The Green Bay Packers are reportedly ready to shed about 700 pounds. Those pounds will come in the form of defensive linemen B.J. Raji and Ryan Pickett, according to Ian Rapoport.
#Packers are letting BJ Raji & Ryan Pickett walk. So, if McCarthy says they are not getting smaller, who will they find bigger than those 2?
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 21, 2014
Raji and his fat, underachieving ass looks awfully stupid for turning down that $8 million per year extension the Packers offered during the season, doesn’t he?
Anyway, not much of a surprise here.
Raji hasn’t played well in recent seasons. He hasn’t had a sack since 2011 and he registered a whopping 19 tackles in 2013. And the Packers at one time thought this guy was worth $8 million per season? You have to wonder if Ted Thompson was watching the same games the rest of us were.
Pickett, meanwhile, is nearing the end of the line. He’s 34 and didn’t make a much bigger impact than Raji did in 2013, finishing with 26 tackles. That’s his lowest total since his rookie season.
The real question is now what?
First, we’re going to note this. It hasn’t been reported that the Packers are ready to let their other starting defensive lineman, Johnny Jolly, walk in free agency. We’re going to bet he’ll be back in 2014.
Second, coach Mike McCarthy has said the Packers want to get more athletic on the defensive line.
We know they’re going to give last year’s first-round pick Datone Jones every chance to be a starter. Mike Daniels, who led the line with 6.5 sacks in 2013, fits the athletic mold and will also see his playing time increase.
If Jolly is re-signed, he’ll join Jones, Daniels, Jerel Worthy and Josh Boyd in the D line group. The Packers will need to add at least two if not three guys to that group.
You can expect a draft pick or two will be used on defensive lineman. The Packers may even have to sign a free agent.
EN 
ES 
DE
I am looking forward to Louis Nixs’ combine. An ample replacement for Raji.
Calvin Pryor or Louis Nix are my front-runners for a 1st round draft pick.
Where did Ian Rapoport get the inside track on all things Packers? Until any one of his bold predictions actually happens, this is about as meaningful as Punxatawny Phil seeing his shadow.
PS…I like Josh Boyd. Dude has a future in GB.
He definitely looks the part…
agreed
I want Shayne Skov for the second round
Good, good. I was hoping that we would get a large overhaul on defense this off-season.
Good. Now I don’t feel as bad for telling Pickett and Raji to fuck off on my Madden 25 career mode.
Raji with no sacks since 2011? Come on man….
When they asked him why he turned down the $8MM offer, Raji replied…
“I might be short, but I sure am fat”.
lol best response yet
Packer fans, we may now waste our time looking up potential free agent Defensive Linemen. Commence….
P.S. – Arthur Jones from the Ravens is my favorite for the first free agent we sign from outside the team. Jairus Byrd will be a close second!!!
No. Jarius Byrd will be the highest paid safety in the NFL. Packers have no chance at him. The end.
With their cap space they could have a chance at signing him (assuming he doesn’t mind the climate and demographic of Green Bay) but they won’t get involved in the sweepstakes. That’s one of the things I love about the Packers over the past 2 decades-they don’t give in to de rigueur modus operandi, they have the confidence in their approach and the ability to stick with it and make it work, not always to the level they (or we) would like, but to the level of consistent success nonetheless.
Besides, there may be more than just Jarius Byrd and Donte Whitner out there: T.J. Ward, Chris Clemons, Stevie Brown, and Major Wright all may be available.
Jones is currently my favorite as well, followed by linval Joseph, then Randy Starks, and Paul Soliai; wouldn’t mind if Raji tests the market and finds it unappetizing (which would be a first for him) and returns to GB to play NT at no more than $4M/year for 3 years or less.
If we end up converting to a 4-3 (which I doubt) Greg Hardy would just be aces, but a) he’s probably gonna command Jared Allen money and b) we’ll already have a pretty darn good front 4 set up IMHO.
Yes. Very good.
I too hope Raji tests the market & comes crawling (wadeling) back. Signs a 2/3 year deal. & I would be sooooo happy if the Pack did a little 4-3. Especially against running teams like the 49ers & ViQueens for example.
Also, TT goes for value with his free agents. Since this is a very good year for the safety position & we got the cap space. I could see him going after a T.J Ward for example or maybe Polamalu, a good scheme fit (if he becomes a cap casualty in Pittsburgh). TT is tight with his $ (which is what you want your GM to be).
I also believe with Boyd, Daniels, Worthy, D. Jones, *Nick Perry & *Mike Neal (*playing DE rather than OLB) we have a good Defensive line.
Dang, totally forgot about “Head and Sholders”; the cap increase may keep him in Pitt, guess we’ll find out how much time they think he has left, agreed he would be an interesting gamble.
People seem to forget about Ward, probably because he plays in Cleveland, which is a bad (but on the owner quits sabotaging them) team in a small market but with a very good D (just like the rest of the AFC North) and he’s a big part of that.
Also agreed, that’s a potentially good-to great D-line, and young and cheap at that. Even if we don’t convert to 4-3, MM’s “multiple” comment has me thinking that maybe we’ll see more 3-4 over/under, Nickel 4-2-5, and/or the return of the Psycho (perhaps with Daniels at DL and Datine at rush/spy LB), and that may bot be such a terrible thing.
*(but if the owner quits sabotaging them, could be pretty good), yeesh.
Perfect list…really want any and all of those guys here but especially Linval Joseph and Arthur Jones!!
I have my doubts about this alleged $8 million a season offer the Packers allegedly extended to Raji. Did that include all the money being offered in the last two seasons?
Good point; also, how long was the extension for (just 1 more year)? Was it mostly guaranteed or incentive? Was it back-loaded? etc. So much we just don’t (and won’t ever) know.
Raji disappeared with his new position. I think he will make a great NT, just not meant for our system. Good luck to him in the future.
How the hell can anyone talk shit about Pickett? The guy has been an all star for us and a great human being on top of that. Man thank you Pickett for the years of service! To say we go the best of your NFL career would be an understatement. You were great for us and we were lucky to have you.
Change is good. Especially if it improves the Packers of 2013. We need a little trimming here and there and Raji is a good start. But there is still plenty of blubber to go around. We need quality players who are motivated and really want to play football the way it is meant to be played. All the pretenders or lazy asses can take a hike. I just hope the powers that be make the right decisions this year and remember that Rodgers is great right now…who knows what the future holds even for him.
Yes pickett WAS good!!! Time to movr on need more speed and athleticism..and please draft taller guys! Our midgets get pushed around..and..seem very slow compared to other teams dl!