Cheesehead
Well-known member
- Mar 19, 2019
- 2,854
- 0
Geoffrey from Rosemount, MN
Hope you had a good time away from work, Spoff.
I did, thanks. Found some heat, returned to the cold. That's about it.
Peter from Ashland, WI
Welcome back Mike! Thought I'd catch you up on everything first. Wes masterfully avoided telling us all he knows regarding the teams plans for free agents, the draft and so on. He eventually started answering questions about his pets. We all know that you know, we know, you know all the details. Spilling it now will save you some trouble. In all seriousness, Wes did an awesome job as usual. My question is: Other than your vacation time, what part of the offseason do you enjoy the most?
Appreciate the update. I did see that Kevin made an Inbox appearance. There's no question the best part of the offseason, work-wise, is the draft. The hype and speculation are too much, but there are no three days more exciting, newsworthy and unpredictable than those seven rounds of picks.
Amy from Wilton, WI
Can you keep Aaron Rodgers please?
Folks are still hung up on this?
Eric from York, PA
Good morning Mike and welcome back. Couple quick questions. Watt's been happening since you've been gone? Watt do you think the Packers will do in free agency this year? Watt's the one player that you think could have an immediate impact on the defense next year? Watt do the Packers have to do to get over the hump next year? I'll let you ponder the answers to these questions as I see myself out.
Nicely done, but I didn't count the questions like Wes did. I was so detached last week I didn't even know about Watt until roughly 12 hours after the news broke, which is an eternity in this day and age. When I saw it, I actually smiled because being in the dark for half a day was refreshing.
Steve from Honolulu, HI
Finding a way to add a dominant defensive end to an already talented team and future HOF QB would be a dream come true for all Packer fans. History repeats.
A common Inbox theme, but I think you're overestimating the talent of the '93 squad, which broke a decade-long playoff drought. Just so we have our history straight. But I get the enthusiasm.
Lane from Calgary, Alberta
Would it be great to sign J.J. Watt? Sure. Would I rather spend that money on re-signing homegrown elite talent Aaron Jones, Corey Linsley? Yes. How about we start there and then see what happens? Then we can draft a corner in the first, OT depth in the second and then talk about everywhere else after Gutey makes his picks. That's a sensible approach to viewing the current offseason. J.J. would just be icing on top. Still makes for a great discussion though.
Of course. Who wouldn't want to have their cake and eat it, too? Hey, I have no idea how the Watt situation is going to shake out. I don't think it's the biggest player-related decision the Packers will have to make this offseason, but it appears it will have to be the first because I wouldn't expect him to be available for long.
Mark from Canton, GA
What's going to be more "fun" for you? Dealing with all the people calling for the Packers to sign J.J. Watt right now? Or dealing with the "fire everybody" and "we'll never win another Super Bowl" people after he signs somewhere else?
I'll deal with however the dominoes fall.
Julian from Gastonia, NC
I've never lived in Wisconsin so I'm probably in the minority on signing Watt to an expensive contract. I'd prefer they look for other DL veterans who will be available this offseason, or perhaps even use their first pick on a young prospect. The defensive line does need more help.
The defensive line is always a position you're looking to fortify. The Packers, surprisingly to me, made only token moves with that group last offseason, which included not drafting a defensive lineman for the first time since, I believe, 1996. Whatever happens with Watt, I don't expect this offseason to mirror the last one at that position.
Ron from Waukesha, WI
Spoff: From what I've read, it sounds like the David Bakhtiari contract restructure created $8.3 million of "free" money for the 2021 salary cap. This of course is not true. Can you describe what was done and how it will negatively impact future cap years?
What occurred is the rather common practice of converting a roster bonus, which counts all at once on the cap when it's paid, into a signing bonus, which can be prorated cap-wise over multiple years. So the Packers created a large chunk of cap space for 2021 by effectively spending some smaller chunks of cap space over the next few years.