Packers News, Trade Ideas, Transactions - 2023 Off Season

[JimmyTheKid]

I can't imagine defending that Jordan Love pick/draft after all this time but here we are. At 36, first ballot Hall of Famer says he wants to play "well into his 40's" and you immediately trade up in the 1st round to draft a QB, timelines be damned. Follow up that brilliance with drafting a RB in the 2nd round even though star-in-the-making, Aaron Jones, is already on the roster.

Then one NFC Championship loss and one Divisional loss where help at literally any other position could have changed the outcomes, two Aaron Rodgers MVP campaigns, and one big "F**k You, Pay Me" crippling contract that could have very well been avoided had you just massaged the ego instead of being a complete dunce and betting against a guy you watch throw a football more than anyone else on the planet. It was embarrassing at the time. Its embarrassing in hindsight. Yet Packers fans on October 28,2022 are all like: "Actuallllyyyy... we didn't give up that much."

[Ron Swanson]

I can't imagine defending that Jordan Love pick/draft after all this time but here we are. At 36, first ballot Hall of Famer says he wants to play "well into his 40's" and you immediately trade up in the 1st round to draft a QB, timelines be damned. Follow up that brilliance with drafting a RB in the 2nd round even though star-in-the-making, Aaron Jones, is already on the roster.

Then one NFC Championship loss and one Divisional loss where help at literally any other position could have changed the outcomes, two Aaron Rodgers MVP campaigns, and one big "F**k You, Pay Me" crippling contract that could have very well been avoided had you just massaged the ego instead of being a complete dunce and betting against a guy you watch throw a football more than anyone else on the planet. It was embarrassing at the time. Its embarrassing in hindsight. Yet Packers fans on October 28,2022 are all like: "Actuallllyyyy... we didn't give up that much."

The contradictory logic in these statements is pretty mesmerizing. Unironically admitting that it would have been better to trade Rodgers instead of giving him a team crippling contract now that he's regressed to a mid-tier QB due to age, while still trying to play the "I was right, all you simps are dumb for doubting Aaron" card. A true *Chef's kiss* of goal-post moving and denial.

[WeekapaugGroove]

The idea that the Love pick was some sort of inflection point that doomed our championship odds continues to be hilariously absurd. The sooner you guys embrace the rebuild, the better your mood will be. NFL is the easiest sport to do a quick turn around, and this roster still has a bunch of foundational talent pieces. Trade Rodgers (Niners?) assuming he doesn't retire (in that case, dick move Aaron), trim some fat and eat the dead cap hits, and let Love sink or swim next season. We'll either have our QB of the future or a high draft pick.

I don't think the Love pick doomed them, teams draft busts in the 1st all the time and still win.

I just philosophically don't agree with drafting a QB early when you already have one. Partly because of what you said about the NFL being a fast rebuild sport, I don't think you should worry about rebuilding until you're actually rebuilding. I also think QBs should play early in their careers, because if you actually hit on one it's absolutely huge to have a QB on a rookie deal so you can stack the rest of the team with all that extra cap space. Even if Love ends up good they'll never have that salary advantage window.

Plus specific to Rodgers, with his personality it was pretty obvious he wasn't going to take that well.

As much as I was against the Love pick at the time I would have traded Rodgers the following season when he first wanted out. My thought was Gute made his bet on Love so it was time to see if he was right. But again they went with their desire to have their cake and eat it to.

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[th87]

I can't imagine defending that Jordan Love pick/draft after all this time but here we are. At 36, first ballot Hall of Famer says he wants to play "well into his 40's" and you immediately trade up in the 1st round to draft a QB, timelines be damned. Follow up that brilliance with drafting a RB in the 2nd round even though star-in-the-making, Aaron Jones, is already on the roster.

Then one NFC Championship loss and one Divisional loss where help at literally any other position could have changed the outcomes, two Aaron Rodgers MVP campaigns, and one big "F**k You, Pay Me" crippling contract that could have very well been avoided had you just massaged the ego instead of being a complete dunce and betting against a guy you watch throw a football more than anyone else on the planet. It was embarrassing at the time. Its embarrassing in hindsight. Yet Packers fans on October 28,2022 are all like: "Actuallllyyyy... we didn't give up that much."

The contradictory logic in these statements is pretty mesmerizing. Unironically admitting that it would have been better to trade Rodgers instead of giving him a team crippling contract now that he's regressed to a mid-tier QB due to age, while still trying to play the "I was right, all you simps are dumb for doubting Aaron" card. A true *Chef's kiss* of goal-post moving and denial.

What contradictions? The best outcome would've been to not piss Rodgers off so he doesn't feel the need to scorch-earth the cap space to get his. Good will and communication might have gotten us a team friendly deal.

The cost was "only a first and fourth" to draft a zero-help position. Interestingly, Gute and TT wouldn't trade such draft capital for prime Jerry Rice, but here we are super okay with it not bearing any fruit whatsoever.

This FO has been mediocre at best for a decade now, propped up by the best player of his generation. It's crazy you don't see it.

[CWoodfan]

I can't imagine defending that Jordan Love pick/draft after all this time but here we are. "

You are just not trying hard enough.

While those applying logic and objectivity to the Packers' spending 2020 1st and 4th round picks on a QB who will see almost no meaningful snaps during his first 3 seasons with a franchise that was supposedly "all in" to win Super Bowls during those seasons cannot imagine defending the pick, you must try to appreciate the Love selection from the perspective of that segment of the fan base that truly believes the Packers' management/mode of roster building is superior to that of the other 31 NFL teams.

These are the same fans who insist that the Pack could not possibly have improved its roster over the past decade by trading a premium draft pick, say a round 1-4 pick, for a player on another team despite the fact that every other team competing for a Lombardi Trophy has done so and continues doing so.

One can point to recent Super Bowl champs like the Rams (Ramsey, Stafford, V. Miller), Bucs (JPP, Gronk), and Chiefs (Clark, O. Brown, Toney) or even a current contender like the Eagles (AJ Brown, Quinn) as evidence that trading picks for players is neither impossible nor debilitating for a team, and the same segment of the fan base that will support the Love pick until the day they die will maintain that the Pack's failure to make even a single, similar trade with Rodgers at QB is perfectly defensible.

How many times have we heard from one of management's reflexive defenders, inside and outside of the media, that Green Bay was this close to pulling a trigger on a deal? Almost making a trade for a player has become a running joke at this point, just like when everyone joked that Ted Thompson was going to be active in veteran free agency.

And how many times have we heard from many of the same trusted sources about how, when no trade actually occurs, that it was so very wise for the Pack not to have traded picks for players? Got to keep those picks to build for the future you know.

Now, if you try hard enough to reach a state of consciousness where you too are able to love the Love pick, you might even break through and convince yourself that trading back to select Kevin King (and Vince Biegel don't forget) was really the right thing to do in the 2017 draft.

When you reach that level of faith in the Packer front office you'll understand why the selection of Jordan Love is not only defensible but actually was the wise and prudent thing to do ... even if he never plays another meaningful snap in a Packer uniform.

Go Pack Go.

[th87]

I can't imagine defending that Jordan Love pick/draft after all this time but here we are. "

You are just not trying hard enough.

While those applying logic and objectivity to the Packers' spending 2020 1st and 4th round picks on a QB who will see almost no meaningful snaps during his first 3 seasons with a franchise that was supposedly "all in" to win Super Bowls during those seasons cannot imagine defending the pick, you must try to appreciate the Love selection from the perspective of that segment of the fan base that truly believes the Packers' management/mode of roster building is superior to that of the other 31 NFL teams.

These are the same fans who insist that the Pack could not possibly have improved its roster over the past decade by trading a premium draft pick, say a round 1-4 pick, for a player on another team despite the fact that every other team competing for a Lombardi Trophy has done so and continues doing so.

One can point to recent Super Bowl champs like the Rams (Ramsey, Stafford, V. Miller), Bucs (JPP, Gronk), and Chiefs (Clark, O. Brown, Toney) or even a current contender like the Eagles (AJ Brown, Quinn) as evidence that trading picks for players is neither impossible nor debilitating for a team, and the same segment of the fan base that will support the Love pick until the day they die will maintain that the Pack's failure to make even a single, similar trade with Rodgers at QB is perfectly defensible.

How many times have we heard from one of management's reflexive defenders, inside and outside of the media, that Green Bay was this close to pulling a trigger on a deal? Almost making a trade for a player has become a running joke at this point, just like when everyone joked that Ted Thompson was going to be active in veteran free agency.

And how many times have we heard from many of the same trusted sources about how, when no trade actually occurs, that it was so very wise for the Pack not to have traded picks for players? Got to keep those picks to build for the future you know.

Now, if you try hard enough to reach a state of consciousness where you too are able to love the Love pick, you might even break through and convince yourself that trading back to select Kevin King (and Vince Biegel don't forget) was really the right thing to do in the 2017 draft.

When you reach that level of faith in the Packer front office you'll understand why the selection of Jordan Love is not only defensible but actually was the wise and prudent thing to do ... even if he never plays another meaningful snap in a Packer uniform.

Go Pack Go.

Don't forget that under TT, "Packer People" had to be religious types, and they certainly passed on talent because of this.

He ran the team like a cheap grandpa would and coasted on reputation from his early successes.

Imagine this team with Marshawn Lynch. Seattle never happens, and we own 2010-2015.

And not that Rodgers didn't become a greedy douchebag, but if I was literally carrying the team for a decade, and the GM kept coming back, like:

"Oh sorry...we couldn't get you help yet again for the 15th year in a row...the deal fell through yet again at the last minute...but oh, we were able to make a deal for your replacement!"

I would be f-ing furious. I would absolutely be like screw you then, I'm getting every cent I'm entitled to, and will exercise all the leverage I have to get it.

[LittleRooster]

I can't imagine defending that Jordan Love pick/draft after all this time but here we are. "

You are just not trying hard enough.

While those applying logic and objectivity to the Packers' spending 2020 1st and 4th round picks on a QB who will see almost no meaningful snaps during his first 3 seasons with a franchise that was supposedly "all in" to win Super Bowls during those seasons cannot imagine defending the pick, you must try to appreciate the Love selection from the perspective of that segment of the fan base that truly believes the Packers' management/mode of roster building is superior to that of the other 31 NFL teams.

These are the same fans who insist that the Pack could not possibly have improved its roster over the past decade by trading a premium draft pick, say a round 1-4 pick, for a player on another team despite the fact that every other team competing for a Lombardi Trophy has done so and continues doing so.

One can point to recent Super Bowl champs like the Rams (Ramsey, Stafford, V. Miller), Bucs (JPP, Gronk), and Chiefs (Clark, O. Brown, Toney) or even a current contender like the Eagles (AJ Brown, Quinn) as evidence that trading picks for players is neither impossible nor debilitating for a team, and the same segment of the fan base that will support the Love pick until the day they die will maintain that the Pack's failure to make even a single, similar trade with Rodgers at QB is perfectly defensible.

How many times have we heard from one of management's reflexive defenders, inside and outside of the media, that Green Bay was this close to pulling a trigger on a deal? Almost making a trade for a player has become a running joke at this point, just like when everyone joked that Ted Thompson was going to be active in veteran free agency.

And how many times have we heard from many of the same trusted sources about how, when no trade actually occurs, that it was so very wise for the Pack not to have traded picks for players? Got to keep those picks to build for the future you know.

Now, if you try hard enough to reach a state of consciousness where you too are able to love the Love pick, you might even break through and convince yourself that trading back to select Kevin King (and Vince Biegel don't forget) was really the right thing to do in the 2017 draft.

When you reach that level of faith in the Packer front office you'll understand why the selection of Jordan Love is not only defensible but actually was the wise and prudent thing to do ... even if he never plays another meaningful snap in a Packer uniform.

Go Pack Go.

Don't forget that under TT, "Packer People" had to be religious types, and they certainly passed on talent because of this.

He ran the team like a cheap grandpa would and coasted on reputation from his early successes.

Imagine this team with Marshawn Lynch. Seattle never happens, and we own 2010-2015.

And not that Rodgers didn't become a greedy douchebag, but if I was literally carrying the team for a decade, and the GM kept coming back, like:

"Oh sorry...we couldn't get you help yet again for the 15th year in a row...the deal fell through yet again at the last minute...but oh, we were able to make a deal for your replacement!"

I would be f-ing furious. I would absolutely be like screw you then, I'm getting every cent I'm entitled to, and will exercise all the leverage I have to get it.

Yeah man. They really ***** up not getting him help by drafting Jennings, Nelson, Jones, Cobb, Adams. Just because they weren’t first round picks, doesn’t mean they were less valuable.

Did Gute **** up in getting him receiver help? Absolutely. Tee Higgins sure would look better than Love. Or scary Terry or Amon ra etc.

But this narrative that Ted didn’t get him help is crazy. And yes, they should have gotten Lynch or Moss in 07


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[MoMM]

Toney has sucked. Watch KC turn him into a star.

He's actually been pretty good and flashed a lot of potential in limited playing time. It's his durability that's been the issue along with some character concerns.

Are you talking about Watkins?

[PintSizedBox10]

You are just not trying hard enough.

While those applying logic and objectivity to the Packers' spending 2020 1st and 4th round picks on a QB who will see almost no meaningful snaps during his first 3 seasons with a franchise that was supposedly "all in" to win Super Bowls during those seasons cannot imagine defending the pick, you must try to appreciate the Love selection from the perspective of that segment of the fan base that truly believes the Packers' management/mode of roster building is superior to that of the other 31 NFL teams.

These are the same fans who insist that the Pack could not possibly have improved its roster over the past decade by trading a premium draft pick, say a round 1-4 pick, for a player on another team despite the fact that every other team competing for a Lombardi Trophy has done so and continues doing so.

One can point to recent Super Bowl champs like the Rams (Ramsey, Stafford, V. Miller), Bucs (JPP, Gronk), and Chiefs (Clark, O. Brown, Toney) or even a current contender like the Eagles (AJ Brown, Quinn) as evidence that trading picks for players is neither impossible nor debilitating for a team, and the same segment of the fan base that will support the Love pick until the day they die will maintain that the Pack's failure to make even a single, similar trade with Rodgers at QB is perfectly defensible.

How many times have we heard from one of management's reflexive defenders, inside and outside of the media, that Green Bay was this close to pulling a trigger on a deal? Almost making a trade for a player has become a running joke at this point, just like when everyone joked that Ted Thompson was going to be active in veteran free agency.

And how many times have we heard from many of the same trusted sources about how, when no trade actually occurs, that it was so very wise for the Pack not to have traded picks for players? Got to keep those picks to build for the future you know.

Now, if you try hard enough to reach a state of consciousness where you too are able to love the Love pick, you might even break through and convince yourself that trading back to select Kevin King (and Vince Biegel don't forget) was really the right thing to do in the 2017 draft.

When you reach that level of faith in the Packer front office you'll understand why the selection of Jordan Love is not only defensible but actually was the wise and prudent thing to do ... even if he never plays another meaningful snap in a Packer uniform.

Go Pack Go.

Don't forget that under TT, "Packer People" had to be religious types, and they certainly passed on talent because of this.

He ran the team like a cheap grandpa would and coasted on reputation from his early successes.

Imagine this team with Marshawn Lynch. Seattle never happens, and we own 2010-2015.

And not that Rodgers didn't become a greedy douchebag, but if I was literally carrying the team for a decade, and the GM kept coming back, like:

"Oh sorry...we couldn't get you help yet again for the 15th year in a row...the deal fell through yet again at the last minute...but oh, we were able to make a deal for your replacement!"

I would be f-ing furious. I would absolutely be like screw you then, I'm getting every cent I'm entitled to, and will exercise all the leverage I have to get it.

Yeah man. They really ***** up not getting him help by drafting Jennings, Nelson, Jones, Cobb, Adams. Just because they weren’t first round picks, doesn’t mean they were less valuable.

Did Gute **** up in getting him receiver help? Absolutely. Tee Higgins sure would look better than Love. Or scary Terry or Amon ra etc.

But this narrative that Ted didn’t get him help is crazy. And yes, they should have gotten Lynch or Moss in 07


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It's 2022, not 2012. You're pointing to players that are years removed from their time with GB, and/or drafted 10+ years ago.

[LittleRooster]

Don't forget that under TT, "Packer People" had to be religious types, and they certainly passed on talent because of this.

He ran the team like a cheap grandpa would and coasted on reputation from his early successes.

Imagine this team with Marshawn Lynch. Seattle never happens, and we own 2010-2015.

And not that Rodgers didn't become a greedy douchebag, but if I was literally carrying the team for a decade, and the GM kept coming back, like:

"Oh sorry...we couldn't get you help yet again for the 15th year in a row...the deal fell through yet again at the last minute...but oh, we were able to make a deal for your replacement!"

I would be f-ing furious. I would absolutely be like screw you then, I'm getting every cent I'm entitled to, and will exercise all the leverage I have to get it.

Yeah man. They really ***** up not getting him help by drafting Jennings, Nelson, Jones, Cobb, Adams. Just because they weren’t first round picks, doesn’t mean they were less valuable.

Did Gute **** up in getting him receiver help? Absolutely. Tee Higgins sure would look better than Love. Or scary Terry or Amon ra etc.

But this narrative that Ted didn’t get him help is crazy. And yes, they should have gotten Lynch or Moss in 07


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It's 2022, not 2012. You're pointing to players that are years removed from their time with GB, and/or drafted 10+ years ago.

His point was he was referring to TT time. I’m well aware of the time period I’m mentioning. Adams was drafted in 14 btw


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[Iheartfootball]

Read on Twitter

[Treebeard]

Read on Twitter

I wish Woodson was still suiting up for the Packers. ......sigh........

[th87]

Yeah man. They really ***** up not getting him help by drafting Jennings, Nelson, Jones, Cobb, Adams. Just because they weren’t first round picks, doesn’t mean they were less valuable.

Did Gute **** up in getting him receiver help? Absolutely. Tee Higgins sure would look better than Love. Or scary Terry or Amon ra etc.

But this narrative that Ted didn’t get him help is crazy. And yes, they should have gotten Lynch or Moss in 07


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's 2022, not 2012. You're pointing to players that are years removed from their time with GB, and/or drafted 10+ years ago.

His point was he was referring to TT time. I’m well aware of the time period I’m mentioning. Adams was drafted in 14 btw


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Nope. Was referring to Rodgers' time spanning both GMs.

Point is that the FO has failed to get Rodgers quick help repeatedly, falling short in free agency and trades. Adams was drafted in 2014, but didn't reach stardom until 2018. In the interim, their receiving weapons were terrible. And then after 2018, Adams was the only good receiver.

Trades were available to pick up some immediate help. But TT/Gute always fell short. They never did everything they reasonably could to add talent, and now our window has closed with one SB appearance with the greatest player of his generation.

[th87]

The idea that the Love pick was some sort of inflection point that doomed our championship odds continues to be hilariously absurd. The sooner you guys embrace the rebuild, the better your mood will be. NFL is the easiest sport to do a quick turn around, and this roster still has a bunch of foundational talent pieces. Trade Rodgers (Niners?) assuming he doesn't retire (in that case, dick move Aaron), trim some fat and eat the dead cap hits, and let Love sink or swim next season. We'll either have our QB of the future or a high draft pick.

I don't think the Love pick doomed them, teams draft busts in the 1st all the time and still win.

I just philosophically don't agree with drafting a QB early when you already have one. Partly because of what you said about the NFL being a fast rebuild sport, I don't think you should worry about rebuilding until you're actually rebuilding. I also think QBs should play early in their careers, because if you actually hit on one it's absolutely huge to have a QB on a rookie deal so you can stack the rest of the team with all that extra cap space. Even if Love ends up good they'll never have that salary advantage window.

Plus specific to Rodgers, with his personality it was pretty obvious he wasn't going to take that well.

As much as I was against the Love pick at the time I would have traded Rodgers the following season when he first wanted out. My thought was Gute made his bet on Love so it was time to see if he was right. But again they went with their desire to have their cake and eat it to.

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Exactly! The idea that it is correct practice to draft a top QB prospect and let him sit for a few years is a total myth.

As you mention, year 3 would then be that QBs first real action to take his lumps, and then by year 4 (if he's good), you lose the advantage of him being cost-controlled.

And to add, no HOF QB passes on his unique secrets to his backup while he sits for two years. Love will not pick up Rodgers' accuracy by watching him, nor has Winston via Brees, and so on. Sitting only accomplishes allowing the new QB to pick up the offense and the speed of the game. Whether they'll actually be good is on them. Rodgers would've been fine without Favre and Young would've been fine without Montana.

Today's top QBs didn't follow this long understudy process.

So if you want to draft a QB of the future, just wait until your current HOFer retires. And if you want to bring the replacement along slowly, sign a Fitzpatrick or Goff type as a stopgap.

And so drafting Love was completely nonsensical from a salary cap aspect, QB development aspect, a team need aspect, and a team chemistry aspect. Just a complete boner of a decision. And it's not like he was some generational talent that was worth all that risk. With Rodgers, he was a top pick candidate that fell. Love is not that.

[ReasonablySober]

Yea, you guys. Sitting a first round QB for years never works.

[LUKE23]

I think Love is going to be mediocre, but man, Gutes entire 2020 draft and tenure hinges on how he looks.

The top 5 rounds of that draft netted:

Love
Dillon
Degaura
Kamal Martin

Yikes if Love doesn’t pan out.

As for the rest - Savage in the 1st is looking brutal. Stokes in the 1st looking brutal. 24 year old DL Wyatt barely plays. Traded 2 2nds to move up huge for a WR who looks like he won’t have an impact year 1.

Across the board Gute has had some big hits but overall? Meh.

[coolhandluke121]

Not trading Aaron Rodgers when they had the chance is the elephant in the room to me. They're not paying him $50m to play like this. His downfield accuracy is greatly diminished and he's much slower. There was a time he was a superhero carrying the team, but the last few years it went both ways more than ever before in his career. The RBs, Adams, the scheme, the YAC, and the blocking (even without Jenkins and Bakhtiara) were all consistently good-to-great the last few years, but they deluded themselves into thinking Rodgers was worth $50m. They should have built around the run game and depth. Their healthy linemen were better at run-blocking than pass-blocking anyway.

Imagine what they could have done with that money, let alone the picks they could have gotten. This is at least as bad as the failure to read the writing on the wall and trade Braun in 2016. Some differences in the situation obviously, but overall it was just a clear denial of it being time to move on and they will pay for it for years.

[ReasonablySober]

Yup. Said it last night. If you're looking for reasons to fire Gute (and/or Murphy), then their handling of Rodgers is Exhibit A, B, and C.

[LUKE23]

Yup. Said it last night. If you're looking for reasons to fire Gute (and/or Murphy), then their handling of Rodgers is Exhibit A, B, and C.

His draft record is pretty poor too. Let’s look at his trade ups:

Jaire
Burks
Savage
Love
Amari
Watson

Very possible we get one legit stud out of 6 trade ups.

3rd rounders:

Burks
Sternberger
Degaura
Amari
Rhyan

Zero guys you can even argue should start on any team.

[th87]

Yea, you guys. Sitting a first round QB for years never works.

You can make 3s from half court too. Doesn't mean it's smart to make that your normal approach.