Thursday, February 21, 2013
Return to Green Bay for Jennings?
By Tim Kavanagh
Throughout the offseason, many have been operating under the assumption that impending free agent WR Greg Jennings would not be returning to the Green Bay Packers; whether he lands in Miami (with former Packers OC Joe Philbin) or elsewhere, it's been an expected outcome that he'd be wearing a new uniform this fall.
However, in a column this week for the Journal Sentinel, Tom Silverstein outlines a way in which Jennings could find himself back on the receiving end of Aaron Rodgers' passes. The scribe brings up the situation the Packers faced with James Jones a couple years back. The WR believed that there was a big market for his services, and so he refused to accept the contract offer the Packers had extended to him. That market never really developed, and Jones swallowed his pride and returned back to Green Bay.
There's a chance that this could happen with Jennings -- the teams that have a wealth of salary cap space may not be interested in signing him for whatever reason (his age, a perceived decline in skills, etc.). In the event that a market never develops for Jennings, he can sign a contract with a new team -- perhaps a one-year, prove-it deal where he can hit free agency again in 2014 -- or he can see if the Packers will take him back. It worked out for Jones -- he was second on the team in receiving yardage this past season, and caught 14 TD passes. Furthermore, re-signing with a team that is likely to be a postseason contender again (and with one of the game's best QBs behind center) wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
