Contract situations

Similar to the Milwaukee Brewers that Packers have a lot of good young talent on their team, and with Ryan Braun's new contract in Milwaukee I thought I could look at some players on the Packers who have shown they deserve to be in it for the long haul. Ted Thompson believes in building from within and spending his money to keep the players he drafts so I have no anxiety when looking at the players we have and their worth to the team. Ted Thompson has put the team in great salary cap position and Favre's retirement gives us another $10 Million off the books. That being said here are the players who we should lock up to multi-year contracts.

OFFENSE
RB Ryan Grant
First starting action was the second half of the past season but showed his ability with 956 yards with a 5.1/attempt and 8 TDS. He only got better as the season wore on and into the playoffs with a 200 yarder and 3 TD's agaisnt Seattle. He has fresh legs after not getting extensive action the previous 2 seasons and is only 25 years old. He is currently being offered a $370,000 minimum contract to sign but doesn't want to because of his performance this past season, and rightfully so deserves more. I think we should wait another year before a long-term contract is offered, but say he posts 1,200 yards with 10+ TD's next year I believe a contract on the level of 5 years/$25-30 Mil with up to $10 Mil guaranteed would be fair.

WR Greg Jennings
Two seasons after being drafted in the 2nd Round out of Western Michigan Jennings has developed into an awesome deep threat who also excels on the slant and middle routes also. ESPN Insider's KC Joyner rated Jennings the best vertical WR last year, now that's saying something! Packers fans know how good he is and so does Thompson. His career stats of 98 receptions for 1552 YRDS (15.8/catch) and 15 TD's is very impressive for only two years experience. His contract is up after 2009, and with another respectable season (maybe 75 Recs/1000 Yds/10 TDs) he should be in-line for a nice contract from Ted Thompson after this season. I'd say 6yrs/$30 million with $10 Mil guaranteed would be good considering Bernard Berrian's bloated contract with Minny who was desperate for him. Jordy Nelson gives the Packers a little leverage in negotiations.

OG's Jason Spitz and Darren Colledge
Our C Scott Wells is locked up already and we should keep at least one of our starting guards to keep some continuity in the O-line. Both Spitz and Colledge have been solid but not spectacular with Spitz being more consistent. They were both drafted in 2006 in 3rd and 2nd rounds respectively. They have nice jobs so far but neither looks to have elite potential, but they seem to have grasped the zone-blocking of the run game which is important. That being said I can see the possibility of one staying with us and most likely could be Spitz. A solid contract of 4yrs/15 million seems fair with a few million guaranteed.

QB Aaron Rodgers
This is a big maybe as of right now due to his inexperience in starting at QB in the NFL. You don't want to shell out a truckload of money for a QB who can't get you to the Super Bowl (or win a stinkin' playoff game like TONY ROMO). That being said Rodgers looks to be a capable replacement to lead the offense productively. He has two more years left on his rookie contract for Thompson to evaluate him. I believe Mike McCarthy has confidence in him and will give him every opportunity to succeed without putting too much pressure on him. If we need a third-year to evaluate their is always the Franchise/Transition Tags available. I can see Rodgers posting solid numbers but not amazing due to it being the beginning of his starting career, but say he next season he goes for 60% completion percentage with around 3,000 yards and 20TDs/10INTS and improves the next season I'd say Thompson will lock him up with a 5-6 year contract. He'll determine his real worth to the team and hopefully he judges right.

Next blog I will assess the defensive players who are deserving of contract extensions.