The Green Bay Packers got their athletic tight end and addressed their biggest need when they signed Jared Cook to a one-year deal on Monday. It looks like they didn’t get exactly what they wanted, though.
Cook’s deal is a modest one — one year, $2.75 million, plus another $900,000 available in incentives. The incentives are based upon catches, touchdowns and Cook making the Pro Bowl.
What the Packers wanted and didn’t get is a second year.
#Packers offered Jared Cook a 2-year deal. They settled on a 1-year pact that maxes out at $3.65 million with incentives, source said.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 28, 2016
Cook will be 29 in August. Although his production wasn’t great in 2015 (39 catches, 481 yards, no touchdowns, 10 drops), it’s reasonable to assume Cook will be better with Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball than he was with Nick Foles.
Thus, it’s also reasonable to assume Cook would be worth another $3 million or so when he’s 30. More importantly, the Packers wouldn’t have to worry as much about replenishing the position once again next season.
Cook is clearly betting on himself with this deal, hoping a season with Rodgers inflates his stats and his value.
As is typical with deals we’ve seen from the Packers this offseason, Cook’s doesn’t contain much risk for the team.
His $1.425 million base salary isn’t guaranteed and the deal contains $400,000 in roster bonuses that are paid for games active and another $75,000 roster bonus due June 20. Cook has an additional $25,000 in workout bonuses for participating in the offseason program, which begins April 19. The one thing the Packers did afford Cook was a $825,000 signing bonus.
As a whole, Cook will have to be a good soldier and healthy in order to earn his money.
Then we’ll go back and maybe do this again next year.
Very well negotiated…
By who?
Jared cook
It would be nice to have more than one year so the team isn’t looking for a TE again. The upside is if Cook has a good year and the Pack cannot resign him because he gets a big contract with another team. TT could get a high comp pick the following year for Cook. It gives the team another year to maybe develop a younger TE currently on the roster, or drafted this year.
Getting a comp pick, if Cook plays well and signs with another team, is not an upside. That would mean the Packers lost a good tight end with no guarantee of a replacement.
The upside was to tie him up for 2 years with a contract structured that allowed the Packers to cut him after the season if he didn’t perform.
But the reality is Cook and the Pack only signed for one year. As I stated more than one year would have been nice. Since the signing was only one year then if you lose Cook after one year then at least the team may get a comp pick. It is better than a kick in the groin.
Except Cook clearly didn’t want such a deal, not like you can blackmail him into signing one, he is a human being after all, not a Bicentennial Man.
I don’t know, there were no reliable, factual reported visits to other teams, nor offers in 3 weeks of being in the store window. I’m thinking we had the leverage…but not being involved 1st hand, that’s speculative, based on available knowledge.
So what? Cook doesn’t have to sign with anyone if he doesn’t like the deal, not like he has millions; THAT is his leverage as the Packers clearly were interested in acquiring him.
Now it would be a good idea to draft an athletic TE and have him learn this season behind Cook (and R. Rodgers). If Cook left next year, the new guy could be at least partially transitioned to the NFL by next season. Ideally, if Cook stood for another year, our kid would have had two NFL seasons to adapt to the pro level which is the roughly the time it takes for that position to be learnt.
If it works out, Ted will sign him to a 2-3 year extension before the season is even over.
The upside is that Cook knows that he’ll have to catch the ball if he wants to cash in next year. With our new TE coach… maybe he’ll do that and we can ride him to the Super Bowl.
Or maybe he’ll not even be the second coming of Jermichael…
I could see Ted wanting to keep him. He has apparently wanted him since last year. Obviously dependant on this year
We are not going to ride a tight end to a super bowl. It is going to be defensive play. And Aaron Rodgers. Although his play could certainly be a contribution
Kato please just shut the fuck up..please
This is the same team that overpaid Finley for years. If they like what they see they won’t let him get away.
Don’t know where the 10 drops being referenced came from. Previously I’ve only seen 4-5 listed. Sportingcharts says he dropped 4, while Davante Adams supposedly only dropped 6. If Cook actually dropped 10 like the article says, then Adams must have dropped 20 according to that same source.
I believe the 10 drops # came from WalterSports. It sure would be nice to see DropVante move down the depth chart with AbreCaDabra or Janis usurping his undeserved #3 role. Or he could start catching the ball. Either or works.