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Green Bay Packers 2011 free agency tracker:

FB John Kuhn: RE-SIGNED WITH PACKERS

The Packers re-signed fullback John Kuhn on a three-year contract worth $7.5 million. The deal puts Kuhn amongst the highest paid NFL fullbacks.

While you may raise your eyebrows a bit at that, I think it actually makes sense. Kuhn contributed in multiple ways beyond blocking last season, including shouldering some of the running back responsibilities, catching passes, short yardage back and special teams contributor. Kuhn is also a popular player among fans and in the locker room.

Kuhn wanted back in Green Bay all along, but he played it smart and let the market set the price for him. With Houston making a strong push for Kuhn to replace the departed Vonta Leach, the Packers most likely paid Kuhn more than they would have liked. That’s not to say he’s not worth it. Kuhn is a valuable asset for the Packers to have in their hip pocket, but this does affect one of the tight ends being looked at as a possible H back.

He won’t be running the ball as much as last season, but I’d expect Kuhn to help cover for the loss of Brandon Jackson on third downs.

WR James Jones: RE-SIGNED WITH PACKERS

The Packers agreed to terms with Jones on a three-year deal worth $9.6 million.

It sounds as if Aaron Rodgers and Donald Driver went to bat for Jones, and when teams in receiver market went elsewhere, Jones decided to come back with the Packers.  Read more... (1081 words + 22 images, estimated 4:19 mins reading time)

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The Green Bay Packers signed Delaware safety Anthony Bratton Monday night, their fourth confirmed undrafted free agent pickup of the 2011 offseason.

Bratton visited the Packers before April’s NFL draft, along with fellow Delaware safety Anthony Walters. He signed with the Chicago Bears.

At Delaware’s pro day, Bratton ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 and 4.50 seconds, and bench-pressed 225 pounds 15 times. He had a vertical leap of 37 inches and a 20-yard shuffle time of 4.09 seconds. Bratton stands 6-1 and weighs 215 pounds.

College summary

Bratton saw the field in all four of his years at Delaware, as he took over one of the starting safety positions in just his sophomore year. That season (’07), Bratton delivered a team-high 73 solo tackles and was second on the team with 103 total stops.

His ’08 season was lost to a torn ACL after just one game, but Bratton came back in ’09 with a second-team All-CAA performance where he led the team with four interceptions. Bratton then turned in a first team All-CAA season last year, helping the Blue Hens possess the best pass defense and total defense in the conference and the best scoring defense in the nation. He also had two interceptions and 66 tackles his senior season.

Commentary

I was high on Anthony Walters, his safety running mate at Delaware, but both Bratton and Walters are underrated players moving forward.  Read more... (432 words + 1 image, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

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Ryan Grant's injury against the Philadelphia Eagles was one of the biggest blows to the offense last season.

With the NFL lockout well into its fourth month now, there has been ample talk of which teams will fare better with a limited offseason. One of those teams, of course, is the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. But it’s not their championship status that has people convinced they’ll be ready. No, most people point to the (now cliché) fact that they have “16 players returning from injured reserve.”

While this is certainly the case, I started thinking about this claim a little more in depth. I wondered: Will all sixteen of those players really be making a difference?

Sure, guys like Jermichael Finley and Ryan Grant will have a HUGE impact upon their return. But what about a guy like Spencer Havner or even Brady Poppinga? What are they really going to be bringing back to the table?

Here’s a quick look at each player that ended up injured reserve last year and what their potential impact will be upon their return. They are ordered by the date of their injuries:

Josh Bell, CB

Type of Injury: Foot Sprain
When Injured: Training Camp (August 10, 2010)
Impact for 2011: None – The Packers offered Bell an injury settlement during camp, which he refused. After the Super Bowl ring controversy in June, it’s clear the team plans to go on without him next season.  Read more... (1559 words + 1 image, estimated 6:14 mins reading time)

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Weekly Green Bay Packers News from Twitter and other Sources by Al Bracco and Jayme Joers (As heard on Cheesehead Radio 6/30/11 ).

To listen to the Anthony Smith interview, click one of the links at the end of this post.

Packer News 6/30/11

Al: The ESPY nominations were announced this week, with the Packers garnering 5 nominations. The Packers were nominated for “Best Team”, Mike McCarthy for “Best Head Coach” and Clay Matthews for “Best NFL player. Aaron Rodgers picked up two nominations himself, for “Best NFL Player” and “Best Male Athlete.” The winners will be announced on Wednesday, July 13th.

Jayme: Jay Cutler didn’t receive any love from ESPN, and got just as much from Packers Safety Nick Collins. Appearing on the the Colin Cowherd show on ESPN, Collins named Tom Brady as the toughest QB he’s had to face. Asked for who was the easiest, Collins surprisingly answered the question. “Jay Cutler,” said Collins, “I’ve had my share of success against him and I do get a good read on his throws.” Even in this lockout-marred offseason, the Packers – Bears rivalry flourishes.

Al: We haven’t heard much in the way of endorsement deals for the Super Bowl Champions, but this week AJ Hawk signed his name to an exclusive contract with Cinch gear, a leading name in performance training apparel for elite athletes. Cinch has a strong presence in amateur wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts and are looking at the Hawk deal to expand into the football arena. Cinch will be developing an AJ Hawk Signature series for 2012.  Read more... (839 words + 3 images, estimated 3:21 mins reading time)

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We’ve all known Green Bay Packers free agent safety Anthony Smith to be a guy that exudes confidence. After speaking with him on Wednesday, I can tell you that nothing has changed.

He’s still the same player who four years ago guaranteed a Steelers win in the week leading up to a key matchup with the 12-0 Patriots. Pittsburgh lost that game, partly due to a couple of touchdown passes Smith gave up, and even Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick took their respective shots at the then two-year safety.

The Patriots mild-mannered quarterback went face-to-face with Smith after one of his touchdowns, screaming who knows what at Smith, and post-game, the normally reserved Belichick said, “We’ve played against a lot better safeties than [Smith], I’ll tell you that.”

But that mishap hasn’t taken anything away from the sureness Smith still feels. Despite being an unrestricted free agent, Smith has plans to stay in Green Bay for next season, and he wants to make his mark on this group of Packers.

When asked about his free agent status on Wednesday, Smith was quick to respond that he has a tentative deal in place with the Packers for when the lockout ends. Smith couldn’t confirm any details, but he said he plans to “finish” his career with the team.

His reason for wanting to remain in Green Bay? Simple. He thinks this current collection of Packers could be in for a long ride of success.  Read more... (1170 words + 1 image, estimated 4:41 mins reading time)

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It had the anticipation, nerves and hype of a Green Bay Packer playoff game. There are just two problems with this scenario.

The NFL lockout remains in effect (although hopefully not much longer) and the date is June 16, not January 16.

The excitement was over the unveiling of the Packers’ Super Bowl XLV championship rings.  Tonight was a different kind of night, given that the players and coaches have barely interacted since they got back from Dallas, but it’s a night none of the players or fans who were following along on Twitter will likely ever forget.

Like a great movie, the occasion had it all: Drama, laughter, nervousness and an ultimately very sweet payoff.  Yours truly was even sucked into the drama of the evening thanks to one of my soon to be patented poorly timed and poorly worded jokes. More on that later.

Since the event was private, no media were allowed inside the Lambeau Field Atrium until after the event. This was a night solely for the players in coaches.  We were treated to some “pre –game” coverage on NFL Network but sooner than later the players were inside the stadium, ready for the festivities to begin.

Without any media, the obvious question on Twitter became “Which player would be the first to tweet a picture of the ring?”  The early favorite was tight end and new fan favorite Tom Crabtree with Nick Barnett not far behind.   Another thing that got a chuckle out of me were all the tweets that said Aaron Rodgers had arrived…..solo.  Read more... (1011 words + 2 images, estimated 4:03 mins reading time)

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