3 moves the Green Bay Packers can make to salvage free agency
The Green Bay Packers have been fairly quiet to this point but here are three moves they can make to salvage free agency and the offseason as a whole.
Coming off a 13-3 season and a trip to the NFC Championship Game, the Green Bay Packers didn’t need an offseason overhaul. But they have lost couple notable pieces in free agency (linebacker Blake Martinez, offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga), and a couple players they were willing to let go (tight end Jimmy Graham, wide receiver Geronimo Allison).
The Packers have shopped in the lower end of free agency, signing linebacker Christian Kirksey, wide receiver Devin Funchess and offensive tackle Ricky Wagner. They were never in a position to make major splashes in free agency in the way they did last year, but the lack of notable activity ia a flashback to Ted Thompson’s tenure as general manager.
The draft will provide opportunities to add young talent, but here are three moves the Packers can make to salvage free agency and perhaps their offseason as a whole.
3. Trade For Brandin Cooks
The Rams may or may not be trying to trade Cooks, who is coming off a down year (42 receptions for 583 yards and two touchdowns) with a cap figure of $16.8 million this year. But he topped 1,000 yards with at least 65 receptions in four straight seasons before last year, and an upgrade at quarterback in concert with a bigger role might foster a rebound.
Signing Funchess was a step toward adding a suitable second fiddle for Davante Adams, and a deep wide receiver class will present another opportunity for the Packers to add reinforcements. But adding a proven producer as Aaron Rodgers career winds down has to be on the radar, and Cooks can possibly be had for a second-round pick.
If the Packers really want to get aggressive, a trade offer to the Browns for Odell Beckham Jr. could come. But Cooks seems like a more realistic get, even with Peter King recently reporting the Rams don’t have him on the trade block, and he also would not bring the built-in distractions Beckham does.