It’s really rare to see a team that is coming off of a Super Bowl victory have as few roster issues to address during the offseason as the Green Bay Packers will have. While Ted Thompson is receiving praise from all angles for his decision to draft and stick with Aaron Rodgers as the teams future quarterback and bring in Mike McCarthy as their head coach, the recent decisions to lockup CB Tramon Williams and LB Desmond Bishop before the playoffs could be worth equal praise.
I keep wondering how much Williams could have gotten during free agency if Green Bay didn’t sign him to a five-year, $38.148 million contract before his amazing postseason performance. The Packers have Bishop locked up after agreeing to a four-year, $19 million contract which looks like a steal.
But the two players that will need to be addressed during the offseason are A.J. Hawk and Cullen Jenkins.
Hawk stepped up his game after Nick Barnett was lost for the season in week 4 and is considered to be high character guy for the Packers defense. The biggest issue in regards to A.J. is the $10 million that he is set make for the coming season. The number is so high and unjustifiable that even Hawk has to admit that it’s crazy. The problem for Green Bay is that Hawks salary is guaranteed on the first day of the new league year which could be the following day after a new CBA agreement is reached. Few teams are able to stretch money as far as the Packers so Thompson will have to figure out a way that they can prevent themselves for being on the hook for a bad contract such as that.
Cullen Jenkins has proven his worth over the last years for Green Bay but despite his undeniable talent and versatility, Jenkins has dealt with a number of injuries throughout his career and will command a large salary which is the recipe for a bad investment. The Packers will have Johnny Jolly back next season but there are plenty of questions surronding him. Green Bay has been able to get production out of Ryan Pickett, Howard Green, and C.J. Wilson and they may target some players in draft so allocating the kind of money that Jenkins will require isn’t all that likely.
Other players like Brandon Jackson, Mason Crosby, John Kuhn, James Jones, Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz will also have to be addressed but of the mentioned players: Crosby, Kuhn and Jones appear to be the most likely to return.
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