A non-Super Bowl tidbit: When the #Packers prepare for the offseason, they do so with the belief that TE Jimmy Graham will be back for 2019, source said. He’s due a $5M roster bonus on 3/15, and the expectation now is they pay it and he returns. Another season with Aaron Rodgers.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 29, 2019

If so, a dumb move. The first time was stupid, to do it twice is very bothersome. I hope the report is wrong.

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In our world, Tweets are now Reports.



I would be fine moving on from Jimmy Graham. If we're going to a more running offensive scheme, I would think we need blocking TE's more than vertical "threat" TE's. I used quotes around threat because I'm not sure how much of a threat Graham is vertically anymore.

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I'm more wondering about Nick Perry...

The news that they're keeping Graham wouldn't surprise me at all... I"m expecting that... and then the fans to complain, and then to wait and see if they can get the fans to relax during the season or not... but as Martellus Bennett and Mercedes Lewis agreed about, Mike McCarthy offense is tough for TEs... and Lewis said he wants to come back to Green Bay in a new system.

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I think its clear we will know the Packers intentions with Graham by march 15th. They will either cut him before then or keep him. If they cut him before they will have a dead cap hit of 7 million dollars. If they keep him they have a cap hit of 12.5. They can save a little over 5 million if they cut him. The question is can they replace him for a little over 5 million dollars? What he did last year? Maybe but I am confident he can do much better.

The problem with cutting him is if they do the TE position INSTANTLY becomes a major concern. Perhaps the biggest concern on the team. Yes even ahead of EDGE and OL for two reasons. First I see no TEs in FA that I would like to rely on as our #1 TE going into 2019. Maybe Cook if we could convince him to return but I'm not sure how that would go. Second even if we draft Hockenson or Fant or Smith Jr. we are depending on a rookie to be our #1 TE. Don't tell me you are comfortable with Tonyan as our #1 as you would be full of crap. He made one nice catch on a throw I'm not convinced would have been made had Rodgers known it was him instead of Graham. If we wanted to there are some pretty good Edge guys and O linemen available in FA that we could address those problem areas with. That's why I think, without graham, TE could be a bigger problem than those two areas.

Its possible a guy like Hockenson, Fant or Smith Jr. could come in and be as productive as Graham was last year but I would rather roll with Graham and still draft one of those guys and groom him as the starter in 2020. Besides, counting on drafting one of them really ties your hands as the draft develops.

On the other hand, if blocking is going to be such a huge part of the TEs role in LaFleur's new offense maybe getting rid of him and finding a temporary FA would be a smart move. I do feel that if Rodgers comes back rejuvenated as some have said the need for a great play making TE would be lessened but if he does come back I think what he and Graham could do could be very exciting as opposed to making do with someone else.

Even if they sign a FA I would still like to see them draft one of the top 3 TEs though. Not at #12 obviously at 30 I would strongly consider it and at 44 it would be a no brainer. I wouldn't even mind seeing us move up in the second if one of those three were to fall.

Will a rejuvenated Rodgers fix Graham's woes though? He dropped a few perfect passes and a few others that, while not as pretty as they could have been, were nevertheless catchable.

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Whether you keep him or not, its a major concern, so why spend the money to keep him?

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Either because they like wasting money, or because they disagree with your premise that it's a major concern even with him and because he's part of the future plan.

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I don't know if Graham is worth the money he is getting but GB will almost certainly be a weaker team without him.

Graham was #2 in receptions, targets and yards. After a look at football reference's page he is # 3 in Approximate Value behind Adams' 10 and Jones' 6. Graham had a value of 5. Williams and MVS both had 4. Cobb 3. So fine, throw Graham out. Who do you have to replace his numbers? At this point in time I don't see Kendricks or Lewis stepping up.

I am willing to say that a smart part of the issue with Graham was his broken thumb and next year will be a little better. Unless someone has a better option then by all means, toss the bugger out.

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I think Graham is an average starting TE at this point (above average receiver, below average blocker). He's getting paid too much in an absolute sense, but practically it's a little different.

If GB can cut him and sign a player that is better than him for the cost (or less), of his 2019 salary minus the dead cap hit, then absolutely go for it. Otherwise, it's sort of dumb that they gave him that contract, but cutting him makes the team worse and doesn't free up much money.

Another average starting TE is probably going to cost at least $5m per year or whatever the number is, and a draft pick will probably take a year to get up to speed. So I do not see what cutting him accomplishes. There is also the chance that with another year on the team, he'll do better and/or that the new coach will use him better. At this point it's a pretty low risk to find out.

2020 is another story, I believe they can cut him with a minimal cap hit? So unless he turns around and has an awesome year I would expect him to be gone.

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It's hard to know if Lewis would step up. He was hardly targeted all year.

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