Jason Wilde of ESPN Milwaukee writes that it’s “almost impossible” to imagine the Packers releasing TE Jermichael Finley after listening to head coach Mike McCarthy at yesterday’s Combine presser.
“I thought Jermichael had probably the tale of two seasons,” McCarthy said, echoing his comments from immediately after the season ended. “I thought in the first half, he was kind of up and down, fought through the shoulder injury — particularly played in the Houston game, which I didn’t think he had any chance to play in that game. Really in the second half, I thought things started clicking and he looked like his old self. I was very pleased with the way he finished the year.”
Finley has been mentioned as a possible cap casualty in the past, but Green Bay has already cleared some room with the release of DB Charles Woodson and the retirement of WR Donald Driver and C Jeff Saturday.
Finley largely underachieved last season and set to make a base salary of $4.45 million along with a $3.5 million roster bonus that will be due in March. He’ll be entering the final year of his agreement, so it seems like he’ll be an obvious make-or-break candidate in 2013.
Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentions that there’s at least a small chance that WR Greg Jennings could be back in Green Bay next season.
“It’s very possible Jennings won’t get the money he thought he would and will drop his price to a range the Packers can afford,” writes Silverstein. “If that’s the case, it’s possible they could persuade him to return.”
Both HC Mike McCarthy and GM Ted Thompson seemed open to the idea of retaining Jennings, despite the fact that there hasn’t been much, if any, progress between the two sides.
“We think it’s a good way to manage the NFL if you’re able to retain your own players,” Thompson said. “We’d very much like to do that, and that includes Greg.”
According to the Charlotte Observer, the Packers were among the teams to show interest in Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams before the trade deadline.
Obviously, nothing came of the interest from any of the teams that inquired about Williams, but the fact that Carolina has some major cap issues could force them to consider parting ways with a guy like DeAngelo. They could save $3.4 million in cap space by releasing him after June 1 or they could start fielding offers again for him during the offseason.
Green Bay needs to find another running back at some point, so there’s at least a chance that they could consider someone like Williams.
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