Adding Spice to the Rivalry

What makes a good rivalry? The first ingredient should be a couple of hard-fought games between two teams in only a few years. It doesn't matter who won and who lost. If two teams meet each other frequently and have some good battles, they build something. The next ingredient would be history. Even if the two teams haven't seen each other for a few years, perhaps they had some epic battles in the past that can't be forgotten, and that tension still exists. Next would be heat. That's not the 95 degree, feels like 104, some of us Wisconsinites got to feel yesterday and will feel again today, I'm talking trash talk, maybe even past fights between players or coaches. The Packers and the Bears fit this description, of course. They are the definition of rivalry in the NFL.

It's not at all a surprise that Caleb Williams decided to take a shot at the Packers in a recent interview. Williams said "Green Bay, they suck" and went on to complain that he had things thrown at him by Packer fans after the game this past season when he attempted to do a Lambeau Leap and fans were pushing him off. All I'm going to say to this is, Packer fans tried to prevent Bears players from doing Lambeau Leaps? Bears players think Packer fans suck? You don't say! Caleb, you better buckle up, buttercup, this is only your first season. I get it, you want to throw a little heat at us, make your fans cheer, get them hyped up. But our outstanding intern had the best response on social media using Aaron Rodgers' response towards a Bears fan about the heat the Bears try to throw on the Packers, "Packers don't give a sh*t."

The Bears got their first win against the Packers in what? 12 games? Caleb, you've got a long way to go before Packer fans start taking you seriously. Could get happen soon? Sure, but I'm not counting on it. 

Jaire Alexander is a Raven

If I had to pick a team for Jaire Alexander to end up that wasn't the Packers, it would've been the Baltimore Ravens. He's in the AFC, where the only impact his success can have on the Packers is when they meet in week 17. Or, if somehow both teams end up in the Super Bowl. The rumors swirling that the Vikings or Lions could be interested made me cringe for a little bit, but I hoped his friendship with Lamar Jackson would draw him in that direction, and it did. 

As far as the low salary number goes, the NFL is a business. It's understood that Jaire's father states that if the Packers had offered him that salary, he would've taken it, but to be honest, that's getting taken with a grain of salt. Jaire Alexander's relationship with the Packers' front office went sour, and that's all there is to say about it. The minute he found out Baltimore was interested, I wouldn't doubt there were plans to get there by any way he could. Imagine it yourself, you're currently working with a company you've been with for a while, but your relationship with your boss is murky at best. You feel as if there's any slip-up, whether it's your fault or not, they're going to show you the door. Your best friend calls you and says they're company is interested in bringing you on, but at about a 10% lower rate than your current company is willing to offer you to stay, but it's still a decent offer. Many people would take the fresh start with their best friend at their side over continuing in a toxic work relationship. 

Whether this is the case or not, I wouldn't blame Jaire if it is. There's no doubt he loves Green Bay, but his relationship with the current front office went sour due to his injury issues, and a fresh start is probably exactly what he needs. 

Christian Watson Ahead of Schedule?

Footage dropped this week of Christian Watson running a route via his Instagram account, and we'll just say that he might be back a bit sooner than many think from his ACL injury. It was originally thought that he wouldn't be back until mid-season. But after Watson was going through conditioning drills in OTAs recently, some eyebrows were raised, and now jaws might be dropped. The route he posted looked like he was cutting and running fairly close to full speed. 

Does this mean we expect to see him on the field for week 1? I wouldn't say that quite yet. These views are all positive and encouraging, but we still need to temper expectations a bit. Running routes with no opposition in sweats is one thing, doing it in full uniform with a CB trying to knock you off your game might be a little different. But I'm absolutely dreaming of a Packers offense with Matthew Golden, Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Tucker Kraft, Savion Williams, Dontayvion Wicks, and Luke Musgrave all at Jordan Love's disposal early on in the season. And those dreams are fantastic. 

 Whether some believe it or not, Christian Watson stretches the Packers' offense. He's a deep threat that needs to be respected, and he draws attention because of that. Many see a 15-yard catch-and-run from Tucker Kraft and think it was all Love to Kraft and that's it. Until they watch the All-22 look and see Christian Watson go streaking down the field, drawing his corner match-up and the safety leaving Kraft wide open in the middle of the field after he beats a linebacker. Lucky for us, our coaches and player personnel don't just look at the stat sheet when they make decisions; they look at all-around contributors, and Watson is one of those. 

Sign Rasheed Walker or Zach Tom?

The Packers have many players looking to cash in after the 2025 season. Two of the top candidates would be offensive tackles Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom. Zach Tom has been impressive from the word "go." The former fifth-round pick carved his spot on the Packers' offensive line as a rookie, immediately contributing in training camp, and eventually became a mainstay on the offensive line, whether it be at guard or tackle. Recently, though, he seems to have found his home at right tackle, and he's been outstanding at it. There's no questioning the fact that Tom deserves an extension after 2025 and that the Packers would be silly not to pull the trigger. 

It has appeared recently that GM Brian Gutekunst agrees. When Brian was asked during his appearance on Packers Transplants right here on CHTV about extending Zach Tom, he stated, "We'd certainly like to get that done, hopefully we'll get there soon." So, that would tell you the extension may be on the way; it's just a matter of locking it all down. But not even a day after this interview, rumors trickled that the Packers would like to nail down an extension with the other tackle, Rasheed Walker, before training camp. 

Don't get me wrong, Rasheed Walker deserves to get paid. He's been a great left tackle for the Packers since he took over the job from David Bakhtiari; he deserves his paycheck. But, if I'm being honest, I didn't think it would come from the Packers. With the drafting of Jordan Morgan last year in the first round, and the comments that they'd like to slot him in at tackle instead of guard, I thought this could be it. They'll extend Tom, and they'll either trade Rasheed Walker if an offer comes in higher than, say, a 3rd round pick. Or they'll simply let Walker walk, no pun intended, in free agency, and perhaps collect on a 3rd round compensatory pick in 2027. Making Jordan Morgan their left tackle.  

This all causes me to raise a bit of an eyebrow, but the answer could be simple. Pay Walker, pay Tom, and then slot Jordan Morgan in at the position they started him at in 2024, before injury hit, right guard. But, then reality does hit. You're paying Elgton Jenkins a good chunk of change, you're paying Aaron Banks a good chunk of change, can you afford to pay both Tom and Walker what they deserve as well? I guess we will have to find out. I would be banging my fist on the table and shouting into the void if the Packers let Zach Tom walk instead of Rasheed Walker. So, hopefully that doesn't happen, but in this NFL world, sometimes you have to prepare yourself for anything and everything.