Finley signs 2 year extension

[jakecronus8]

If you could get a third for James Jones or trade him for a position player of need it would make sense to deal him. He's a luxury at this point.

[CousinOfDeath]

Jones is only a luxery when everyone is healthy. The chances of all of our receivers/Finley staying healthy for a full season are slim to none. We need Jones because we have such a pass heavy offense, and when guys get injured we need capable replacements. Jones was the reason we were able to remain an elite offense in 2010 when Finley went out. I don't trust Cobb yet and Gurley hasn't shown enough yet. For a team that passes as much as us keeping 6 WRs isn't a big deal.

[LUKE23]

Yeah, I don't think there is such a thing as too much WR depth in today's NFL. Pass catching weapons, pass rushers, and defensive backs, you can never have enough of any of those.

[Bucksfans1and2]

I would rather keep DD than James Jones.

I think the extra million or two that Driver will make will pay off in the long run. If TT and the Packers get a reputation for taking every player to the woodshed and shooting them when they become two expensive, I think human nature steps in and has a detrimental impact on future negotiations. Most of these players have seen it first hand with Favre, but he was enough of a d-bag to justify. If the same thing happens to Driver, the Packers will lose a significant amount of the good-will that they have built up.

I don't think Driver is done, but he's not a starter in this league anymore. Agreed that even a major restructuring still gets him more money here than anywhere else.

Regardless, Cobb needs to become the 3rd, or 4th WR if you count Finley. The guy is a stud.

This makes no sense whatsoever. We have a young core, and it's better to say to our young core that we'll keep older guys over you because we like them better even if you're a better player?? Makes no sense.

[gbmb34]

I would rather keep DD than James Jones.

I think the extra million or two that Driver will make will pay off in the long run. If TT and the Packers get a reputation for taking every player to the woodshed and shooting them when they become two expensive, I think human nature steps in and has a detrimental impact on future negotiations. Most of these players have seen it first hand with Favre, but he was enough of a d-bag to justify. If the same thing happens to Driver, the Packers will lose a significant amount of the good-will that they have built up.

I don't think Driver is done, but he's not a starter in this league anymore. Agreed that even a major restructuring still gets him more money here than anywhere else.

Regardless, Cobb needs to become the 3rd, or 4th WR if you count Finley. The guy is a stud.

This makes no sense whatsoever. We have a young core, and it's better to say to our young core that we'll keep older guys over you because we like them better even if you're a better player?? Makes no sense.

It's not like James Jones is that much better than Driver. They are both the 4th, or 5th best receiver on the team. Jones is hardly the young core. He's a nice complement.

You are a 40 year old employee where you work. You need to work 10 years to collect a pension. Joe gets fired after working 9 years at a company. But Joe was an a-hole, so while you think its messed up, he deserved it. Your friend Fred gets fired after 9.5 years because he came in 5 minutes late. It's obvious that that really had nothing to do with it and it was because the company was cheap. That wouldn't upset you?

Part of the TT way has been locking up his own guys. But if those same guys can't trust him, that trust gets negated a bit.

I'm not advocating keeping Driver at $5 million. But James Jones makes 2.3 million this year. Not exactly cheap. He's younger than Driver, but he's almost 28. Not exactly young.

[LUKE23]

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/ ... 22533.html

[emunney]

I would rather keep DD than James Jones.

He makes more and is worse, so no. I don't care about the "intangibles" or the contract perception, this is a business.

Whether he makes more or not depends on the renegotiated contract. It's possible the cheapest route is to renegotiate Driver and trade Jones.

[Newz]

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/finley-working-toward-a-cause-r14c6qi-140822533.html

It's a good thing because he's actually doing something good.

It's a bad thing because he's still saying stupid things.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

Driver has, at most, one more year of quality/useful play. I don't understand people wanting to sell Jones for a mid-round pick just so Driver can be assured of a roster spot for one more year. I think it's just that people have an affinity for Driver since he has been with the team so long and is now the all-time leading receiver. You can't let stuff like that cloud your judgement. JAMES JONES IS A BETTER WR TODAY, PERIOD.

[emunney]

Driver has, at most, one more year of quality/useful play. I don't understand people wanting to sell Jones for a mid-round pick just so Driver can be assured of a roster spot for one more year. I think it's just that people have an affinity for Driver since he has been with the team so long and is now the all-time leading receiver. You can't let stuff like that cloud your judgement. JAMES JONES IS A BETTER WR TODAY, PERIOD.

We'd also be getting a pick. Which would be younger than James Jones.

The hypothetical I'm dealing with is Driver plus a little cash plus a pick VS. Jones. Given our WR depth, I don't think it's crazy to say you'd rather have one more year of Driver plus the pick. If that's a 3rd rounder like we've been talking about here, it's a no brainer imo (I don't think it would be that high).

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

Driver has, at most, one more year of quality/useful play. I don't understand people wanting to sell Jones for a mid-round pick just so Driver can be assured of a roster spot for one more year. I think it's just that people have an affinity for Driver since he has been with the team so long and is now the all-time leading receiver. You can't let stuff like that cloud your judgement. JAMES JONES IS A BETTER WR TODAY, PERIOD.

We'd also be getting a pick. Which would be younger than James Jones.

The hypothetical I'm dealing with is Driver plus a little cash plus a pick VS. Jones. Given our WR depth, I don't think it's crazy to say you'd rather have one more year of Driver plus the pick. If that's a 3rd rounder like we've been talking about here, it's a no brainer imo (I don't think it would be that high).

Why is a 3rd round pick better than Jones? Who knows if that pick even pans out and we'd probably have to use it, or another pick, on a WR anyways. At the end of the season we'd have Nelson, Cobb, Gurley, with Jennings as FA.

[emunney]

A third round pick is better than James Jones because it's cheaper, has more upside, and doesn't necessarily play a position where we have 5 other good players. Of course there's no guarantee the pick pans out. Does that mean we should trade all our picks for the equivalents of James Jones?

[Kerb Hohl]

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/finley-working-toward-a-cause-r14c6qi-140822533.html

It's a good thing because he's actually doing something good.

It's a bad thing because he's still saying stupid things.

I don't care what he says.

[gbmb34]

I would rather keep DD than James Jones.

He makes more and is worse, so no. I don't care about the "intangibles" or the contract perception, this is a business.

Whether he makes more or not depends on the renegotiated contract. It's possible the cheapest route is to renegotiate Driver and trade Jones.

Exactly RE: renegotiated contract.

I don't think the Packers would be able to trade James Jones for much of anything. Late round at best.

[Newz]

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/finley-working-toward-a-cause-r14c6qi-140822533.html

It's a good thing because he's actually doing something good.

It's a bad thing because he's still saying stupid things.

I don't care what he says.

That's... great?

[Ayt]

I would rather keep DD than James Jones.

I think the extra million or two that Driver will make will pay off in the long run. If TT and the Packers get a reputation for taking every player to the woodshed and shooting them when they become two expensive, I think human nature steps in and has a detrimental impact on future negotiations. Most of these players have seen it first hand with Favre, but he was enough of a d-bag to justify. If the same thing happens to Driver, the Packers will lose a significant amount of the good-will that they have built up.

I don't think Driver is done, but he's not a starter in this league anymore. Agreed that even a major restructuring still gets him more money here than anywhere else.

Regardless, Cobb needs to become the 3rd, or 4th WR if you count Finley. The guy is a stud.

This makes no sense whatsoever. We have a young core, and it's better to say to our young core that we'll keep older guys over you because we like them better even if you're a better player?? Makes no sense.

It's not like James Jones is that much better than Driver. They are both the 4th, or 5th best receiver on the team. Jones is hardly the young core. He's a nice complement.

You are a 40 year old employee where you work. You need to work 10 years to collect a pension. Joe gets fired after working 9 years at a company. But Joe was an a-hole, so while you think its messed up, he deserved it. Your friend Fred gets fired after 9.5 years because he came in 5 minutes late. It's obvious that that really had nothing to do with it and it was because the company was cheap. That wouldn't upset you?

Part of the TT way has been locking up his own guys. But if those same guys can't trust him, that trust gets negated a bit.

I'm not advocating keeping Driver at $5 million. But James Jones makes 2.3 million this year. Not exactly cheap. He's younger than Driver, but he's almost 28. Not exactly young.

On the first point, I think it is obvious that Jones is better. DD is a guy who can only really play in the slot who is now terrible at YAC (abysmal 3.38) and doesn't get the separation you need any longer. Teams were guarding him with with LBs and safeties. Jones can play all over the place and is great after the catch (7.0). They had basically the same amount of catches but Jones had 200 more yards. Next year, the gap is likely to be even bigger.

On the second point, DD is 37 FFS. I love the guy, but his time is up. That is absurdly old for a WR. His play the last two years doesn't inspire confidence that he won't decline even further. Here is a list from the last 30 years of age 37 seasons for WRs:

http://pfref.com/tiny/zuh0b

DD is not likely going to be good enough to even be worth keeping as a 5th WR since it wouldn't make sense to have him active because he won't play ST.

[Newz]

I agree with Ayt. It's time to part with Driver and make room for Gurley and possibly Borrell (Spelling?). I also believe it is time to get rid of Clifton.

Save that ~$10 million from those two guys. There will be a lot better use for it.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

AYT- How does that link work? Does it only count receptions after they turn 37? Or is it filtered correctly for the whole year?