie season, the Alabama product — who was generally not viewed as a Day 1 talent leading up to the draft — was moved to right guard due largely to his struggles on the edge. It may be a bit much to expect him to become even a league-average starter in his sophomore year, but it seems the Raiders believe that can happen.
Good, meanwhile, was one of the above-referenced O-linemen to sustain a major injury in 2021, as he tore his ACL in the regular season opener. That shut him down for the remainder of the campaign, but even at full strength, he has not been a world-beater. The 2015 seventh-round pick of the Colts was waived midway through the final year of his rookie contract and was subsequently claimed by the Raiders. He started just five games in 2019, his first full year with the Silver-and-Black, but the club re-signed him the following offseason, and he wound up starting 14 contests in 2020. Although Pro Football Focus assigned him a middling 56.7 grade that year — good for 56th out of 80 qualified players — the Raiders authorized a two-year, $8.36MM re-up last March.
At present, Gutierrez projects a starting five of LT Kolton Miller, LG Parham, C Andre James, RG Good, and RT Leatherwood. He acknowledges that alignment is not especially exciting, but healthy and passable showings from the right side of that line could still be enough to elevate the offense to a top-five outfit given the rest of the talent on the roster.
Odell Beckham Jr.: I Played Second Half Of 2021 Season “Without An ACL”
Free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is recovering from a torn ACL that he ostensibly suffered in Super Bowl LVI in February as a member of the Rams. But on Saturday night, OBJ himself took to Twitter to say that he actually played the entire second half of the 2021 season “without an ACL.”
Beckham initially tore the ACL back in Week 7 of the 2020 campaign, when he was with the Browns. After sitting out the first two games of the 2021 season, he got back on the field for Cleveland in Week 3. He was ultimately waived in November after a turbulent and generally disappointing stay in northeast Ohio, and he signed with Los Angeles a few days after he cleared waivers. So if his claim is accurate, he either reinjured the ACL towards the tail end of his Browns tenure, or towards the beginning of his stint with the Rams.
If it was the former, it would be fair to wonder how OBJ passed his exit physical with Cleveland, or his entry physical with Los Angeles. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk observes that such physicals rarely include an MRI unless there is a reason for it, and since there were no alarming issues with the knee from Week 3 of the 2021 campaign forward, an MRI may not have been seen as necessary.
One way or another, the ACL gave out in the midst of what was shaping up as a brilliant title game performance. And although there have been plenty of reports about Beckham’s recovery and who his next employer might be since that time, the three-time Pro Bowler remains unsigned.
It seems unlikely that Beckham’s tweet will have much impact on how other teams view him. Regardless of exactly when he reaggravated the ACL injury, the fact remains that he has undergone two major surgeries on his left knee in a span of roughly 15 months, to say nothing of the painful shoulder sprain that he sustained with Cleveland last year or the sports hernia ailment he dealt with in 2019. Plus, despite his undeniable talent, two franchises, the Giants and Browns, have now seen fit to cut ties despite having multiple years of club control over him.
The Rams remain open to a new deal, even though Beckham may be unable to suit up until late November. It is also unclear whether Beckham is targeting a one-year accord, or if he is seeking a multi-year deal from a club that may be willing to wait for him until the latter stages of the 2022 season if it can be assured of having him on the roster in 2023.
The Packers and Patriots have been connected to some degree to OBJ this offseason, but given his current timeline, there is no real urgency for him or for interested teams. Indeed, he may elect to wait until he is closer to full strength to put pen to paper, at which point clubs that may not have a place for him now could find themselves looking for a receiver to provide a late-season boost.
Packers CEO/President Mark Murphy Will Retire In 2025
Packers CEO/president Mark Murphy will retire roughly three years from now, as Murphy himself confirmed in his monthly Q&A column on the team’s official website. The Packers, of course, are the only professional sports franchise without an owner, and are run instead by a board of directors. The board’s bylaws require that a board member retire and assume emeritus status when he or she turns 70, and Murphy will become a septuagenarian on July 13, 2025.
Murphy noted that the club’s executive committee has started to lay the foundation for a succession plan, though it does not sound like there are any definitive timelines in place just yet. Perhaps whomever gets the nod in 2025 will, like Murphy himself in 2008, be ascending to the top job when the organization is at an on-field crossroads.
Murphy played football collegiately at Colgate University, and he went on to enjoy a productive eight-year run as a member of the Redskins’ defensive backfield. He became a full-time starter in 1979 and developed a reputation as something of a ballhawk, picking off 27 passes over a five-year span from 1979-83 (including a league-best nine picks in 1983, which culminated in his first and only Pro Bowl berth). He won a Super Bowl ring with Washington in 1982, and he recorded an interception and a sack in the team’s four-game postseason run that year.
Towards the end of his playing career, Murphy earned an MBA from American University, and for good measure, he earned a law degree from Georgetown University in 1988. He returned to Colgate to serve as the school’s athletic director from 1992-03, and then served in the same capacity for Northwestern University from 2003-07. He moved to the professional ranks in 2008, succeeding Bob Harlan as CEO/president of the Packers.
Franchise icon Brett Favre had announced his retirement in March 2008, several months after a bitter loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship Game. That decision seemingly opened the door to the Aaron Rodgers era, but in July 2008, the Favre unretirement saga began, which represented Murphy’s first true test in his new position. Ultimately, Favre was traded to the Jets in August 2008, and Rodgers finally stepped in as the undisputed QB1 after three years as Favre’s backup.
The pinnacle of the Murphy era came at the end of the 2010 campaign, when the Packers landed their fourth Super Bowl title. That championship made Murphy the first person to win a Lombardi Trophy as a player and as a team’s top executive.
Although Green Bay is still in search of a fifth ring, the team has been a perennial contender with Rodgers under center, winning eight NFC North titles and advancing to the NFC Championship Game five times. As he did with Favre in 2008, Murphy has seen plenty of late-career drama with Rodgers, navigating several years of contractual disputes and other acrimony — sometimes inartfully — to keep the club’s contention window open for as long as possible. He has also overseen the reassignment of former GM Ted Thompson, the subsequent revamping of the club’s power structure, and the hiring of current head coach Matt LaFleur, which has thus far proven to be a savvy move. For those who are interested in a more thorough look at Murphy’s tenure, Kris Burke of AcmePackingCompany.com provides a detailed history, including — quite importantly for a publicly-owned outfit that needs to compete with teams run by billionaire owners — the development of the Titletown District around Lambeau Field.
Much of Murphy’s legacy will be written over his final three years at the helm. Now that the team and Rodgers have a new contract in place, it seems likely that the four-time MVP will end his career in Green Bay, but the expectation is that he will retire no later than the end of the 2024 season (though it could happen sooner). So when Murphy transitions to emeritus status, he not only hopes to have at least one more Lombardi in the trophy case, he will want to leave his successor with the Packers’ next franchise quarterback on the roster.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as the Packers president,” Murphy wrote. “I plan on making the last three years as successful as possible, with multiple Super Bowl championships!”