Surprisingly perhaps to some, the Green Bay Packers haven’t been talking to receiver Randall Cobb about a new contract.
Cobb’s rookie deal expires after this season. While the Packers gave receiver Jordy Nelson a fat contract extension in the offseason, they apparently never approached Cobb about one. Cobb says they haven’t approached him during the season either.
“It is what it is,” Cobb said.
We’re not going to take this as a sign that the Packers don’t want to re-sign Cobb. Why wouldn’t they want to re-sign Cobb? He’s just put together his first 1,000-yard season and is one of the top playmakers on one of the top offenses in the league. He’s also young (24) and he’s homegrown talent.
All of those things perfectly describe the criteria the Packers look for when handing out a big payday.
So why haven’t they even discussed one with Cobb? Good question.
Obviously, the optimal time for that would have been this past offseason. Cobb started the season very slowly and admitted the lack of a new deal affected his focus. Of course, he turned things around relatively quickly and now has 76 catches for 1,076 yards and 10 touchdowns.
That’s how you play when you’re looking for a new deal.
And obviously the Packers are going to have to pay Cobb more now than they would have last offseason. If they wait until free agency opens, that price is going to rise further.
Right now is not the time to do a new deal, however. The Packers rarely hand out new contracts at this point of the year and there’s probably good reason for that. There are other things to focus on, like the playoffs.
That being said, the more time that goes by without a new deal, the more uneasy everyone should be. More than anyone except Aaron Rodgers, Cobb makes the offense go.
He can line up anywhere, poses a huge matchup problem and always seems to be the guy who’s open when the Packers HAVE to have a play.
They can’t afford to lose that.