As the Green Bay Packers recover from their painful overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks this past weekend, the team must turn their attention toward the offseason. The Packers have a number of important decisions to make, the first of which is what to do with pending free agent wide receiver Randall Cobb.
Cobb, unlike the majority of free agents who stay noncommittal to keep their options open, has made his intentions very clear.
"Of course (I want to be back)," Cobb said when asked about his future in Green Bay. "I think I've made that obvious. Like I've said before: This is a business. You don't know how it's going to go. What direction it's going to go in. You just have to sit around. I hope that I've put myself in the position where it'll handle itself. But only time can tell."
Despite his preference to stay with the team that drafted him, Cobb said his return wasn't a guarantee because "I haven't signed the dotted line yet."
Cobb, 24, is coming off a stellar season in which he ranked ninth in receptions (91), 11th in receiving yards (1,287) and fourth in touchdowns (12). Cobb's expertise in the slot, coupled with quarterback Aaron Rodgers' MVP-caliber season, produced a passer rating of 134.3 this past season, the top mark in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.
For what it's worth, Rodgers did not underplay the importance of re-signing Cobb this offseason.
"There's a lot of guys that embody what it means to be a Packer," Rodgers said back in December. "Over the years, there's been a number of guys who really just kind of bought into the Packer way of making it about the team and being a great locker room guy, being a guy you can count on every day to be a great teammate and a great practice player, and great in the community to take ownership of the responsibility to conduct yourself the right way. It's been fun to see a lot of those guys get paid and get second contracts and stick around, and Randall is one of those guys who's exactly what I was just talking about."
NFL.com suggests that Cobb will be seeking a deal in the vicinity of the five-year, $43 million extension Victor Cruz signed with the New York Giants in 2013. This could prove somewhat difficult, as the Packers extended No. 1 receiver Jordy Nelson to a four-year deal worth $39 million over the summer. That's a lot of money to commit to the receiver position.
But Cobb is a rare combination of versatility (he lines up in the slot but is capable of playing on the outside, as well as in the backfield), youth and talent. He'll be just 25 next season and has proven well worth a lucrative new deal.
Green Bay would be best served to hammer out a deal before free agency begins in March.
