The Green Bay Packers have made quite a bit of noise this offseason and let's be honest, this is usually a rarity. Certain teams in the NFL attempt to stay away from the high-priced veteran signings. For example, the Pittsburgh Steelers are one. The Packers are another.
Don't make the mistake of thinking the unusual aggressive free agent approach doesn't equate to happiness. Packers CEO Mark Murphy is plenty pleased with how general manager Brian Gutekunst is performing, via Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal.
“I’ve been very pleased,” Murphy said Sunday evening as the first day of the annual NFL meetings at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes resort drew to a close. “I think he used the term ‘aggressive,’ but I think it’s more that we’re more active. We’re participating in things that we haven’t in the past.
“We’re not going to sign everybody, and obviously with the salary cap there’s limitations, but I think he’s looking at every avenue to try to improve the team. Obviously time will tell. We’ve made a couple major decisions, both in terms of releasing some players or allowing players to leave in free agency, and then obviously a few signings and a trade as well. But I’m very pleased with what Brian has been doing.”
Of course, the big haul was bringing in tight end Jimmy Graham. In offsetting the deal, longtime wide receiver Jordy Nelson was released and subsequently signed with the Oakland Raiders. Former New York Jets interior defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson is another new Packer.
The other big Packers movement came when they traded Damarious Randall to the Cleveland Browns for backup quarterback DeShone Kizer.
Recent transactions aside, the great Cheesehead story is the contractual status of Aaron Rodgers, who's still without a new long-term deal. With Kirk Cousins' new deal that eats up more of the salary cap than ever before, the Pack have a challenging road ahead.
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