Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb made himself a lot of money by staying relatively healthy and posting big numbers in a contract year. He's now set to hit free agency with a boatload of momentum and plenty of teams with deep pockets clamoring for his services.
The Packers have made it clear that they'd like to retain him, but it simply may not be in the cards from a value standpoint.
Packers GM Ted Thompson, according to a report from Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, has accepted that the market for Cobb will be beyond what the team is willing to offer and has now turned his attention to Green Bay's other pending free agents.
"The Packers know that Cobb's market is likely to get out of hand and have focused on keeping other free agents," writes La Canfora. "They continue to discuss a new deal with the agent for tackle Bryan Bulaga, sources said, and I bet they get their man in the end. Same with nose tackle Letroy Guion. I'd be pretty surprised if they did not re-sign him -- his legal issues may be resolved shortly -- and especially with fellow defensive lineman BJ Raji a free agent. Guion did a very nice job thrust into the starting role last season, and the Packers are very good about keeping their value free agents."
While it's, no doubt, difficult for fans of the Pack to hear that the versatile Cobb is likely headed elsewhere, the team just handed a big contract to Jordy Nelson last year and Thompson is known for his ability to plug and play new, young players via the NFL draft.
Meanwhile, the team doesn't boast a plethora of offensive line depth, so keeping the underrated, if not necessarily spectacular, Bulaga to assist in the effort of preserving quarterback Aaron Rodgers' health, is paramount.
A similar principle applies to the defensive line - the team's ability to stop the run was nearly non-existent last season so while swapping out some existing defensive line pieces for bright, shiny new ones sounds good on paper, it probably makes more sense to keep Raji and Guion - if his legal troubles are indeed soon to be resolved, as La Canfora suggests - and add via the draft and potentially free agency should the cost and fit prove right.
