I'm not sure why more than one on this thread have said that Driver is playing better this preseason than he did last season. He had two drops in the last game alone. That's
NOT OK. An abberation? Maybe. But we can't just pretend it didn't happen and give him a gold star for great play.
Now he's about to miss this next game for an ankle injection from his Super Bowl injury 6 months ago. That's not a great sign either. Maybe it's minor stuff. Maybe it's a lingering injury that will limit his production this year or keep him out of games. It's certainly not a good sign.
He's due about $5 mil this year including roster and workout bonuses, which is a lot for a guy who is anywhere from the #2 to #4 WR, and will be 37 years old before the Super Bowl is played.
So, there are some of the negatives for the old man. I think his positives have been covered fairly well, so I'll play devil's advocate.
Driver peaked statistically in 2006, with 92 catches for 1295 yards and 8 TDs. The next three years were all about equal to each other, but a clear step below his 2006 production. Then last year he only had 51 catches, 565 yards, and 4 TDs, with a team high 8 drops in the regular season.
Would a similar year to last year be worthy of $5 mil? I think it clearly wouldn't be, especially when we have 4 younger guys capable of similar or better production on the depth chart. What if last year wasn't due to age and related injuries, but a fluke injury or two, and he rebounds healthy this year? Then he'd be worth it, but his two drops against Indy and sitting out this next game for treatment of a 6 month old injury makes that sound unlikely, especially when he turns 37 this postseason. Most WRs are already retired by his age, even many of the great ones.
So, what's the possible upside of cutting the old man? A savings of about $4.5 mil that could be devoted to one of our younger players, and a roster spot.
We could keep Gurley, who blocked 5 punts in Training Camp. That's unheard of, and is a game changing play if he can do it once or twice in the regular season. He's also our tallest WR, at 6'4", and has the longest wingspan of any WR to come out this year, with only #6 overall pick Julio Jones coming anywhere close to matching his reach. Reports are that he's starting to put it together as a WR. If he can, they can throw him out there against teams with undersized CBs, and throw him some jump balls that he can use his height and wingspan to bring down. According to Tyler Dunne of JSO, Gurley NEVER DROPPED A PASS in college. Driver dropped TWO in the first half at Indy last week.
Now, let me clarify that I don't think Gurley > Driver. I think that Gurley + $4.5 mil might be > Driver. I think that Jennings, Driver, Nelson, Jones, Cobb might not be $4.5 mil better than Jennings, Nelson, Jones, Cobb, Gurley. Our special teams would be better with Gurley kept over Driver, the team would have more cap space and money, and the only significant dropoff at WR would be at the #5 WR spot. Is a better #5 WR spot worth $4.5 mil and lesser special teams? I'm leaning towards no, if you can't tell. We'll see how Gurley does tonight.
All that said, Donald Driver is one of the best Packers in history, and I wish him nothing but luck. If the Packers decide he's worth keeping, I won't bitch.