Are we in the third or fourth tier of free agency yet? That’s about when we surmise linebacker Mike Neal deserves to find a new team.
No one has jumped at the chance to sign Neal and for good reason.
Neal put up 36 tackles, four sacks and one forced fumble while starting 15 games in 2015. Those might be noteworthy totals if he were, say, a rotational player for 16 games in 2015.
But no, Neal played more snaps at outside linebacker than anyone on the Green Bay Packers — more than 800 in all.
By comparison, Nick Perry played approximately half as many snaps and recorded 31 tackles, 3.5 sacks and one forced fumble. The numbers are virtually the same, except Perry needed half the time to accumulate his.
The truly amazing thing is, the Packers coaching staff kept sending Neal out there week after week even though he wasn’t producing. Hopefully, we’ll no longer have to deal with such nonsense.
Neal is a free agent and, as far as we know, the Packers haven’t expressed any interest in bringing him back. Fingers crossed it stays that way.
Who has tossed around the idea of signing Neal?
#Packers LB Mike Neal has visited the #Seahawks and #Lions, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2016
The disappointing thing in that report is the past tense. Neal HAS visited Seattle and Detroit.
Since Neal doesn’t have a contract yet, that would suggest neither Seattle or Detroit thinks enough of him to offer one.
Would someone please take Mike Neal off our hands?! Please!
The last thing we want is Neal hanging around contractless until he’s willing to accept anything and the Packers obliging him.
The Packers love to hang onto guys who are just guys.
Neal isn’t even that. We would very much like to say good riddance once and for all.
Jeremy Thompson?
Hahaha…what a friggin crabass…too much Guinness today??
No such thing as too much Guinness!
ONE Guinness is too much, that shit taste like pennies that’ve been hanging out in a tweaker’s asscrack for a decade.
I hope he signs with that awful Seattle defense. Those guys are bad. They’d be idiots to sign Neal.
Seattle has a decent defense. I don’t think the pass rush will be the same without Bruce Irvin. I think Mike Neal should sign with the Seahawks.
I think Neal would best be suited as a 4-3 defensive end and puts the weight back on. That’s where he should look.
Neal couldn’t stay healthy when he packed on all that extra weight. He has said switching positions saved his career.
He used to play the under tackle in the 4-3 in college, so he could regain weight and rush from the inside. But probably the 4-3 DE position is closer to him.
The comp pick could be useful if he at least plays decently.
But then again he had more sacks than Mathews or Peppers in the playoffs last season.
Good the f*ck bye neal
Finally, TT makes the big FA move….
This is gonna be HUGE….
James Starks agreed to a two-year contract to return to the Packers on Friday morning, an NFL source confirmed. The NFL Network reported the deal is worth around $6 million, which would be a bump from the two-year, $3.25 million contract he previously agreed to in March 2014
Come on! Starks for 3M a year?? Ted is finding more extreme ways to troll the fanbase. But maybe Starks is reverse-aging, because this new contract almost doubles his previous one.
They pay and they play their favorites. While I do like Starks, it is obvious that “The Frugal GM” is doing his usual NOTHING in FA (other than signing his own) again. Why? who knows! However, it is becoming patently obvious that he is either as thick skulled as some of us believe, or he is scared to death to make a move. Or perhaps is so messed up in a morass of OCD’s that he can not do anything because of them. Whatever the real reason is, it is NOT good enough. Get rid of this turd. He is stinking up the place . . .
Sorry, this was supposed to post to the Starks article . . .
C’mon, who would sign Mike Neal? He was a poor player even all hyped up on PEDs. Now he will be under increased scrutiny so he can’t take them. Man, if you thought he was bad before….! Teams probably had him in for a visit to determine either, A) Look, he has shrunk, he is off the PEDs, now he will be awful, or, B) Look, he is all pumped out, still on PEDS, will probably get suspended and hurt our team. Either way they conclude, we don’t want this guy.
Just watch, Peppers will only get 5 or 6 sacks this year. Matthews will be whining from all the pain he now feels and will act even more childish and unsportsmanlike than he has in the past.