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Unfortunately for Packers fans, we won’t be seeing Tom Crabtree making any Lambeau Leaps this season.

The next time Tom Crabtree catches a touchdown, executes a fake field goal, or makes you laugh out loud with one of his Tweets, it won’t be as a member of the Green Bay Packers.

The tight end reportedly has signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Packers declined to place a low tender on Crabtree that would have cost about $1.3 million, thus making Crabtree an unrestricted free agent.

The Bucs will be getting a versatile player who can play tight end, line up as an H-back and contribute on special teams. Packers fans are losing a player who built a connection with cheeseheads everywhere through social media and general accessibility.

I’m sad to see Crabtree go, just like I’m sad to see any Packers player depart who is a solid contributor and appears to be a decent guy. But from strictly a football sense, I don’t blame the Packers for only offering Crabtree the minimum.

Crabtree only caught eight passes in 2013 (although three went for touchdowns) and Pro Football Focus gave him a negative run-blocking grade of -7.7. With Andrew Quarless returning, the Packers probably didn’t feel that Crabtree was worth more to them than the minimum.

Adam Czech is a freelance reporter and a Packers fan living in the Twin Cities. Follow Adam on Twitter. Read more of Adam's writing on the Packers here.

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Is Randall Cobb’s role on special teams being expanded this season?

It hasn’t been long since I last talked about Randall Cobb here at AllGreenBayPackers.com. The Green Bay Packers’ kick returner/wide receiver is one of those special players whose set of talents runs deep, and today at Training Camp, we might have glimpsed another card McCarthy is holding up his sleeve when it comes to this young man.

Hidden among all of the training camp updates around blogs, Twitter, and articles was a short but noteworthy tweet by JSOnline.com beat writer Tom Silverstein:

Cobb holding on FGs.

— tom silverstein (@TomSilverstein) July 26, 2012

Here’s the obvious part: Randall Cobb is a triple threat as a placekick holder. Not only can he run with the football on a fake, but he can also deliver a pass if needed. And just to top things off, the threat of those two options can keep the opposing defense from going all in on a rush to block the field goal.

Now, it’s interesting to note that this possibility was brought up by one of our commenters on the last article I wrote about Cobb being used on the reverse. A visitor by the name of “zac5” posted, “The occasional reverse would be exciting but I would love to see Randall as holder on field goal attempts.”

Zac, perhaps you should be betting on the horse races right now.  Read more... (460 words + 1 image, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

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Anthony Hargrove says he's a Green Bay Packer

Free agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove has taken to twitter again, this time to announce he is officially a member of the Green Bay Packers:

It offiicial.. Here I come Packer Nation….Green and Yellow

Soon after, we heard this from Packers beat writer Paul Imig of Fox Sports Wisconsin:

Anthony Hargrove’s agent confirms that the contract with the #Packers is 100% complete. It’s done. He’s a Packer.

Later on, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com confirmed the signing. Seifert (or someone at ESPN spoke with Hargrove via telephone.  Hargrove was quoted as saying, ”When you think of this team, you think of one of the most respected organizations in the league. For them to come after me is very moving. I feel blessed today.”

So let the questions begin.

Can Hargrove be “Packer People?”

Will Hargrove be suspended as part of “Bountygate?”

Can a 4-3DE be successful in the Packers version of the 3-4 defense?

Has somebody kidnapped Ted Thompson?

As for me, I’m just thrilled they have someone who is an NFL starting caliber defensive lineman, who has hopefully left his troubles behind. Let’s all cross our fingers…

Follow Jersey Al:

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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.

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Is Anthony Hargrove Coming to the Packers?

“Can’t wait for my first Lambeau Leap on game day.”

“Played with Pickett when he was a Ram. Going to be great playing with him again.”

“Not yet but we screaming green and yellow green and yellow.  go Packers go.”

“Loving the packer nation for all the love already…go packers go…goodnite”

Free agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove has been tweeting out hints today about where he thinks he’s going to be playing. Nothing has been announced, and my guess would be that contract details need to be finalized, but it sure sounds like Ted Thompson is about to land his third free agent of 2012.

This all assumes that it is, in fact, really Anthony Hargrove. Judging from his other tweets it has the feel of authenticity and Liz Mathews of ESPN Seattle gave his twitter account out for anyone who wants to follow.

Hargrove has always played as a 4-3DE, and is listed as 6’3″ and 272 pounds. While that would be way too light for a 3-4DE, Hargrove was close to 300 pounds when he played for the Saints. He would surely have to gain weight again if the Packers want him to play at 3-4DE, but what if they have plans to move him to OLB? After all, they have considered the possibility of moving Mike Neal there, and have also been pursuing Giants DE Dave Tollefson, who is only 260 lbs.  Read more... (326 words + 3 images, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)

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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has to be feeling good about his sport as the NFL lockout ends.

Roger Goodell was asked today if there were any damages from the NFL lockout that need to be repaired. He said:

“Well, I would say from the Commissioner’s perspective, we know what we did to frustrate our fans over the last several months. They want football and our job is to give them football. We think that through a 10-year agreement here, we’ve secured the future of the game to ensure that pledge to bring great football to our fans. I think we have some work to do though to make sure they understand that we are sorry for the frustration we put them through over the last six months, but our commitment is to bring them better football going forward. I think we ought to make sure that we understand that our bond with our fans is probably the primary issue that all of us have to keep focused on, whether you’re a player, or you’re an owner or you’re the Commissioner.”

While Goodell was giving this beautifully crafted and politically correct answer, here’s what he was really thinking:

“Hell no there aren’t any damages! Are you freakin’ kidding me?! We’re the NFL, not the NBA, MLB or NHL. Twitter literally melted into a pile of social networking goo once the lockout ended? ESPN basically threw a party live on the air. The NFL Network is covering this news conference like someone just brokered a peace deal in the Middle East. Fans are more excited for the upcoming football season than for any other season in our league’s history.  Read more... (652 words + 1 image, estimated 2:36 mins reading time)

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Shaky Smithson's best shot of making the Packers is as a returner, but he has an outside shot of getting a look as a slot receiver.

The Green Bay Packers signed Shakey Smithson and Tori Gurley as undrafted free agency began Monday night.

Besides having a cool first name, Smithson led the nation in punt return yardage (572) and average (19.1) at Utah State. Smithson also is a kick return specialist.

Gurley had 42 catches for 416 yards last season at South Carolina. The 6-foot-4, 216-pound Gurley has a better chance of making the team if James Jones departs via free agency.

Follow both Smithson and Gurley on Twitter.

Adam Czech is a freelance reporter and a Packers fan living in the Twin Cities. Follow Adam on Twitter. Read more of Adam's writing on the Packers here.

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Tom Crabtree’s green mohawk, as posted on Twitter, after getting over 10,000 followers in April 2011.

“He is notable for the large number of tattoos on his arms.”

This is about all the personal information you’ll get when you look up Tom Crabtree on Wikipedia. He’s the tattooed tight end wearing #83 for the Green Bay Packers, and he was born November 4, 1985, in Columbus, Ohio. An undrafted free agent from Miami University, he made his debut with the Packers in his second year, performing mostly as a blocking tight end, yet also managing to accumulate 4 receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown.

These are the cold, hard facts anyone can find out.

But the “plugged-in” cheeseheads know the real @TCrabtree83 as the most fan-friendly Packer to embrace the Age of Social Media.

Just this past week, Crabtree made an impromptu phone call to Bill Johnson and Jason Wilde on their “Green and Gold Today” talk show (which has been suffering from lockout depression). He appeared as a special guest on the latest episode of Cheeshead Radio, co-hosted by our own “Jersey” Al Bracco. And at 8:00 p.m. CDT on June 8th, he will be hosting a live Book Club discussion on CheeseheadTV to discuss Annie Jacobsen’s newest release, “Area 51: An Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base.”

Of course, aside from his gracious appearances in the world of internet radio and podcasts, Tom Crabtree is most often found “tweeting” his thoughts and interacting with his 11,000+ followers in 140 characters or less.  Read more... (765 words + 1 image, estimated 3:04 mins reading time)

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