The free agent rumor mill is heating up and one guy whose name you should expect to hear a lot of about is Green Bay Packers receiver Randall Cobb.
The Packers want to re-sign Cobb, but Cobb wants $9 million per season. The Packers can make that work, but would probably have to sacrifice in other areas.
One team that can make that work with no problem is the Oakland Raiders and their nearly $50 million in available cap space. And if Cobb hits the open market, the Raiders are expected to make a run.
No shock, but hear expectation around NFL is #Raiders will make run at Cobb. But #Packers not expected to hit him hit FA.
— Bill Williamson (@BWilliamsonNFL) February 23, 2015
The Raiders signed former Packers receiver James Jones last offseason. They also have former Packers defensive back Charles Woodson. Not that there’s a pipeline of players from Green Bay to Oakland, but former Packers personnel exec Reggie McKenzie is the Raiders general manager. He’s familiar with a lot of guys on the Packers roster.
Of course, Cobb is a top-tier free agent any way you look at it.
There probably isn’t a team in the league that wouldn’t want him, so it’s not as if Oakland and McKenzie are working off some inside information. They just have a boatload of money to spend and will probably be willing to overpay if given the opportunity.
In other words, the Packers can’t afford to get into a bidding war with the Raiders for Cobb. If they don’t re-sign him before free agency begins, they might have a problem getting a deal done.