The most difficult decisions for NFL general managers and coaches have to be whether to cut or let established players walk. This offseason, Green Bay Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst made what must have been the gut-wrenching call to wave good bye to starting players Brian Bulaga, Blake Martinez and Jimmy Graham.  All three immediately signed lucrative contracts with other teams.

As frustrating as this may be for us Packer fans, we can take consolation in the fact that the Packers track record in this area has been pretty good in recent years. The old adage is "better a year too early than a year too late".  Here is a cross section of decisions that proved to be wise, followed by a few which did not:

 

THE GOOD DECISIONS

 

Josh Sitton:  After eight stellar years with the Packers, Sitton was judged to be a complainer and bad locker room influence and was a surprise cut in 2016.  The three-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman immediately signed with the Bears and went on to a fourth Pro Bowl season.  But plagued by injuries, his play went rapidly downhill in 2017.  After suffering a season ending torn rotator cuff in September of 2018, Sitton was let go by Chicago in March of 2019.  He retired as a Packer this past December.

 

T. J. Lang:  Similar to Sitton, Lang was allowed to leave in 2016 after seven seasons and a Pro Bowl in Green Bay.  The veteran guard signed with Detroit and made another Pro Bowl in 2017.  But his 2018 season was limited to 6 games with a bevy of injuries and the Lions released him.  Lang retired in March of 2019.

 

Jordy Nelson:  One of the best receivers in team history, Jordy was allowed to walk after the 2018 campaign.  He signed with Oakland but despite a fair year of 739 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, the Raiders judged him over the hill and let him go.  He retired as a Packer in August of 2019.

 

Eddie Lacy:  After four years in green and gold which included Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl honors, the bruising running back was shown the door after the 2016 season.  He joined the Seattle Seahawks but got lost in a crowded backfield and rushed for just 179 yards in 2017.  The Seahawks did not resign him.

 

Randall Cobb:  One of the most popular and productive receivers in recent years, Cobb was allowed to walk after 2018 when it was decided his production and availability was not worth his considerable salary.  Some may argue with my decision to put Cobb in the Good Decision category after a decent season with the Dallas Cowboys where he amassed 828 receiving yards and three touchdowns.  But Dallas did not think enough of him to keep him around despite the possibility of a reunion with Coach Mike McCarthy.  Cobb signed with Houston for good money but it remains to be seen if there is gas left in the tank.

 

Clay Matthews:  The legendary linebacker with the long blonde hair reached the end of the line in Green Bay after eleven seasons in 2018.  He signed with the Rams and went on to register eight sacks.  But the salary cap strapped Rams let him go this off season, judging his play did not justify his pay.

 

Nick Perry:  The Packers gave up on the first round linebacker in March of 2019 after seven inconsistent and injury plagued seasons.  He has not been resigned by any other team.

 

THE BAD DECISIONS

 

Micah Hyde:  After four solid years as a safety and kick returner with the Pack, Hyde became a free agent in 2017.  He signed with the Buffalo Bills and went on to a Pro Bowl year, setting career highs in all defensive categories.  He has been a steady, quality player for the Bills ever since and could have been a stable influence in Green Bay's defensive backfield.

 

Casey Hayward:  The Packers thought the oft injured Hayward was expendable after drafting two defensive backs at the top of the 2015 draft.  Hayward signed with the (at that time) San Diego Chargers and went on to lead the league in interceptions on the way to being named second team all pro.  He has played so well that in 2018 the Chargers resigned him to a deal averaging 11 million dollars per year.  Meanwhile the Packers had to redraft defensive backs at the top of the 2018 draft.

 

Jared Cook:  After coming back from injury during the 2016 season, it was obvious Cook was becoming one of  Aaron Rodgers' favorite receivers in clutch situations.  But Ted Thompson felt his asking price was too high and Cook went to Oakland.  He caught six touchdown passes for the Raiders in 2018, and 9 TD's for the New Orleans Saints in 2019.  Meanwhile the Packers have failed to find an answer at the tight end position ever since.

 

There are many other examples of course.  As you see, the personnel game is one of hits and misses.  But if you add them all up, the Packers have been right more often than wrong in recent years.  It should give Packer fans hope that Brian Gutekunst will push the right buttons this year and beyond.

 


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CheeseheadTV wrote:

I think letting Micah Hyde and Casey Hayward leave was the right choice. This is assuming they drafted best avail player and thus they had young secondary players coming in. I also think both needed a different scheme to reach the success they have had.

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool 

Which bothers me that it seems we used to find guys to fit scheme rather than best football players and adapt scheme to their talents.

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool 

I agree that they probably needed a heavy zone scheme to be at their absolute best, though I still wonder how Hyde (and Randall for that matter), would have done at Safety for the Packers.


I'm not sure about that... because if they were finding guys to fit a scheme, then they did it wrong, because clearly they were finding guys that fit THE WRONG scheme. Which would suggest to me that either they were finding the best players no matter the scheme.

Also with that, we saw one problem with always trying to adapt your scheme to your talent... as our best two CBs were Shields and Hayward.

Shields basically being a man coverage specialist and Hayward being a zone coverage specialist...

They couldn't adapt the scheme to fit both as they had to pick one scheme or the other. So when grabbing the BPA and adjusting to the strengths of the players, Sometimes leads to the trouble of different talented players not working in the same type of scheme.

PS: Back then when searching for a solution, I finally found a scheme that did both.... for years VA Tech ran a scheme where half of the field (with their best CB) was in man coverage, and the other half was in zone. But that's the only place I've ever seen if successful done often, and I'm not sure if that would work in the pros.

Originally Posted by: beast 

I'm not sure I follow the perceived issue mentioned. If Shields is better at man, you lock him on WR2 and if Hayward (who was slot I believe) is better at Zone, you have him cover WR1 with Safety help. This is a fairly common strategy and I'm not sure why it wouldn't have worked other than Hayward and hamstrings had a love/hate relationship.

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool