Packers sign Devin Funchess: Grades, reaction and more
Devin Funchess will attempt to revitalize his career with the Green Bay Packers, with the former Carolina Panther expected to join their receiving corps.
Devin Funchess is expected to sign for the Green Bay Packers, with the former second-round pick set to join the third team of his NFL career after an unsuccessful spell with the Indianapolis Colts.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported the Packers will ink Funchess to a deal.
Funchess adds depth to a receiving corps lacking proven options outside of Davante Adams.
He will join the Packers with low expectations after he played only one game in his single season with the Colts. A broken collarbone led Indianapolis to place him on injured reserve after Week 1.
Contract Details
The details surrounding Funchess’ arrival in Green Bay have yet to be reported.
National reaction
Signing Devin Funchess has to be the most underwhelming move the Packers could have made at WR in free agency.
— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) March 24, 2020
My thoughts on this Funchess deal are 100% tied to the $ they gave him. If it’s a very cheap prove it deal then great. Anything over $4 million is 😬.
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) March 24, 2020
If I had to guess it’s either a 1-year deal worth around $4 million or a 2-year deal that amounts to a 1-year $4 mil deal.
Devin Funchess ran 4.7 and he's a "big" WR, but he averages almost 14 YPC for his career. The Panthers chucked it to him down the field plenty. Uses his body well to shield defenders and makes adversity catches.
— Peter Bukowski (@Peter_Bukowski) March 24, 2020
If it's vet minimum as @TomSilverstein suspects, it's a steal.
Funchess deal could also be heavily incentive-laden. They would not count against the cap because he missed all of last year and there is no expectation they would be earned, so they could be "unlikely to be earned." (Am I right, @keningalls?)
— Tom Silverstein (@TomSilverstein) March 24, 2020
https://t.co/4VOKuDhkLn pic.twitter.com/F4lHjitGgR
— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) March 24, 2020
me before and after the packers signed devin funchess pic.twitter.com/Mr3cn5n7Of
— Nathan Marzion (@nathanmarzion) March 24, 2020
The Packers taking a flier on a previously high draft pick like Funchess is no surprise. Despite Allen Lazard’s improvement and the flashes displayed by Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Aaron Rodgers is still a quarterback short of weapons.
However, the problem is that Funchess is an awkward fit for Matt LaFleur’s offense. If LaFleur’s attack is to prosper to the same level as those of Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay, it will need receivers who can separate.
That is not Funchess. The former Carolina Panther offers size at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds and can be a legitimate threat in the red zone, but breaking away from defenders is not something he has excelled at.
Still only 25, the Packers will hope Funchess can reprise the form of 2017, when he totaled 840 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
It is not clear how much the Packers have bet on his ability to do so. Regardless of the numbers, his signing will not prohibit Green Bay from adding more weapons for Rodgers to work with in next month’s draft.
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Yet if he is able to stick on the team and contribute consistently, this third-wave signing will prove an astute one by general manager Brian Gutekunst.