Packers’ Lane Taylor Agrees To Pay Cut
The Packers and Lane Taylor have agreed to revise his contract, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Taylor was originally set to earn a non-guaranteed base salary of $3.8MM for 2020, but it was completely non-guaranteed. Now, the veteran guard will make less than half of that – $1.5MM, with a $100K signing bonus. 
[RELATED: Aaron Jones “Would Love To Be A Lifelong Packer”]
Taylor was a likely release candidate for the Packers, who could have cut him without much in the way of cap consequences. Taylor, a former undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State, started 45 games for the Packers between 2016 and 2018. He started the first two games of 2019 at left guard, but a biceps injury suffered in a September win over the Vikings wiped out his year.
With the reworked deal, Taylor will have a chance to stick on the roster and compete with Elgton Jenkins for the starting left guard spot, opposite of Billy Turner.
Packers' Adrian Amos Back To 100%
- The pectoral injury Adrian Amos battled in the playoffs did not require surgery, and the Packers safety said he is back to 100%, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, on Twitter. Amos played all but four of Green Bay’s defensive snaps during the regular season but was unable to finish the NFC championship game.
Aaron Jones: “I Would Love To Be A Lifelong Packer”
Following a tremendous 2019 season, Packers RB Aaron Jones is in line for a lucrative extension that would catapult him up the list of the league’s highest-paid running backs. Green Bay met with Jones’ camp at the combine, but it’s currently unclear where the two sides stand in their contract talks.
For his part, Jones would like to stay with the Packers for the long haul. “I would love to be a lifelong Packer,” he said. “I trust my agents, and I trust the Packers. I trust them to get a deal done. If I can control what I can control, I feel like it will be taken care of” (Twitter links via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com).
Jones’ agent, Chris Cabott, confirmed Wednesday discussions with the Packers have taken place, Demovsky adds. But the parties have more work to do.
Green Bay selected Boston College RB A.J. Dillon in the second round of this year’s draft, which could suggest that the club is less keen on a long-term deal. On the other hand, Dillon does not presently profile as the type of receiving threat that Jones is, so there may be room for both players over the next couple of years.
But Dillon could end up poaching Jones’ goal-line carries, and head coach Matt LaFleur has repeatedly expressed his preference for a RB-by-committee approach. With Dillon and holdover Jamaal Williams in the picture, Jones may be hard-pressed to replicate his 2019 production.
Jones said he is not disappointed or surprised that the club invested a high draft choice in a running back, but he surely hopes to cash in while his value could be at its peak. As a dual-threat RB, it would not be terribly surprising to seem him command $10MM or so on a yearly basis, but a 2020 decline — along with the league’s general reluctance to give large second contracts to running backs — could depress his market.
The former fifth-round pick ran for 1,084 yards with a league-leading 16 touchdowns and averaged 4.6 yards per carry last year. He also hauled in 49 receptions – one of several new career watermarks – for 474 yards and three scores.
Packers DT Montravius Adams Arrested
Packers defensive tackle Montravius Adams was arrested in his home state of Georgia on Tuesday, per Tom Green of AL.com. Unlike the NFL players that have been booked over the past week or so, however, Adams is facing fairly minor charges.
According to the Associated Press, Adams was pulled over on suspicion of driving with a suspended registration and no insurance. Upon approaching the car, the officer smelled marijuana, and Adams was ultimately charged with three misdemeanors: possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, driving with a suspended registration, and driving without insurance.
The new collective bargaining agreement says players cannot be suspended for marijuana-related offenses, so Adams will presumably avoid league discipline and is unlikely to face any notable legal consequences. He was released on less than $3K bond.
However, the Auburn product is entering a contract year and may not see a second deal with Green Bay (or any other team, for that matter). A third-round pick in the 2017 draft, Adams has started just three of the 37 games in which he has appeared, and he has yet to play more than 20% of the Packers’ defensive snaps in a season. Advanced metrics have not been particularly fond of his play either. In 2019, Pro Football Focus gave him below-average marks for his work against both the pass and the run.
Adams has 33 tackles and 1.5 sacks in his career.
Longest-Tenured GMs In The NFL
When we ran down the longest-tenured head coaches in the NFL, we found that less than half of the league’s current coaches have been in their positions for more than three years. That’s not quite the case with general managers, but there have been plenty of changes in recent years.
A handful of general managers have gotten to take their coats off and stay for a long while. Among coaches, Bill Belichick had joined his team prior to 2003. Here, you’ll see that five GMs have been with their teams since before ’03 (Belichick, of course, is also on this list). Two of those five – Jerry Jones and Mike Brown – are outliers, since they’re team owners and serve as de facto GMs. But the Patriots, Steelers, and Saints, have all had the same general managers making their roster decisions for well over a decade.
Here’s the complete list of the NFL’s longest-tenured GMs, along with the date they took over the job:
- Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys): April 18, 1989[1]
- Mike Brown (Cincinnati Bengals): August 5, 1991[2]
- Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000[3]
- Kevin Colbert (Pittsburgh Steelers): February 18, 2000[4]
- Mickey Loomis (New Orleans Saints): May 14, 2002
- Rick Spielman (Minnesota Vikings): May 30, 2006[5]
- Thomas Dimitroff (Atlanta Falcons): January 13, 2008
- John Schneider (Seattle Seahawks): January 19, 2010[6]
- Howie Roseman (Philadelphia Eagles): January 29, 2010
- John Elway (Denver Broncos): January 5, 2011[7]
- Les Snead (St. Louis Rams): February 10, 2012
- David Caldwell (Jacksonville Jaguars): January 8, 2013
- Steve Keim (Arizona Cardinals): January 8, 2013
- Tom Telesco (San Diego Chargers): January 9, 2013
- Jason Licht (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 21, 2014
- Ryan Pace (Chicago Bears): January 8, 2015
- Chris Grier (Miami Dolphins): January 4, 2016
- Bob Quinn (Detroit Lions): January 8, 2016
- Jon Robinson (Tennessee Titans): January 14, 2016
- John Lynch (San Francisco 49ers): January 29, 2017
- Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts): January 30, 2017
- Brandon Beane (Buffalo Bills): May 9, 2017
- Brett Veach (Kansas City Chiefs): July 11, 2017
- Marty Hurney (Carolina Panthers): July 19, 2017
- Dave Gettleman (New York Giants): December 28, 2017
- Brian Gutekunst (Green Bay Packers): January 7, 2018
- Mike Mayock (Oakland Raiders): December 31, 2018
- Joe Douglas (New York Jets): June 7, 2019
- Eric DeCosta (Baltimore Ravens): January 7, 2019[8]
- Ron Rivera (Washington Redskins): January 1, 2020[9]
- Andrew Berry (Cleveland Browns): January 27, 2020
- Bill O’Brien (Houston Texans): January 28, 2020
Footnotes:
- Jones has been the Cowboys’ de facto general manager since former GM Tex Schramm resigned in April 1989.
- Brown has been the Bengals’ de facto GM since taking over as the team’s owner in August 1991.
- Belichick has been the Patriots’ de facto GM since shortly after being hired as the team’s head coach in January 2000.
- Colbert was initially hired as the team’s director of football operations and received the newly-created general manager title in 2011.
- Spielman was initially hired as the team’s VP of player personnel and received the GM title in 2012.
- While Schneider holds the title of GM, head coach Pete Carroll has the final say on roster moves for the Seahawks.
- Elway was initially hired as the team’s executive VP of football operations and received the GM title in 2014.
- In 2018, the Ravens announced that DeCosta would replace Ozzie Newsome as GM for Ozzie Newsome after the conclusion of the season. The Ravens’ ’18 season ended with their Wild Card loss to the Chargers on 1/6/19.
- Technically, the Redskins do not have a GM, as of this writing. Rivera is, effectively, their GM, working in tandem with Vice President of Player Personnel Kyle Smith. Smith may receive the GM title in the near future.
Longest-Tenured Head Coaches In The NFL
Things move fast in today’s NFL and the old adage of “coaches are hired to be fired” has seemingly never been more true. For the most part, teams change their coaches like they change their underwear. 
A head coach can take his team to the Super Bowl, or win the Super Bowl, or win multiple Super Bowls, but they’re never immune to scrutiny. Just ask Tom Coughlin, who captured his second ring with the Giants after the 2011 season, only to receive his pink slip after the 2015 campaign.
There are also exceptions. Just look at Bill Belichick, who just wrapped up his 20th season at the helm in New England. You’ll also see a few others on this list, but, for the most part, most of today’s NFL head coaches are relatively new to their respective clubs. And, history dictates that many of them will be elsewhere when we check in on this list in 2022.
Over one-third (12) of the NFL’s head coaches have coached no more than one season with their respective teams. Meanwhile, less than half (15) have been with their current clubs for more than three years. It seems like just yesterday that the Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury, right? It sort of was – Kingsbury signed on with the Cardinals in January of 2019. Today, he’s practically a veteran.
Here’s the list of the current head coaches in the NFL, ordered by tenure, along with their respective start dates:
- Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000
- Sean Payton (New Orleans Saints): January 18, 2006
- Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers): January 27, 2007
- John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens): January 19, 2008
- Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks): January 9, 2010
- Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs): January 4, 2013
- Bill O’Brien (Houston Texans): January 2, 2014
- Mike Zimmer (Minnesota Vikings): January 15, 2014
- Dan Quinn (Atlanta Falcons): February 2, 2015
- Doug Pederson (Philadelphia Eagles): January 18, 2016
- Sean McDermott (Buffalo Bills): January 11, 2017
- Doug Marrone (Jacksonville Jaguars): December 19, 2016 (interim; permanent since 2017)
- Anthony Lynn (Los Angeles Chargers): January 12, 2017
- Sean McVay (Los Angeles Rams): January 12, 2017
- Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers): February 6, 2017
- Matt Nagy (Chicago Bears): January 7, 2018
- Matt Patricia (Detroit Lions): February 5, 2018
- Frank Reich (Indianapolis Colts): February 11, 2018
- Jon Gruden (Las Vegas Raiders): January 6, 2018
- Mike Vrabel (Tennessee Titans): January 20, 2018
- Kliff Kingsbury (Arizona Cardinals): January 8, 2019
- Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals): February 4, 2019
- Vic Fangio (Denver Broncos): January 10, 2019
- Matt LaFleur (Green Bay Packers): January 8, 2019
- Brian Flores (Miami Dolphins): February 4, 2019
- Adam Gase (New York Jets): January 11, 2019
- Bruce Arians (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 8, 2019
- Ron Rivera (Washington Redskins): January 1, 2020
- Matt Rhule (Carolina Panthers): January 7, 2020
- Mike McCarthy (Dallas Cowboys): January 7, 2020
- Joe Judge (New York Giants): January 8, 2020
- Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns): January 13, 2020
Rodgers: Finishing Career With Packers May Not Be Realistic
The Packers shocked the NFL world by trading up for Jordan Love. While Aaron Rodgers is under contract through 2023, his status with the Packers looks to have changed.
Although the two-time MVP understands Green Bay’s move, he now concedes he was “not thrilled” and that finishing his career with the Packers may no longer be in the cards. The 36-year-old quarterback still wants to play into his 40s.
“As much as I feel confident in my abilities and what I can accomplish and what we can accomplish, there are some new factors that are out of my control. And so my sincere desire to start and finish with the same organization, just as it has with many other players over the years, may not be a reality at this point,” Rodgers said, via ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky, while adding that the Love pick did surprise him.
“And as much as I understand the organization’s future outlook and wanting to make sure they’re thinking about the team now and down the line — and I respect that — at the same time, I still believe in myself and have a strong desire to play into my 40s. And I’m just not sure how that all works together at this point.”
Brett Favre said recently he no longer expects Rodgers to finish his career in Green Bay. The Packers executed one of the best baton passes in NFL history when they gave Rodgers the reins in 2008, but they have been the exception. Since Rodgers was selected in the 2005 first round, only two first-round quarterbacks — Brady Quinn and Jake Locker — did not start games as rookies. Rodgers staying healthy this season would almost certainly add Love to that list, but if the Packers do not turn things over to Love at some point during his rookie contract, they would fail to reap perhaps the top roster-building benefit the modern NFL offers.
In his first season with Matt LaFleur, Rodgers’ QBR figure dropped to a career-low 50.4 — 20th in the league — but the Packers still advanced to the NFC championship game. Green Bay would absorb a $31.6MM in dead money by moving on from Rodgers after 2020. In 2022, that number drops to $17.2MM.
Latest On Packers’ QB Situation, Draft Plan
The person most familiar with the situation in which Aaron Rodgers now finds himself, Brett Favre said his former successor was surprised the Packers traded up for Jordan Love in Round 1. Favre also expects Rodgers to finish his career with another team.
Rodgers has four years remaining on his Packers contract, one agreed to in 2018, and has said on multiple occasions he would like to play into his 40s. The two-time MVP will turn 37 in December.
“I’m not going to talk about all that we talked about, but he was … let’s just say surprised that they went in that direction,” Favre said during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Podcast (via ESPN.com). “… I think he’ll play somewhere else.
“My gut tells me no,” Favre said of Rodgers finishing his career in Green Bay. “I don’t know this for certain, but I guarantee you, it’s got the wheels turning in Aaron’s mind. If that’s the case, then that means there’s a chip on his shoulder toward the organization that otherwise was not there. All he needs is a reason other than this reason to expedite that.”
GM Brian Gutekunst, who was with the Packers as a scout when predecessor Ted Thompson drafted a falling Rodgers at No. 24 overall in 2005, determined Love’s long-term potential was more valuable than picking a player who could help the 2020 Packers, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com notes.
Gutekunst did not expect Love to fall into the mid-20s and told NBC Sports’ Peter King the Packers had him rated too highly on their board to pass. The Packers had “significant intel” a team with an early-second-round pick was targeting Love, per King. While that may have been the case, no team appeared interested in taking Love late in Round 1.
As a result of this and some surprising choices as the draft progressed, the Packers have the same wide receiver depth chart — excluding UDFAs — they did coming into the virtual event. Rodgers and some other members of the Packers organization were “enamored” with LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson, per Demovsky. Jefferson ended up going to the Vikings at No. 22. And the Packers stunned most by exiting a stacked receiver draft without selecting one.
Gutekunst told King the Packers targeted two receivers in Round 2 and made attempts to trade up with several teams. After both were picked, they ended up selecting running back A.J. Dillon at No. 62. Tee Higgins (Bengals), Michael Pittman Jr. (Colts), Laviska Shenault (Jaguars), K.J. Hamler (Broncos), Chase Claypool (Steelers), Van Jefferson (Rams) and Denzel Mims (Jets) went off the board between Nos. 33 and 59.
The Packers received historically poor production from their pass-catcher group last season. For the first time since 1977, Green Bay had just one player (Davante Adams) record more than 500 receiving yards (excluding the 1982 strike-shortened season).
“They don’t draft any weapons — not just in the first round but any weapons that can help immediately, to my knowledge. And that just sends a disrespectful message to Aaron Rodgers,” Favre said. “He has every right to be disappointed if he is.”
Packers Sign 15 Undrafted Free Agents
The Packers have become the latest team to bring in a class of undrafted free agents. Green Bay announced that it’s agreed to terms with the following UDFAs:
- Jalen Morton, QB (Prairie View A&M)
- Patrick Taylor, RB (Memphis)
- Jordan Jones, FB (Prairie View A&M)
- Darrell Stewart, WR (Michigan State)
- Travis Bruffy, T (Texas Tech)
- Zack Johnson, G (North Dakota State)
- Willington Previlon, DL (Rutgers)
- Tipa Galeai, LB (Utah State)
- Krys Barnes, LB (UCLA)
- Delontae Scott, LB (SMU)
- Marc-Antoine Dequoy, CB (Montreal)
- Stanford Samuels, CB (Florida State)
- Will Sunderland, CB (Troy)
- Henry Black, S (Baylor)
- Frankie Griffin, S (Texas State)
As you may have heard, the Packers didn’t select a wide receiver at any point during the 2020 draft. Instead, Stewart will represent the only collegiate wideout added to Green Bay’s roster. In his senior season, the 6’2″, 216-pound Stewart posted 49 receptions for 697 yards and two touchdowns. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com praised Stewart’s size and willingness to block, but noted the ex-Spartan’s “catch technique may need to be stripped and rebuilt.”
Packers’ Allen Lazard, Chandon Sullivan Sign ERFA Tenders
The Packers are bringing back a pair of exclusive rights free agents. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (via Twitter) that Green Bay has re-signed wide receiver Allen Lazard and cornerback Chandon Sullivan.
Lazard, 24, had a breakout season for the Packers last season, hauling in 35 receptions, 477 receiving yards, and three touchdowns. He also added a 21-yard rushing attempt and six tackles. The 6-foot-5, 227-pound receiver has a chance to be the second wideout behind Davante Adams in 2020, as he’ll be competing with the likes of Devin Funchess and Marquez Valdes-Scantling for targets.
Sullivan, a 2018 undrafted free agent out of Georgia State, appeared in five games for the Eagles as a rookie. He signed with the Packers last offseason and proceeded to appear in 16 games, compiling 30 tackles, six passes defended, one interception, and one forced fumble.
The Packers had previously inked a trio of exclusive rights free agents: tight end Robert Tonyan, wide receiver Jake Kumerow, and defensive end Tyler Lancaster.