2013 Off Season Thread - Working On Ext For Burnett - Pg 129

[MickeyDavis]

McGinn:

Searching for salary-cap space to extend their two best players, the Green Bay Packers haven't approached the agent for linebacker A.J. Hawk about a pay cut but probably will do so before long.

Mike McCartney, the longtime agent for Hawk, said he planned to discuss that looming possibility in a face-to-face meeting with his client this week.

"A.J. and I haven't broached that subject yet," McCartney said at the National Football League scouting combine. "We really haven't. But we will."

Although McCartney did talk with Packers vice president Russ Ball Friday in Indianapolis, the agent said he wasn't informed how the club views Hawk's cap salary of $7.05 million for 2013.

"I know Green Bay values A.J.," said McCartney. "I know they like A.J. a lot . . . and I know they have some issues. So we'll see."

Hawk, a two-down strong inside linebacker in a 3-4 defense, ranks fourth on the team in cap salary for the coming season behind quarterback Aaron Rodgers ($9.75M), tight end Jermichael Finley ($8.75M) and cornerback Tramon Williams ($8.5M).

If the Packers released Hawk, they would gain $5.45M against the '13 cap by eliminating his $4.9M base salary, $300,000 per-game roster bonus and $250,000 workout bonus.

Regardless of what happens, the Packers must count $1.6M against their '13 cap and another $3.2M in the future as the remaining prorated portions of the $8M signing bonus that was part of Hawk's five-year, $33.75M contract signed on the eve of the lockout in March 2011.

Hawk, 29, played 5 to 7 pounds lighter last season, improving his range and coverage. He led the inside linebackers in tackles per snap (one every 5.3), allowed the fewest plays of 20 yards or more (2½) of any linebacker and led the team in tackles (157) and tackles for loss with a career-high 5½.

He also missed nine tackles in 833 snaps after having missed 15 in 910 snaps in 2011.

At the same time, Hawk failed to generate a takeaway for the second straight season and didn't break up a single pass.

"I think that (a pay cut for Hawk) is a possibility because of the money they're paying against the production," an executive in personnel for an AFC team said last week. "Seven million is a big number for a guy that's a two-down player. If I was the Packers, I'd be thinking about renegotiation.

"They're also dealing from a position of strength. They've got guys. Would you rather allocate those dollars to a younger player like Brad Jones? They've got D.J. Smith. It's not a position of need."

If the Packers released Hawk, let Jones walk in unrestricted free agency and continued to have reservations about Desmond Bishop's post-surgical quadriceps tear, they could look for cheaper veteran insurance in someone like Nick Barnett, who was cut by Buffalo Feb. 11.

Barnett, regarded by many scouts as a better player than Hawk during their five seasons playing together in Green Bay, is 31. His minimum salary for 2013 would be $940,000.

"The good news for A.J. Hawk is he'd have a marketplace if he was cut," the scout said. "It's a thin market at linebacker in free agency and it's another thin year in the draft in terms of depth at inside linebacker."

Bishop, 28, went down in the first exhibition game and has been in rehabilitation mode for months. It's a brutal injury, one that can leave players susceptible to a reduced level of performance and the chance of additional tears.

"They haven't given me a reason to worry a lot," coach Mike McCarthy said Saturday, referring to the team's medical staff. "But it was a different injury."

Smith, who first replaced Bishop on the weak inside, blew out his knee in the sixth game.

After Bishop and Smith came Jones, who played 794 of a possible 801 snaps in the final 12 games and did a respectable job.

"In free agency, you try to find guys who are up-and-comers," one NFL executive said. "This year, (Jones) could be one of those guys.

"Maybe on some NFL teams he would be their third-best guy in a 4-3, but maybe for the balance of teams he's that fourth-best guy. Needless to say, there's a marketplace for him. The market will tell him if he's a starter."

Rob Francois, who backed up Hawk but hasn't played from scrimmage since 2011, will be a restricted free agent. The Packers can protect their rights to Francois and all but eliminate any chance he'd receive an offer sheet by tendering him early next month at $1.323M for 2013.

Francois might not receive a tender, thereby becoming a street free agent, because the restricted tenders have skyrocketed under the most recent collective bargaining agreement.

"It's one of the worst things that happened with the new CBA," said Noel LaMontagne, the agent for Francois. "The tenders are so high now."

A likely scenario would be for the Packers to cast Francois adrift without a tender and then attempt to resign him for the third-year veteran minimum salary of $660,000.

"They love him, but they might have to look at another way of keeping him," LaMontagne said. "He's in the mix, but we'll see."

The Packers' extreme depth at inside linebacker also includes Terrell Manning and Jamari Lattimore.

As the Packers ponder cap moves to extend the contracts of Clay Matthews and Rodgers, they will consider the reliability and durability of Hawk, who has started all but two games in his seven-year career.

"The hardest players in the business to value are the guys who do dirty work," said McCartney, a former pro scout for the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles. "There is a lot of inherent dirty work that A.J. does.

"You can't measure how he directs everybody. He sends people to the right spots. So I think there's a lot of intangibles there."

[Wilford Brimley]

[MickeyDavis]

McGinn

Even though the Green Bay Packers aren't giving up on Marshall Newhouse at left tackle they're confident that Bryan Bulaga also could play the position.

The Packers will spend the next six months deciding if they're better with Newhouse at left tackle, Bulaga at right tackle and Don Barclay backing up or Bulaga at left tackle, Barclay at right tackle and Newhouse backing up.

If Derek Sherrod is able to resume his career after a year's absence from a broken leg, the former first-round draft choice could improve enough to become a factor as well.

Coach Mike McCarthy said at the National Football League combine that he's prepared to enter 2013 at center with Evan Dietrich-Smith, who represented considerable improvement over veteran retread Jeff Saturday in the final four games.

"I'll say this," McCarthy said. "We will be a better offensive line next year. You can write that down."

After watching Bulaga play his final two seasons at left tackle for Iowa, McCarthy said he was sold on him playing that side. But after Mark Tauscher went down in Game 4 of 2010, Bulaga became the right tackle and has been there ever since.

Any decision now on moving Bulaga to the left side in 2013 will depend on his health, McCarthy said. Bulaga suffered what he called a small fracture in the capsule of his left hip in Game 9 and was done for the season.

"We're not doing anything like that right now," McCarthy said. "We've got to look at the draft and see what happens.

"I've got to make sure Bryan comes back from this injury. He's been there (the Packers' facility) every day. I'm not (worried), but you know how that goes."

McCarthy said Bulaga definitely has the ability to handle left tackle.

"It's hard for me because I think Bryan has really emerged," McCarthy said. "I think he's an all-pro right tackle. I thought he was having an all-pro year this year. That's the way he graded out for us. He had the bad game at Seattle but he recovered."

Newhouse, another product of the 2010 draft, played all 1,230 snaps as a second-year starter.

"He still needs to improve and take another jump," McCarthy said. "He needs to improve as much next year as he did from '11 to '12."

Newhouse allowed 42½ pressures, including 11 sacks, and 13½ "bad" runs in 2012 compared to 41½ pressures (10½ sacks) and 14½ "bad" runs in 2011.

"He needs to finish better," McCarthy said. "No doubt. He knows it. We all know it. It's a constant.

"I think he's grown up a lot. There's a lot to like there. Hey, you've got to love his feet. He's got to play better with his hands, and finish. But he's gotten better."

McCarthy also indicated Newhouse did have the personality to become more of an aggressive player.

Besides being a far better run blocker, Bulaga (6 feet 5½ inches) is 1½ taller than Newhouse. However, Newhouse has the benefit of having longer arms and bigger hands.

Three years ago, Bulaga's arms were measured as 33¼ inches at the combine and 32¼ at the Hawkeyes pro day. Newhouse checked in at 34 at the combine and 33 1/8 at Texas Christian pro day.

The average of Bulaga's two hand measurements were 9½ inches compared to 10 1/8 for Newhouse.

Barclay, who is the exact same height as Newhouse, has 33 7/8 arms and enormous hands (10 7/8). Sherrod, who is 6-5 ½, has long arms (35 3/8) and enormous hands (11).

"I love the kid's toughness," McCarthy said, referring to Barclay. "I love the way he went in and battled. He's got a lot of growing in front of him."

Tackle Andrew Datko, the team's seventh-round draft choice in 2012, is back after a season on the practice squad.

"He's changed his body around a lot, which he needed," McCarthy said. "He's getting better."

Dietrich-Smith played 4½ games at left guard before Saturday's failings became so pronounced that the coaches had to bench him. Dietrich-Smith, 26, is expected to receive the second-round tender of $2.023 million and return as a restricted free agent.

"I'd play with Dietrich-Smith," McCarthy said. "Absolutely. He's a tough son of a (expletive), man. He's starting today.

"I think he's a center; I think he's a backup guard. He did a good job at guard, but he's a lot more natural at center.

"He played real well, then he didn't play as well in the last regular-season game. I thought the two playoff games . . . he played real good the first half against Minnesota and he played probably one of his better games against San Francisco."

At 6-2 ½ inches, Dietrich-Smith stands one-half inch taller than departed Scott Wells, the team's center from 2005-'11.

"He and Scott are different," McCarthy said. "Scott was unique, but he was undersized. Scott was very unique in his ability to reach the one-technique (defensive tackle). As far as the temperament, the finish, I think Evan can grow that way."

Right guard Josh Sitton had the best year of anyone on the line, said McCarthy, and left guard T.J. Lang endured an elbow / forearm injury and a 3½-game stint at right tackle.

"T.J. started the year very well," McCarthy said. "But he wasn't right all year. He's just got to get healthy."

Rookie guard Greg Van Roten moved from the practice squad to the 53-man roster for the final 13 games and played 18 snaps.

"I like him," McCarthy said. "He's a good developmental player. He's doing good things in the weight room, which he needed.

"We've got some tough, young guys here."

[MickeyDavis]

Dunne:

Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers had an up close look at several center prospects these past few days in Indianapolis. But while at the NFL scouting combine, they also had another order of business.

The Packers met with the agent for restricted free agent Evan Dietrich-Smith. And that may be a sign that the team is ready to make Dietrich-Smith their center of the future with a long-term deal.

A deal wouldn't necessarily come as a huge surprise. For one, quarterback Aaron Rodgers has called Dietrich-Smith as such. Late last season, starter Jeff Saturday was also benched in favor of Dietrich-Smith, a clear sign that the Packers are high on the 26-year-old. While there is currently a lot on the Packers’ plate financially — decisions on Jermichael Finley, A.J. Hawk and Greg Jennings, etc. — the Packers and Dietrich-Smith have taken one step toward reaching an agreement.

With RFA’s, teams must submit one of three qualifying offers. Each offer comes with a level of compensation another team would need to surrender for signing the free agent. The Packers will either allot a middle (second-round pick) or top (first round) tender to Dietrich-Smith. Green Bay would have the right to match any offer.

Brian Parker, the agent for Dietrich-Smith, met with the Packers at the Pro Bowl in Honolulu and then again with contract negotiator Russ Ball in Indianapolis.

Another option for the Packers is to stick with a one-year tender, see more of Dietrich-Smith at center and talk about a multi-year deal in the future.

Ironically, Parker is also the agent for Scott Wells. An unrestricted free agent last year, Wells signed a four-year, $24-million deal with the St. Louis Rams. The Packers were in the running for Wells longer than many believed, as the seven-year starter opted to move on.

Thompson settled on aging center Jeff Saturday and the six-time Pro Bowler fell short of expectations. Saturday was benched by Week 16 for the younger, fresher Dietrich-Smith. The 6-foot-2, 308-pound, five-year pro from Idaho State seemed to handle the Packers' up-tempo offense with relative ease at the line, was solid in pass protection and showed an ability to get to the second level in the run game.

The last two seasons, Dietrich-Smith has also been Green Bay's top back-up at guard, starting seven games at the position.

Now that coaches and management have seen Dietrich-Smith run the point of their complicated offense for four games, it appears there's a good chance he'll be staying in Green Bay.

[eagle13]

Pack interested in 49er FA DL Ricky Jean Francois bckup at both NT & DE / age=26 hght=6'3 - 7th rd pck in 2000 was the guy who repllaced JSmith when he was injured

[Newz]

Pack interested in 49er FA DL Ricky Jean Francois bckup at both NT & DE / age=26 hght=6'3 - 7th rd pck in 2000 was the guy who repllaced JSmith when he was injured

I'm pretty much always okay with signing guys in that 25-28 year old age range assuming we don't overpay them. There is still plenty of room for those guys to get better and become contributors.

[eagle13]

Even though the Green Bay Packers aren't giving up on Marshall Newhouse at left tackle they're confident that Bryan Bulaga also could play the position.

The Packers will spend the next six months deciding if they're better with Newhouse at left tackle, Bulaga at right tackle and Don Barclay backing up or Bulaga at left tackle, Barclay at right tackle and Newhouse backing up.

If Derek Sherrod is able to resume his career after a year's absence from a broken leg, the former first-round draft choice could improve enough to become a factor as well.

EDT del

After watching Bulaga play his final two seasons at left tackle for Iowa, McCarthy said he was sold on him playing that side. But after Mark Tauscher went down in Game 4 of 2010, Bulaga became the right tackle and has been there ever since.

Any decision now on moving Bulaga to the left side in 2013 will depend on his health, McCarthy said. Bulaga suffered what he called a small fracture in the capsule of his left hip in Game 9 and was done for the season.

"We're not doing anything like that right now," McCarthy said. "We've got to look at the draft and see what happens.

"I've got to make sure Bryan comes back from this injury. He's been there (the Packers' facility) every day. I'm not (worried), but you know how that goes."

McCarthy said Bulaga definitely has the ability to handle left tackle.

"It's hard for me because I think Bryan has really emerged," McCarthy said. "I think he's an all-pro right tackle. I thought he was having an all-pro year this year. That's the way he graded out for us. He had the bad game at Seattle but he recovered."

Newhouse, another product of the 2010 draft, played all 1,230 snaps as a second-year starter.

"He still needs to improve and take another jump," McCarthy said. "He needs to improve as much next year as he did from '11 to '12."

Newhouse allowed 42½ pressures, including 11 sacks, and 13½ "bad" runs in 2012 compared to 41½ pressures (10½ sacks) and 14½ "bad" runs in 2011.

"He needs to finish better," McCarthy said. "No doubt. He knows it. We all know it. It's a constant.

"I think he's grown up a lot. There's a lot to like there. Hey, you've got to love his feet. He's got to play better with his hands, and finish. But he's gotten better."

McCarthy also indicated Newhouse did have the personality to become more of an aggressive player.

Besides being a far better run blocker, Bulaga (6 feet 5½ inches) is 1½ taller than Newhouse. However, Newhouse has the benefit of having longer arms and bigger hands.

Three years ago, Bulaga's arms were measured as 33¼ inches at the combine and 32¼ at the Hawkeyes pro day. Newhouse checked in at 34 at the combine and 33 1/8 at Texas Christian pro day.

The average of Bulaga's two hand measurements were 9½ inches compared to 10 1/8 for Newhouse.

Barclay, who is the exact same height as Newhouse, has 33 7/8 arms and enormous hands (10 7/8). Sherrod, who is 6-5 ½, has long arms (35 3/8) and enormous hands (11).

"I love the kid's toughness," McCarthy said, referring to Barclay. "I love the way he went in and battled. He's got a lot of growing in front of him."

Tackle Andrew Datko, the team's seventh-round draft choice in 2012, is back after a season on the practice squad.

"He's changed his body around a lot, which he needed," McCarthy said. "He's getting better."

Article repeats what I’ve been saying since Clifton went down = move Bulaga.

Newhouse - I liked his intelligence coming out but he needs to make a major jump to be a NFL starter and I don’t believe he can. Happy to have him as backup IF he can handle both sides. He’s already shown he sucks at G.

Sherrod – may be like the Phoenix rising from the ashes and become a starting LT. It would be great but the position is too vital to count on him. I’ll be very interested. BTW - he sucked at G also.

Datko – may be the dark horse that breaks through - or is simply a dog. I think he could prove to be a factor and be in the fight but may get lost in the numbers especially if Pack drafts a LT. I’d give more TC snaps to him than Newhouse

Barclay is starting RT or backup at both RT & RG. Unless he regresses badly he’s got a spot.

My OT depth chart – with NO OT drafted early

LT bulaga / newhouse / Sherrod / datko
RT barclay / datko

DRAFT – some good LTs may be there perhaps in both 1st (Watson) & 2nd (Long) though we might be picking a little too late in 2nd. Only b/c of Bulaga do I have confidence to pass on a LT in rd 1.
IF LT & DE are = BPA at 26 I take the DE. I probably take an OLB over LT also.
IF there’s a quality LT still there in 2nd I take him.

My OT depth chart – with LT taken 1st or 2nd
Barclay probably moves to G full time / emergency RT

LT rookie / newhouse / Sherrod / datko
RT bulaga / datko / newhouse

Bottom line for me LT is decided on draft day - either a rookie is drafted in 1st or 2nd OR if not then its Bulaga. But obviously it’s not that simple. LT will again be one of the more interesting stories of TC.

[emunney]

Sherrod and Datko are both huge health question marks, but it seems like either of them could be starting for us if they can get their bodies right.

[eagle13]

With Ted's interest in FA DL -- it might suggest his draft board isn't filled w/ DLs?

[MickeyDavis]

Sherrod showed nothing is first season and now with missing a full year anything we get out of him should be considered a bonus.

[RiotPunch]

I still have full faith that Sherrod is our LT. Not going to draft another tackle high until proven otherwise.

[RiotPunch]

WOW, San Fran gets KC's 2nd this year and maybe even their 2014 2nd. Rich get richer and the Chiefs reach a brand new level of "special".

[chuckleslove]

Man that is a steep price to pay for Smith, if I were Seattle I would be shopping Matt Flynn ASAP.

[Kerb Hohl]

The market value for QBs always skyrockets. Take QBs that they talk about going 2nd round way before the mock...then they are late first...then somebody trades up to #11 to make sure they can get him.

I still have no idea what to expect from Flynn on the market. The stat about Kaepernick being like 3-1 or something when opponents score 30 but Smiff being 1-12 told me all I needed to know (I could be totally botching this stat).

I think Smiff is a decent get for them and they'll be in the Wild Card hunt since the AFC beyond the top 5 is atrocious.

[emunney]

The Chiefs just can't stop trading for average QBs. Funny that it seemed like it was between them and the Cards.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

49ers really benefited from one of the worst QB drafts in a while.

[RiotPunch]

Maybe we can get a sweet S&T package from KC for Jennings now.

[DigitalFool]

Maybe we can get a sweet S&T package from KC for Jennings now.

Interesting thought - I mean, you send a 2nd round pick for Smith and have him throw to (had to look this up), Breaston, Baldwin, Newsome, Wiley?

Granted, there are a number of WR free agents, you'd have to think they'd have to get one at least (I don't think they were going to tag Bowe).

[Kerb Hohl]

[Newz]

I don't mind Alex Smith. I think he's one of those guys you can win a Super Bowl with if the rest of your team is great.

That being said I think he's going to struggle in KC.