Following the mass exodus of the Packers’ staff this offseason, longtime NFL quarterbacks coach Tom Clements received a phone call from his old player, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, as reported by Ryan Wood of Packers News.
Rodgers had just watched the dissolution of the Packers’ 2021 coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett departed to Denver for a head coaching position. Passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy took an offensive coordinator job for the rival Bears.
Clements was enjoying retirement, looking forward to heading into Year 2 of armchair quarterbacking like the rest of us. Clements claimed he “didn’t have the itch to come back,” but after conversations with Rodgers and Packers head coach Matt LeFleur, Clements found himself back in the NFL, returning to his longest tenured home from his first stint in coaching.
Here are a few other notes from around the NFC, starting with another note from the North:
- Following a shiny new deal from the Vikings, quarterback Kirk Cousins appears content to finish his NFL career in Minnesota, according to The Athletic’s Chad Graff. Cousins certainly didn’t need an early extension. He set an example years ago for how a player can bet on himself, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to be franchise-tagged in consecutive years then signing the league’s first ever (and highest at the time) fully-guaranteed contract. Despite this history, Cousins agreed to a deal that freed up some cap space for Minnesota. When asked why he agreed to this deal, Cousins simply stated, “The short answer is: I want to be a Minnesota Viking.”
- Jason La Canfora wrote a piece Friday asserting his belief that two quarterbacks will go in the Top 10 picks of the 2022 NFL Draft, notably that he expects Atlanta and Carolina to select one of Liberty’s Malik Willis or Pitt’s Kenny Pickett. If either NFC South franchise ends up addressing another position, though, La Canfora expects Seattle to fulfill his prediction with the No. 9 overall pick. Should neither quarterback be available to the Seahawks, several executives believe that Seattle would trade back, allowing teams who are hungry to select a specific prospect to relinquish some of their draft capital while keeping alive the Seahawks ability to draft a value-player without reaching.
- Should Seattle not find a quarterback in the Draft, one option they’ve kicked the tires on is former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick hasn’t played since January of 2017, but has stayed in shape amidst lawsuits and accusations against the NFL that settled in 2019. A connection was reported with the Seahawks in March after some comments from head coach Pete Carroll. Carroll gave an update, as reported by USA Today’s Scooby Axson, saying that, while not much has progressed in terms of a contract, Carroll notices the work Kaepernick has put in and admires the 34-year-old’s desire to compete. No deal seems imminent, but Kaepernick remains a possibility should Seattle strike out in the Draft later this month.
When asked why he agreed to this deal, Cousins simply stated, “The short answer is: They continually pay me a lot of money!’
Not a fan of Kaep but it would be wild to see him get another shot. I know it’s probably never going to happen but man
If they can’t land Kaep, the Seahawks could give Dan McGwire another shot.
I would bring back Kitna over Kaep
Two words for you… Seneca Wallace!
Dave Krieg
Vinny Testaverde could probably come off the couch and toss for 300 a game
They already paid him go away money, he should stay away. He didn’t want to play 5 years again when he was still active, not sure why he pretends he wants to now.
I swear that it will be 2030 and there will still be articles on PFR about a Kaepernick comeback.
By 2030 teams will likely have a 75 man roster and play a 22 game schedule, so that would improve Kaeps chances of making a comeback.
A fly on the wall in a Geno/Baker/Kaep locker room
The Seahawks aren’t signing Kap or trading for Baker whether they draft a QB or not.
The only reason someone signs Kaep is to sell tickets, not win games. Guy hasn’t played in 5 seasons.
Yeah, but the vast majority of the teams have no problem selling tickets as most at or near capacity.
Kaep would sell tix? I can already see the backlash from season ticket holders. Reading the comments over the years on this site lead me to believe that Kaep isn’t necessarily someone who people want to see in the league. In fact, most people don’t want anything to do with the guy as evidenced by the lack of teams showing interest in him for the last 5 seasons, in which he has had an opportunity to sign with any one of the 32 teams in the league.
I’m just assuming, but my guess is he’d be welcomed in a super woke place like Seattle. I know there are other places people would riot if their team signed him. The talent Kaep has doesn’t justify the headache it would cause your team. That’s just my opinion. As Watson has shown, as long as you are really good it doesn’t matter what you do. If Kaep had his talent he would have still been in the league.
I am not sure how many woke people hold season tickets or are even football fans. I find it funny that they have signs at the sounders game that say no fascism and no capitalist’s. I wonder if they don’t think of the team owner as capitalist?
I don’t see the football fans inviting him back. I don’t see Seahawk fans as the woke crowd. I also don’t see them welcoming Kap back. I recall how he was booed while I was in the Hawk Nest.
I don’t think there is much we can do to win this year. Stick with Loch trade down if your #1 guy is gone and get more picks especially another 1 for next year. Having 3 1st round picks would help us move up if we wanted to.
I was not a fan of Kap kneeling and wouldn’t be if for whatever reason he would do it now. I think he wants back in to sue whoever signs him and the NFL. Loch might not be good but he doesn’t have the baggage. Kap would need his own locker room for his baggage and ego. Just say no to dumb.
Ok… so then why does a team roster a QB like Drew Lock who can neither sell tickets nor win games?! This was the basis of his lawsuit and why the NFL settled!
Because lock has more potential than an old qb that puts up numbers like nfl back ups. Also the settlement was dirt cheap for the nfl as they were not required to disclose on the packers finances as required by law so we know it was not material and their share had to be less than $500k. This also adds to the articles that Reid/kaepernick split less than $10 mil in settlement. The nfl settled because it was cheaper than fighting and they could move on.
Lock does not have the potential to be the QB of a Super Bowl team. Neither does Kaepernick. I guess that is my point. Saying that Kaepernick can’t win games is sort of silly when you have Drew Lock on the roster. The Seahawks can’t win games, you know NFL games, with either one, so why contemplate it? Would a donkey or a mule make a better place kicker? What if the mule was out of the game for five years?
Signing Kaep will make your franchise instantly reviled.
Not a good business move
I think people would be indifferent. Your franchise isn’t “reviled” for having Kaepernick or Lock, it is boring because it has no chance to compete for wins on an NFL football field.
Only by bigots
While Copernicus has stayed in shape, he hasn’t been hit in awhile
How can you come back after Five Years and get drilled and get back up, Pro Football does not work that way!!!
Congrats – you’re the first person to confuse that idiot with Copernicus
Tebow tried it and failed miserably. I actually like Tebow so don’t call me a Tebow hater. I’m a realist.
The gut Kaepernick was rocking at that tryout a couple years ago suggests the opposite of staying in shape
I think it would be great if Seattle would sign Kaepernick – as that would end the myth of him still being able to play.
We know how all of this works… If they sign Kap they’ll boo and there will be all kinds of crazy stuff but the second he wins games all will be forgiven its happened time and time again
@BennyBull, oh dear, in order for him to win games, he have to have the skills, for which he don’t. He never had it the whole time. The first few games, he was lucky. Got into the Super Bowl based on luck. Teams started figuring him out and he suddenly get exposed big time. Kaep got upset that he was exposed in an ugly way so the only option he had was to scream, “WAYYYYCIST NFL!!!! REEE I’M OPPRESSED AND MY WHITE PARENTS AGREE WITH ME! IF THEY DIDN’T, THEY’RE WAYCISTS TOO!!!!” then kneels down like a crybaby.
If Seattle — one of the most woke cities out there with 95% of the population being woke idiots — sign Kaep, it will purely be for virtue signaling and it won’t be a surprising sight to witness. Oh, and to lose revenue and the fan base if that’s what they want also.
He ain’t winning games anytime soon. If he loses a game, he will immediately brand everyone a “waycist!” and then sue the NFL. He is cancer’s cancer.