Free agent tight end Jared Cook visited the Packers this week, league sources tell Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com confirms (via Twitter) that Cook’s meeting with Green Bay took place on Monday.
Having spent his last three seasons with the Rams, Cook was released by the team in February, allowing him to hit the open market early. Although he perhaps didn’t live up to his lucrative contract in St. Louis, Cook still posted relatively solid numbers during his three seasons with the club. From 2013 to 2015, he averaged approximately 47 receptions, 595 yards, and three touchdowns per year.
The Packers aren’t typically very active in free agency, as their lack of activity within the last week has shown. When they do explore the market though, GM Ted Thompson and the team’s decision-makers often prefer players who have been released by other clubs, since those free agents don’t count toward the draft compensatory pick formula for the following season. So Cook could make sense as a target.
Richard Rodgers had something of a breakout season for the Packers in 2015, catching 58 balls for 510 yards and eight touchdowns. However, the team could still use more help at the position.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Almost rooting for this only to see Rodgers team with an athletic tight end. Cook hasn’t shown himself to be what was advertised, but a union with Rodgers would be easily the best shot he’s had. He’s never had a good quarterback, and the Rodgers-era Packers have been starved for a playmaking tight end. Like the potential fit.