The Green Bay Packers have decisions to make on two key starters this offseason — receiver Randall Cobb and right tackle Bryan Bulaga.
Both will soon be free agents and both will command substantial contracts. In fact, Cobb could command a very substantial contract. And while we’ve deemed Bulaga replaceable (Don Barclay, J.C. Trotter), Cobb most certainly is not.
Well, nothing to worry about in either instance. At least if you believe the voice of the Packers, Wayne Larrivee.
The key to FA is to keep your best players-especially the young players YOU drafted. @Packers will find a way to keep Cobb and Bulaga.
— Wayne Larrivee (@waynelarrivee) February 16, 2015
Now, we’re not passing this off as some sort of inside information. Wayne probably knows about as much of what’s going on inside Ted Thompson’s head as you or I do.
That being said, all you have to do is look at history.
It’s been a rare occurrence that the Packers, under Thompson, have let a player they drafted who’s young and a major contributor leave town. Bulaga will be 26 next month and Cobb will be 25 in August and both guys are coming off their best season to date.
The Packers faced the same situation with cornerback Sam Shields last year. They rewarded the then 26-year-old with a four-year, $39 million deal on the eve of free agency.
Perhaps the only argument that could be made for the Packers not rewarding a homegrown player was Greg Jennings, who left after the 2012 season. The difference is Jennings was 29 then and had already received a substantial contract from the Packers in 2009 (four years, $26.9 million). He was also a me-first prima donna who got a desperate team to overpay for his services.
Had Thompson really wanted to sign Jennings, that deal would have been done and it probably would have been done before free agency began.
That’s when we expect Cobb’s deal to be done — before free agency begins. And Bulaga probably won’t be far behind.