Thompson Should Move Sooner Rather Than Later On Daniels

Mike Daniels is undoubtedly the next in line when it comes to contract extensions. 

Good stuff from Pete Dougherty over at the Green Bay Press Gazette regarding Ted Thompson's apparent evolution when it comes to re-signing core players. This comes early in Pete's column about Mike Daniels being next in line for an extension:

For much of Thompson's tenure since becoming the Packers' general manager in 2005, he signed core players to contract extensions with a year to go on their deals. He usually did it in the spring or summer, though sometimes it took until training camp or even during the season. But they got it done while there still were games to play.

Thompson changed that approach the past couple years with players such as Greg Jennings, Sam Shields, Randall Cobb and Bryan Bulaga. Instead of extending their contracts, which would have left the Packers assuming more injury risk but likely at a little cheaper price, Thompson waited until they finished their deals. Then he tried to re-sign them in the days before they hit the free-agent market.

It is a noticeable change and one that I had wondered about as we sat waiting for news on Cobb and Bulaga in those days leading up to the opening of free agency. Hadn't we just been here with the Shields re-signing the year before? Didn't Thompson used to extend guys early?

Obviously, each contract negotiation is its own animal, and there are obvious circumstances as to why Thompson would have wanted to wait on Cobb and Bulaga last year. Namely, both were coming off pretty major injuries. And at least when it comes to Cobb, the Packers were talking to him at one point in-season about a contract extension before those talks were broken off so both side could focus on the season. 

All that said, it is an interesting overall apparent shift in Thompson's approach, if it is indeed a calculated change. 

What this means for Mike Daniels is anyone's guess, but I tend to fall in line with what Pete asserts later in his column: Daniels is a core player, a guy who is young, productive, accountable and who brings a bit of an edge to a mostly milquetoast locker room, but not in a way that will undermine the team. Better to get him re-signed now, especially with roughly $16 million remaining in cap space. 

I'd expect something to get done with Daniels in the days leading up to training camp. 

 

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Comments (7)

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Allan Murphy's picture

April 21, 2015 at 10:50 am

what price range we looking at ????????

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@ballark's picture

April 21, 2015 at 01:03 pm

I would like to see 4 years at 7 mil/per

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4thand1's picture

April 21, 2015 at 03:07 pm

the business side of football sucks.

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EddieLee's picture

April 21, 2015 at 05:23 pm

Yeah, I wonder if it is a shift in philosophy for TT to wait until after the season or if the players involved have just been willing to take the injury risk and wait for the bigger pay day in free agency. My gut tells me it's the later. I think Shields gave them the blueprint. House may have reinforced it in a big way.

It's always a fascinating dilemma to watch unfold for these players. Take the team friendly deal NOW and get generational changing money or wait a few months and make a few million more but risk injury and losing out on most of it. I think of the some of the players that lost out on so much life changing money because of injury or stupidity and I wonder how they ever get over it. Was it Tauscher who had season ending knee injuries in both his big contract years?

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Clay Zombo's picture

April 22, 2015 at 12:13 am

Since teams can simply carry over cap space from one year to the next now without tricks, theres really no need to sign guys early for that reason. Maybe that has as much to do with TTs change in philosophy as anything else.

Daniels is a super confident guy and I bet he plays out the year looking for the big payday rather than excepting an under market deal for security.

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NitschkeFan's picture

April 24, 2015 at 08:47 am

Extending Daniels at a team friendly number would be nice but I wish that extra available cap money had been used to pick up a free agent for some ILB depth (Spikes maybe).

A three year deal with one or two mostly guaranteed would have been comforting.

TT is counting on the draft to fill significant holes at ILB, DL, and depth at CB, TE and special teams.

It seems like a lot to ask when you sit at #30 each round.

I mention DL because Packers fans way overrate Giuon/Raji/Jones. Unbiased ratings services think they stink .

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

April 24, 2015 at 10:04 am

Trades and signing FAs after May 10 don't count against comp picks, so there is still a chance of TT bringing in someone.

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