We know the Green Bay Packers can’t sign every one of their own free agents this offseason. And frankly, some of them don’t deserved to be re-signed. Center Evan Dietrich-Smith probably does, however.
Unfortunately, by the sound of things, he isn’t going to come cheap.
Dietrich-Smith got the golden ticket. That is, the endorsement of the franchise, also known as Aaron Rodgers.
After the season, Rodgers made it clear that he wanted to keep sticking his hands under Dietrich-Smith’s ass for the foreseeable future. And it looks like EDS is going to ride that as far as he can.
He was asked directly if he wanted to return to Green Bay. Most guys just say “of course” to such a question. This guy didn’t.
“I’m not going to make any predictions, like I said,” Dietrich-Smith replied. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
We know this. Dietrich-Smith is pretty high on himself right now and there’s really no reason he shouldn’t be. He played well in 2013.
On the other hand, Scott Wells.
You may or may not remember when former Packers center Scott Wells became a free agent. Wells never made a Pro Bowl, but it was widely assumed that he was a top-tier center.
Unfortunately, the Packers weren’t going to pay what Wells was looking for. That turned out to be $6 million per year, which is a lot to pay for a center. Especially one who isn’t an All-Pro every year.
The Packers signed Jeff Saturday instead for a fraction of that price. That move didn’t work out so well and ultimately, opened the door for Dietrich-Smith.
So here we are again.
Dietrich-Smith seems ready to take the hard line approach and go for the big money. Rodgers sure as hell didn’t help the situation for the Packers.
We can tell you this, though. And listen up, EDS.
The Packers aren’t going to hand out a deal like Wells got to a center. First off, they can’t afford it. They have too much invested in the line already (considering the contracts of Rodgers and Matthews). EDS can thank Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang for that.
Second, we’ve all seen that Wells was replaceable. Forget that Wells has missed 13 games since signing the big-money deal with St. Louis.
The bottom line is the Packers managed to get by just fine without him.
If Dietrich-Smith gets that big offer somewhere else, he’s probably gone. We’re pretty sure he isn’t getting it in Green Bay.
And if that’s the case, the Packers will survive.