Monday, February 25, 2013
A tag for Jennings?
By Tim Kavanagh
Since midway through the 2012 season, there has been buzz that the Green Bay Packers would be letting impending free agent WR Greg Jennings hit the market this offseason. That grew into more direct speculation as to where he'd be signing once the new league year began. But what if the team decides to bring him back, after all?
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that he's been hearing that the Packers haven't closed the door completely on placing the franchise tag on Jennings. The tag figure for WRs this season is projected at $10.357 million, which is quite a lot, but likely not as much guaranteed money as he'd get from another team. On the Packers' side of things, the release of Charles Woodson recently did free up some cap room, but this would still be a lot of money to spend on a player who wasn't as dominant in 2012 as he had been in past campaigns (though health issues played a part in that).
ESPN NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert brings up another angle to the possible tag for Jennings:
Kevin Seifert
Tag, then trade"The move would cost about $10.3 million and would most likely be for the purpose of trading Jennings for compensation greater than what he would generate in next year's compensatory draft program. The full $10.3 million would count against the Packers' 2013 cap, but the team would have the ability to rescind the tag, set Jennings free and eliminate that cap hit after testing the market. If the Packers don't have an immediate use for that cap space, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to gauge Jennings' trade value. I'm assuming the Packers have decided against keeping him long-term, considering the reported lack of negotiations on a new contract. But it's worth noting that, given the chance to do the same thing last year with quarterback Matt Flynn, the Packers declined. Regardless, I wouldn't get your hopes up about Jennings' return in 2013. But it's possible that the terms of his departure could be different than what we've assumed."
