James Jones Really Got the Old Blow Off from the Packers
Receiver James Jones signed with the Oakland Raiders this week after, for some reason unbeknownst to us, generating little to no interest in free agency. Jones generated even less interest from his former employer, the Green Bay Packers.
Kind of like when you see your ex-girlfriend at a party and just look the other way like she isn’t there. The old blow off.
From the look of things, the Packers weren’t going to re-sign Jones at any price. Maybe we’re overstating things a little bit, but there’s no evidence the Packers bothered to make an offer and there’s no reason they shouldn’t have.
Why do we say this?
The contract Jones signed with the Raiders is virtually identical to the contract he signed with the Packers in 2011. We’d argue Jones outplayed that deal, which was for three years and an average of $3.2 million per season, and we’d be right. He outplayed it by leading the league in touchdowns in 2012 alone. Never mind the rest of his stats, the playing through pain and the virtual elimination of his well-documented drop problem.
Jones’ current deal with the Raiders is for three years and averages $3.33 million per season.
Could the Packers afford that? Easily. They still have around $17 million in cap space still available.
They could even afford it after signing their draft picks, signing a few more of their own free agents and handing out extensions to Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb.
In fact, we’d bet Jones would even have taken less than Oakland offered to stay in Green Bay. After all, Aaron Rodgers > Terrelle Pryor… by a wide damn margin. And winning > losing, for that matter.
But, the Packers obviously wanted nothing to do with James Jones, which is a mystery to us.
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I have faith in our cheaper, younger receivers. I’ll bet Jones is trying hard to look at the bright side of this deal. (weather)
Jarrett Boykin and a very deep and talented rookie class in 2014. That’s the NFL.
The real reason is this years draft is stocked full of WR talent and TT has a history of hitting big with his wr draft choices. If they can’t sign Cobb and Nelson you can start the second guess the move but to this point I understand it.
Part of me honestly feels like we should have given Jones 10 million over 4 years, and then traded Randall Cobb for a 2nd round draft pick OR Cobb plus 2nd rounder for Luke kuechly. And then maybe draft a TE in the first couple of rounds.
I love Cobb but he’s gonna be expensive. We shouldn’t be paying two guys #1 money when we have the highest paid QB in the league (especially now that we have a top 10 ground game). Jordy has been here longer and won a ring so he’d be harder to say goodbye to from a fanboy perspective.
i dont really see where the kuechly trade comes from, the panthers would be out of their mind to let a guy with that much upside be traded, even if they have no recievers.
I’m sorry but this is retarded. Luke Kuechly was a top 10 pick and is going to be the cornerstone of a CAR defense for years to come. Cobb is a great receiver but will never be a #1. Jones is 30. Cobb is 23. Why the fuck would you ever want Jones? He was a great player but it was his time to go. Cobb is going to be paid, deeming TT always pays for future production, but it’s not going to be astronomical. Boykin can step in for Jones and I hope TT drafts another WR in the mold of Jones with this deep draft. Cobb is too special of a player to let go.
Get rid of Cobb….go away dude.
As a big JJ fan, I don’t have a problem with it.
I think it had more to do with playing time than money. The Packers’ favorite set features 3 WRs. That is going to be Nelson, Cobb and Boykin. If you sign JJ, even for $3 mil a year, you are inclined to play him, which puts Boykin back on the bench.
In that way, it is similar to the Greg Jennings situation. If you sign Jennings back, then your big 3 are Jennings, Nelson and Cobb, and Jones is on the bench. Jones played too well in 2012 to be put on the bench. Boykin did the same last season.
Plus, the Packers have Kevin Dorsey coming off the IR and likely a WR or two targeted in the draft, which is heavy on WRs and is likely the main thing that has hurt Jones’ value.
If you offer Jones $2 million, which is below his value, he could feel “disrespected,” and the offer is sure to be leaked to the public, and fans may take his side. So, instead, you wish him the best of luck and don’t offer anything.
If you look at the money that a joker like Golden Tate is making ($31 M), then you can certainly argue that JJ never made the money from the Packers that he deserved to make. On the other hand, JJ has made $12 M from the Packers throughout his career and is set to collect another $11 M from the Raiders.
To paraphrase Kevin Spacey in SEVEN- It is only in a world this fucked up that we would feel bad for a guy making $23 M over 10 years.
Perfectly said.
This.
Did you see him catch in the COLD? Unless you want to give him a flyer because of his ribs, he was horrible in the COLD playoff game. GREENBAY…. playoff games will be COLD!!!
Here is a good article that may explain it. It has everything to do with compensatory picks.
http://watercoolersportsnetwork.com/2014/03/19/compensatory-picks-effect-new-cba-draft-ted-thompson-better-gm/
Hey, great article.
It does explain why Steve Smith quickly was signed while a guy like JJ had to wait.
Ironically, veteran guys are probably more likely to be signed if they are cut before their last season rather than playing out their entire contract.
Wow. Really good article. I am fairly impressed. That is good and all, but Ted really needs to hit on some draft picks. Be nice to get a difference maker in the first round.
WCS IN DA HO– — USE!
The Packers obviously didn’t want him back, he signed with the Raiders and received $0 as a signing bonus and will make $3.8 this year. As previously mentioned, deep draft, 3 receiver set, emergence of Boykin all came into play. EDS is in the same boat money wise, he got the same signing bonus as Jones. Good luck to Jones, he’s a good player but may not have anyone to throw him the ball in Oakland.
Jones is a loss, both as a player and a leader. Best of luck to him, and the Raiders are fortunate to have him.
I’m sure it has nothing to do with his age. The NFL is an old man’s game.
I think we want more speed. JJ has sure hands but not a burner at this age. Boykins has good hands and is bigger, younger and cheaper. We’re going to draft a big WR (6’4″) or a 4.3-4.4 speed guy and develop him as backup. It’s about the future.