The time is getting closer for the Packers to make crucial decisions on their free agents this year, I know most people are saying Cobb is a must sign and I would agree with that for the most part, BUT, lets say his price tag is so high that they have to let Bulaga,Barclay,Bush,Williams,and House walk?
Does it make sense to keep one great player to lose 5 key players?
These are the tough choices GM Ted Thompson has to make each and every year at this time. I for one have faith in his decision whatever the outcome is BUT, If it was me the choice would be to keep the key players and let Cobb walk.
Why? The main reason is because this O-line without Bulaga will not be the same. We all witnessed what happened when he went down for a game and a half and Sherrod stepped in to replace him. If you were like me, then every time Aaron went back to pass after Bulaga went out, your heart dropped as you had to watch the defensive ends run right around Sherrod and slam Rodgers on his backside? I had a hold my breath more than once!
Now if they can keep Bulaga and get Barclay signed as well for depth the O-line will be intact for this year to keep the MVP of not only this team but the NFL upright and healthy all year. That my friends is way more important to this team than having Cobb catching passes.
I know Williams is getting up there in age but he was still performing at a high level at the end of the year so losing him would not be good for this defense and House has proven he should get starter pay by being that corner needed to cover big receivers like Johnson,Bryant etc. So they will need to get him signed as well. Bush has been the backbone for the special teams so who wants to see him walk?
As I said it would be nice to get Cobb signed and I am hoping they can but in my opinion if it means 
losing any or all these other key players then I say the team can not afford that. Lets not forget Abby and Janis are still under rookie contracts and they could be the diamonds in the rough.
But these are just my thoughts and opinions on the hard decisions Ted has to make soon, I would like to know your thoughts as well so leave a comment on who and why you think would be better for Ted so sign and the Packers to keep.
Go Pack Go!
Thanks
Jeff
I don’t think barclay is a FA, & if he is, he’s a restricted FA, in which GB could put a low tender, & another team who signs him would have to give up a pick, making it doubtful that they’d sign him. While williams is still playing well, he’s not the shut down guy he was a couple yrs ago & doesn’t get assigned to the opponents #1 wr as much. Even if another team makes him an offer, it’s going to be greatly reduced from his current salary, & likely a shorter, 2-3 yr contract. With house’s injury history, if he gets offered starter’s pay, I’d let him walk & let another team deal w/ his inconsistent availability.
Bottom line, I don’t see it being a choice of 5 key guys vs cobb. With all the available salary cap GB has, I believe TT & VP Ball find ways to sign 4-5 of these 6 guys.
On the chance that we do lose cobb, I think everyone agrees that wr adams & te rodgers are ready for bigger roles, & drafting another wr/te becomes a higher priority.
Unrestricted
T Bryan Bulaga
CB Jarrett Bush
WR Randall Cobb
QB Matt Flynn
DT Letroy Guion
CB Davon House
FB John Kuhn
LB Jamari Lattimore
DT B.J. Raji
QB Scott Tolzien
CB Tramon Williams
Restricted
T/G Don Barclay
WR Jarrett Boykin
S Sean Richardson
Exclusive rights
RB DuJuan Harris
Oh, the reason T williams will not get offered as much as his current salary, is his age, 31, or will be 32 next season?
I think you pretty much nailed it right on the head .My question is why are they paying so much for Brad Jones to me the play don’t equal the cash and the might be trade value in him. and invest in a nosegaurd even thought the young ones played well at times…Such hard thing going to come up every year Thanks Jim
I think Brad Jones will not be back this year along with Hawk but thats just my opinion we will see in a month or so
I don’t agree on this one. After Aaron, I believe Cobb is the best player on the whole team, versatile as hell, irreplaceable.
But I believe TT will find a way to keep both Cobb and Bulaga.
All this speculating is getting old; winter is long, and people need something to mull over.
While I think Cobb is good he is far behind Rodgers on the list. But thats just my opinion, I believe Tj Lang and Josh Sitton are more valuable to the offense than Cobb is and then there is Jordy! Cobb is right there but not a do or die signing IMO.
There are too many players on this team that are getting paid too well for poor performances week in and week out. What they do on the practice field doesn’t count for game time worthiness. Cobb is a must even if he gets tagged. Buluga is a almost lock. Injury prone…but good. Dump Sherrod, use his cap space for leverage. All signs point to the end for Hawk. His very small salary compared to many will not make a dent in our needs. The end of Raji and his 5 million for doing nothing and most likely Guion(so) will give the Pack about 6-7 million to play with. Sign Justin Houston(unlikely) and get Peppers under contract. We need to find that exciting shutdown corner or safety like woods on is and was. That was a huge mistake by Thompson. Maybe we need to build an incentive policy and pay the players less…..Patriots have been doing it for years……time to evaluate every member of this team and see how their salary can be spent better, even if we lose a star player.
With the new CBA players that get starter pay for their position has a minimum pay they can take or be offered so the time of incentive pay is gone I’m afraid
Cobb is a must sign, period.
The Packers have $26.7 mil of cap space to work with in 2015. That’s before restructuring Peppers and Hawk (and possibly others) and cutting Brad Jones (and possibly others). There’s no possible way that we can’t afford all of our key players and sign Cobb to a nice extension.
Without Cobb, Jordy is much more easily taken out of games by opposing Ds with double coverage. It has taken 4 years for Rodgers and Cobb to develop their chemistry. No other WR on our roster is even close to that dependable.
There’s more than enough cap money to sign the vast majority of our players (Cobb, Bulaga, Barclay, Tolzien, House, Kuhn, Raji, and Richardson), get through the draft, AND sign 1 key FA.
Sherrod was cut a day after the week 8 game this year and picked up by the Chiefs after the regular season. Bush was a non-factor on ST this year and remains a liability similar to Brad Jones on D. Williams can’t tackle, cover or avoid penalties anymore. I’d be happy to see all 4 of these players on other teams or watching from their living rooms.
I agree with the only question being Bulagas health. TT is not going to overpay anyone, will he use a franchise tag? Think he is better at finding WRs via the draft so Cobb could be odd man out. The O line did a great job protecting Rodgers this year and that is the most important factor in another Super Bowl run in the future.
I think a couple of these guys get signed as well. I think B.J. Raji is going to give a home town discount for the production he has put up and will sign for a one year deal again. Signing Bulaga is absolutely necessary. I think Kuhn is an invaluable piece of the puzzle for the packer offense. Randall Cobb may be expensive. If we can get him at a decent price, sign him if not let him go just like we did Jones and Jennings. Let Tramon, Davon, and all others go.
The one Free Agent I think we need to consider is Terrance Knighton. The dude is freakishly big and could help us out a lot. Also, we need to go and get a solid MLB, whether it comes from FA or via the draft.
Another plus if Cobb walks is next year we get an extra 3rd round pick for him.