Hey everybody, Jermichael Finley is still available on the free agent market! Lest you forget.
So let’s review. Finley was cleared to resume playing by his doctor back in May. He stopped by Green Bay around that time, presumably to say, “Hey, here I am! Throw a contract at me! I’ll sign it!” He also went to visit the New England Patriots.
And all of that produced… crickets.
Meanwhile, Finley has kept working out and telling everyone he’ll be back. On Wednesday, he told Jason Wilde he really wants to return to the Packers.
From @JermichaelF88: "This is the best I've felt in this entire crazy process." Says he still very much wants to return to #Packers.
— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) July 9, 2014
More from @JermichaelF88: "Tell everybody I'm working as hard as I can to get back to Packer Nation.”
— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) July 9, 2014
This is where we compare Finley to Nick Collins.
They both had the same neck injury. They both had the same surgery. Collins had/is having a really hard time with the fact that his career was cut short in its prime. As recently as February, Collins was on social media lobbying for a shot at a comeback.
No one has formally told Finley his career is over or that they won’t let him play football again, but the silence speaks volumes. In a league where talent pretty much trumps all else, if a team thought it was safe for Finley to play then he’d be on a roster by now.
And that raises another question.
Why the hell don’t the Packers do something about it? Bring the guy in, run him through some tests and either sign him or tell him it’s unsafe for him to play.
I’ll tell you why. Because the Packers like to let guys twist in the wind.
Finley’s situation is different than Collins’ in that Finley is a free agent. Therefore, the Packers can just pretend he never existed. Collins was under contract after his surgery. The brass actually had to have the stones to look the guy in the face and tell him they wouldn’t be employing him anymore.
You know, someone there actually had to be a man.
Finley probably will probably just have to eventually realize on his own that he isn’t playing football again.