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Packers HC Matt LaFleur Surprised By RB Moves

March 30th, 2024 at 9:19am CST by Ben Levine

The Packers were one of the major players in the free agent RB carousel. The team couldn’t convince Aaron Jones to take a pay cut, leading to the veteran’s release. The Packers quickly scooped up former Raiders star Josh Jacobs as Jones’ replacement, completely revamping the top of their depth chart.

[RELATED: Packers Sign RB Josh Jacobs]

While it seemed likely that the Packers would approach Jones about a reduced salary, there weren’t many people who anticipated the Packers pivoting to a different star running back. That includes head coach Matt LaFleur, who admitted to reporters this week that he was caught “off guard” by the sudden moves.

“There were some other things in play, obviously with Aaron Jones, and I didn’t quite know how everything was going to go,” LaFleur said (via Jason Wilde of Madison.com). “It just happened really fast on that Monday. … It happened really fast, so I don’t know all the details of that. I’m not involved in those types of conversations. But we were super excited (to get Jacobs).”

Jacobs shouldn’t have any issues replacing Jones’ production. Following a 2022 campaign where he led the NFL with 2,053 yards from scrimmage in 17 games, Jacobs was limited to only 13 contests in 2024. Still, the 26-year-old managed to top 1,100 yards from scrimmage, although that was partly due to him garnering more than 20 touches per game. Jones followed up four-straight seasons of 1,000-yard production with 889 yards from scrimmage in 13 games this past season.

The team will also be counting on Jacobs to fill the leadership void left by Jones, although LaFleur told reporters that he’s challenged Jordan Love to step into a larger vocal role. Jones left the franchise with the third-most rushing yards in team history, and the head coach acknowledged that moving on from the veteran was “really tough.”

“[Jones has] always been team first,” LaFleur said (via Wilde). “He walks the walk, and he does everything. He’s just such a pro, [and] that’s always tough to replace.”

The Packers will have some continuity on their depth chart in AJ Dillon. The organization hit the former second-round running back with the rarely used four-year qualifying offer, locking the player into a one-year deal.

Raiders’ Josh Jacobs Offer Did Not Approach Packers’ Proposal

March 29th, 2024 at 11:23am CST by Sam Robinson

Perhaps the busiest day in terms of RB1 movement in NFL history sent Josh Jacobs to Green Bay. This came after multiple reports indicated Raiders interest in keeping their 2023 franchise player.

The Raiders did make Jacobs an offer, and The Athletic’s Vic Tafur indicates it was the second-best proposal the former rushing champion received this month (subscription required). But the Packers’ proposal, per Tafur, came in well north of where the Raiders were willing to go for their five-year starter. Jacobs is now set to replace Aaron Jones as Green Bay’s top back.

Las Vegas’ offer not being especially close to Green Bay’s is rather interesting given the structure of Jacobs’ Packers contract. Although the Pack gave Jacobs a four-year, $48MM deal — numbers that match where they went for Jones in 2021 — only $12.5MM of that is fully guaranteed. Jacobs is due a $5.93MM roster bonus on Day 5 of the 2025 league year, making that a pivotal date for his prospects of playing a second Packers season. With the team moving on from a seven-year performer in Jones, it would stand to reason it wants Jacobs for at least two seasons.

Jacobs’ Packers defection brought an end to two years of negotiations. The team was reported to have made Jacobs a better offer than the Giants submitted to Saquon Barkley before last summer’s deadline for tagged players to sign extensions. Though, another report indicated the previous Raider regime did not make an aggressive pursuit to extend Jacobs.

The Giants were believed to have offered Barkley a deal in the neighborhood of $22MM guaranteed. While Barkley’s bet on himself paid off — in the form of an Eagles deal including $26MM guaranteed at signing — no other RB this offseason topped $14MM guaranteed at signing. D’Andre Swift‘s Bears deal included the $14MM number. After his 2022 rushing championship, Jacobs finished with just 805 rushing yards and produced the fifth-worst rushing yards over expected number (per Next Gen Stats). The 2019 first-round pick also missed the Raiders’ final four games due to multiple contusions.

The Raiders expressed interest in keeping Jacobs, who was among those who stumped for Antonio Pierce to land the full-time HC job. But they hired a new GM (Tom Telesco) who came to Las Vegas after refusing to extend Austin Ekeler‘s contract with the Chargers last year. Telesco showed interest in adding Ekeler to the Raiders’ backfield, but with it only taking a two-year, $8.43MM deal to send the dual-threat back to Washington, it is safe to assume Vegas’ Jacobs proposal came in higher.

The running back carousel did not send one of the recent starters to Nevada, potentially pointing to the Raiders addressing the position in the draft. For now, Jacobs fill-in Zamir White — a 2022 fourth-round pick — sits atop the depth chart.

Packers Sign K Greg Joseph

March 26th, 2024 at 10:54am CST by Adam La Rose

Greg Joseph will not be with the Vikings in 2024, but he will remain in the NFC North. The veteran kicker has agreed to a deal with the Packers, agent Brett Tessler announced on Tuesday.

Joseph will earn up to $1.3MM on this one-year contract, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. As Tessler notes, the 29-year-old drew interest from other teams, but he preferred to join Green Bay. Joseph will serve as veteran competition with Anders Carlson this offseason.

The latter took over from Mason Crosby as a rookie in 2023. Carlson posted a 90.9% success rate in 2020, but his Auburn career ended with two straight seasons of much lower accuracy. In spite of that, the Packers entered the year with confidence in the 25-year-old.

Carlson connected on 27 of 33 field goal attempts in the regular season, good for an accuracy rate of 81.8%. That included four misses from a range of between 40-49 yards, and he also missed five extra points. During the team’s postseason run, the former sixth-rounder went two-for-three on field goals and converted seven of eight extra points.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst offered public support for Carlson in the summer, but after a full campaign of evaluation the team has added a more experienced option in the kicking game. Joseph handled full-time duties in Minnesota for each of the past three seasons. Over that time, he converted 82.2% of field goal kicks (including a career-best accuracy rate of 86.8% in 2021). Joseph went 112-for-124 on extra point attempts during his Vikings tenure, which is in line with his career average in that respect.

The former UDFA (who previously played for the Browns and Titans) also led the league in touchback percentage during the 2021 season, as Tessler adds. That will become more of a moot point in 2024 compared to past campaigns given the new kickoff rules, but Joseph’s consistency could give him an advantage after Carlson endured an up-and-down rookie campaign. The Packers will be among the teams partaking in a kicking competition this summer.

Packers Begin Jordan Love Extension Talks

March 25th, 2024 at 10:22pm CST by Adam La Rose

Last offseason, the Packers replaced Jordan Love‘s fifth-year option with a one-year extension. No new pact can be agreed upon until at least May 4, but talks on that front have begun.

With Aaron Rodgers out of the picture, Green Bay made a short-term commitment to Love as the team’s 2024 starter. The $22.5MM pact the latter inked included escalators and bonuses as he helped guide the Packers to the second round of the postseason. Love is due $11MM in 2024 on his current contract, which is set to carry a cap hit of $12.76MM. A long-term accord will check in at a much higher rate.

A January report stated the Packers would explore an extension in the offseason, with general manager Brian Gutekunst having seen enough of the former first-rounder to commit to him as Green Bay’s long-term answer under center. When speaking at the league meetings, Gutekunst confirmed negotiations on a Love pact have indeed started. Nothing is imminent at this time, though.

“There’s been some, obviously, preliminary discussions,” Gutekunst said on Monday (video link via Ryan Woods of Packers News). “But we want to do it the right way. And certainly the sooner the better, but at the same time, we want to make sure we do it the right way. So, it’s started. But it’s not something that’s going to go quickly, I don’t think.”

NFL contracts cannot be extended twice within a 12-month span, so any new Love deal will not become official for at least six weeks. Still, it is of course noteworthy the sides have begun talks on a new agreement. The sides are in a unique situation with Love having made only one start in his first three NFL seasons. The 25-year-old had a less-than-stellar beginning to his first campaign as a starter, but down the stretch and into the postseason his play improved.

As a result, he is in line for a steep raise compared to his current deal. 12 quarterbacks currently average at least $40MM per season, and with the salary cap expected to continue rising at a notable rate that number will no doubt increase in the coming years. Love has much less experience in a No. 1 role than the veterans at the top of the market, but a number of relatively young passers have secured monster second contracts in recent years. If Love is to become the next in line, an agreement could be within reach relatively soon depending on the progress of negotiations.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/21/24

March 21st, 2024 at 9:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

Washington Commanders

A former Vikings starter, Wilson has spent the past two seasons with the Packers. While he started 25 games in Minnesota, the seven-year veteran has worked mostly on special teams in Green Bay. Wilson, 29, did play 121 defensive snaps last season and stands to give the Pack some LB depth post-De’Vondre Campbell.

Pierre will come to Washington from Pittsburgh, where he played out his rookie contract. Pierre started six games with the Steelers, clearing 260-snap barrier in 2021 and ’22. Last season, however, the former UDFA returned to a special teams-only role.

Free Agency Notes: Giants, Vikings, Jets, Hawks, Huff, Commanders, Ekeler, Raiders, Dolphins, Jacobs, Rams

March 21st, 2024 at 9:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bryce Huff market did not reach the level of Jonathan Greenard‘s, and Danielle Hunter also scored a better guarantee compared to the Jets‘ contract-year breakout pass rusher. But the Eagles needed to give Huff a three-year, $51.1MM deal with $34MM guaranteed. That came about because, per Huff, the Commanders, Giants, Seahawks and Vikings joined the Jets in pursuing him. The Jets had expressed interest in keeping the former UDFA, who led the team in sacks last season, but their 2023 Will McDonald draft choice appeared to point Huff elsewhere.

Minnesota came in early with its Greenard signing (four years, $76MM, $38MM fully guaranteed), while Washington turned to one of Dan Quinn‘s ex-Cowboys charges — Dorance Armstrong — soon after. The Giants made a bigger splash hours later by trading for Brian Burns, in a deal that involved a second-rounder going to the Panthers and fifth-rounders being swapped, while the Seahawks devoted their funding to fortifying their interior D-line (via the Leonard Williams deal). Huff, 26, led the NFL in pressure rate last season but was not used as a full-time D-end. It should be expected the Eagles, who have Haason Reddick in trade rumors, will up Huff’s usage.

Here is the latest free agency fallout:

  • As Lloyd Cushenberry and Andre James scored nice contracts, the center market has not seen Connor Williams come off the board. It should be a while on that front. Rehabbing an ACL tear, Williams is not expected to sign anywhere anytime soon, agent Drew Rosenahus said during a WSVP interview (via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson). Williams going down in Week 14 certainly has impacted his market. Pro Football Focus graded the two-year Dolphins blocker as a top-five center in each of his two Miami seasons. Ahead of his age-27 season, the ex-Cowboys draftee will probably need to show teams he is healthy or on track to full strength before a deal commences.
  • The Raiders lost their starting running back in free agency, seeing Josh Jacobs join the Packers. Zamir White is tentatively in place as Las Vegas’ starter, but the now-Tom Telesco-run club did show interest in Austin Ekeler, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson tweets. Telesco was with the Chargers when they signed Ekeler as a UDFA and when they extended him, but the GM did not greenlight a second extension last year. That led to trade rumors and a small incentive package. Ekeler signed a two-year, $8.43MM Commanders deal, indicating (via the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala) the NFC East team showed the most interest. Despite leading the NFL in TDs in 2021 and 2022, Ekeler received only $4.2MM fully guaranteed — ninth among FA backs this year.
  • As for Jacobs, his guarantee fell well short of Saquon Barkley‘s and shy of the Bears’ commitment to D’Andre Swift. The Packers signed Jacobs to a four-year, $48MM deal, but Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes only the $12.5MM signing bonus is guaranteed (plus a $1.2MM 2024 salary). Beyond 2024, this is a pay-as-you-go deal. Jacobs is due a $5.93MM roster bonus on Day 5 of the 2025 league year, creating a pivotal date for Green Bay’s backfield. The Packers are known for shying away from guarantees beyond Year 1, in most instances, but it is interesting to see the gap between guarantees Barkley could secure ($26MM) and Jacobs’ locked-in money.
  • The gap between Xavier McKinney‘s Packers deal and the Rams‘ two-year Kamren Curl pact ended up wider than the aforementioned RBs. Curl agreed to a $9MM accord, per the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala. Curl, 25, has two seasons to show he can command a more lucrative contract. But McKinney (four years, $68MM) showed how valuable an age-25 offseason can be for earning power, making the Curl contract look quite Rams-friendly.
  • Jonnu Smith‘s two-year Dolphins deal came in at $8.4MM, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Miami will guarantee the former Tennessee, New England and Atlanta tight end $3.96MM. No guarantees are present beyond 2024, SI.com’s Albert Breer tweets. Miami’s three-year Jordyn Brooks accord lands slightly lower than initially reported, with Wilson adding the ex-Seattle linebacker signed for $26.25MM. Brooks’ contract features $16MM guaranteed; just $9.5MM of that sum is guaranteed at signing.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/18/24

March 18th, 2024 at 9:46pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Seattle Seahawks

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/15/24

March 15th, 2024 at 10:04pm CST by Ely Allen

Friday’s minor transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

  • Released: OL Roy Mbaeteka

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Irwin gets a crack at a WR3 role in Cincinnati as Tyler Boyd heads to free agency. Irwin also holds experience as the team’s backup return man, filling in last year when Charlie Jones was injured.

Heck rejoins the Texans on a one-year deal worth up to $3.3MM. He’ll add some key depth at an important position.

Rozeboom was a restricted free agent who wasn’t tendered. Regardless, the two sides work out a fully guaranteed deal for 2024.

Feeney joins the Vikings on a one-year deal. Though far removed from a consistent starting role with the Chargers, Feeney has continued to find starts throughout his career as a valuable body off the bench.

The Giants bring in two tight ends without much receiving experience. Manhertz, a veteran whose played for the Panthers from 2016-20, has extensive starting experience as a blocking tight end with 53 starts in his career.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/14/24

March 14th, 2024 at 9:44pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Packers To Re-Sign RB AJ Dillon

March 14th, 2024 at 5:18pm CST by Ben Levine

AJ Dillon is sticking in Green Bay after all. Following plenty of speculation that the running back could be playing elsewhere in 2024, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that Dillon is expected to re-sign with the Packers.

[RELATED: Packers Expected To Sign RB Josh Jacobs]

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport clarifies that the organization used the “rare” four-year qualifying offer to retain Dillon. This deal allowed the Packers to retain Dillon, and they’ll owe him $1.35MM more than his five-year minimum salary (h/t Matt Schneidman of The Athletic). That would mean Dillon is attached to a $2.6MM deal for the 2024 campaign.

Dillon played sparingly as a rookie, but he’s seen a consistent role on the Packers’ offense over the past three years. The team rolled with the Dillon/Aaron Jones duo for each of those three seasons, but the team’s sudden decision to pivot to Josh Jacobs put the two-headed monster’s Green Bay future in doubt. The team already cut Jones, and Dillon’s free agency made it seem like he wasn’t going to return to the Packers.

Even before the start of free agency, there were rumblings that Dillon wouldn’t be back in Green Bay. As a result, a handful of suitors started to line up for the former second-round pick’s services. We learned yesterday that Dillon was eyeing deals with the Cowboys, Giants, and Colts, and Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report notes that the RB garnered interest from at least two teams.

Instead, Dillon will return to the only NFL team he’s ever played for. Despite generally seeing the same number of touches over the past three seasons, Dillon’s numbers have dropped. After peaking with 1,116 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns (on 221 touches) in 2021, Dillon was limited to only 836 yards from scrimmage and two scores (on 200 touches) in 2023, and that was despite the fact that he started a career-high six games this past season. Despite the downtick in counting stats, Pro Football Focus still ranked Dillon 22nd among 59 qualifying running backs in 2023.

Dillon will likely see a similar role on offense in 2024, although he’ll now be playing behind one of the league’s top workhorse RBs. Still, Jacobs missed at least one game in each of his five seasons with the Raiders, so Dillon will likely be called on to lead the running backs room at some point next year.

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