It's time to start caring about something else, Packers fans. But still keep an eye out for the below storylines over the next few months.
Daire Carragher
The NFL dominates the sporting calendar like few others. Only European soccer can truly compete when it comes to time spent "mattering" over the course of the year. How the NFL is able to make a 17-game-per-year sport relevant for 9 straight months is pretty extraordinary. They have found a happy balance. While it gives the players, decision makers and reporters some much-needed time off, it's also crucial for fan retention.
Fans need a break the same way GMs do. Because many of us care way too much. So I advise you to get out on the golf course, get the fishing boat fired up, and for the love of God leave the Packers UDFA scouting to our resident sicko Andy Herman.
That being said, there's still a few unfinished storylines that need cleaned up. So for those of you hungry for more Packers news, you'll not be left out to dry. Here's what we've got to look out for in the months ahead.
The Jaire Alexander situation
Starting with the obvious — and one I'm frankly tired of at this stage. The Packers' draft approach sparked a new lease of life in the idea that Jaire Alexander may be returning. We also heard that he is scheduled to participate in some offseason work with the Packers. This situation feels very stagnant to me. It's as if both parties are kinda sick of it and putting it off as they are locked in a stalemate. Alexander will now participate in offseason activities, because it allows him to unlock some extra bonuses, and the Packers can't tell him to not show up. The ball is now somewhat in Jaire's court as the Packers cannot afford to risk Alexander getting injured and paying out his lofty contract in totality.
While I would be very open to the idea of Jaire taking a pay cut andboth partiesgiving each other a second chance, I'm still firmly confident that will not be the case. There's just no way the Packers' brass would talk about Jaire the way they do if they believed he was coming back.
So will Brian Gutekunst find a trade partner following the draft? Perhaps some interested teams didn't want to pull the trigger until after the draft in case a desired CB prospect fell into their lap. There are a few teams who had CB among their top needs and didn't really address it this past weekend, notably the Dolphins and Seahawks, although the latter drafted Nick Emmanwori — a unicorn who can probably shape-shift into a cornerback if needed.
Zach Tom extension
This is a deal that is going to get done at some point within the next 9 months, but I could see it happening fairly soon. Simply because Zach Tom is as safe an extension as they come. He has been good ever since he stepped foot in Green Bay, has improved year on year, plays a position that gets better with age, hasn't missed a game since he was drafted and is a core piece of Green Bay's locker room culture.
Tom's extension could come close to matching the $28m per year contracts of Tristan Wirfs and Penei Sewell. I don't think Tom will greatly exceed those two All-Pros, but he'll definitely be right up there.
The Packers don't have a particular preference when it comes to timing on these deals. We've seen them lock down premiere extensions soon after the draft or slap bang in the middle of the season. However they very rarely let it run down to the wire.
Aaron Rodgers watch (again)
Rodgers remains by far the biggest free agent in football. The Steelers, having passed on Shedeur Sanders like three separate times and not drafting a QB until the end of day three, asserted themselves as the frontrunners for Rodgers. In fact, I don't really think anybody else is in the race.
It looks to be the Steelers versus retirement. For our sake, I really hope Rodgers shows up for one more year. And I really want it to be in Pittsburgh. As you already know, the Packers will play the Steelers this year. I'm sure the NFL will be keen to get this game played in primetime early in the season, to reduce the chances of Rodgers missing out due to injury / old age/ midseason retirement / honestly anything could happen at this point and I wouldn't be surprised.
Oh and about that game…
Are the Packers playing in Ireland?
When the Steelers were announced as the designated home team for the NFL's first ever regular season game on the Emerald Isle, a LOT of reports seemed to suggest the Packers would be the road team inconvenienced with making the trip for the second straight season.
While as a lifelong Packers fan born, raised and still living in Ireland who acknowledges this would be an unbelievable dream come true, I was one of the first to voice my opinion that I don't think it'll be the Packers travelling to Dublin. I don't know for sure, and I don't even think the Packers know for sure yet, but I'd put them third in the sweepstakes right now behind Minnesota and Seattle. All will be revealed in the week leading up to the NFL's schedule release which they weirdly promoted on stage at the draft to be taking place on May 14th.
That's not great news for Packers fans in Europe. Probably better news for Packers fans in the US who, while not losing a home game, understandably want as little disruption to the Packers schedule as possible, especially after having to travel 5,500 miles to São Paulo before a ball was even snapped last season.
Any other free agent additions?
The Packers aren't typically big believers in post-draft acquisitions. Of course, the most famous signing in recent times was the De'Vondre Campbell who immediately turned in an All-Pro season and proceeded to return to regularly scheduled programming after being handed a fat paycheck.
If the Packers are to acquire a free agent, my bets would be on some backup quarterback competition, outside cornerback or maybe linebacker. Three positions the Packers didn't overly address at the weekend, which aren't absolutely stacked with bodies like the safety position for example.
Aside from that, we're pretty much done here! Packer Report will have some fun offseason projects on the way, so keep an eye out for those. But more importantly get outside and touch some grass.
