I would think there is little wiggle room for him in GB. Either take a pay cut, or he might be cut.

He is an interesting case. Lots of unrealized potential. That has been the crux. The Packers have been trying to tap that for years now. They might be done, especially at his current pay scale. Do we want him playing against us for a division rival? I think many of us don't want to see that. Maybe Ted can trade him, but finding a taker in that trade could prove difficult. Would it be in our interests to take less in trade for him to insure he didn't go to a division rival or an NFC team? Maybe.

I get the sense his schtick has worn thin with Rodgers, even though Rodgers gave it the college try by meeting with him the night before games the last half of last season. If he is too much work to deal with, and he can't be counted on to run the right routes with precision, block when needed to, make the important drive sustaining catch, why keep him around, as the #6 paid TE in the NFL? His production, from what I've read, ranks him around #22...

He probably wants to go to the Bears, but thankfully, they may not be able to afford him.

We all like to think he's tradable. Maybe he's not. Who would take on that contract? If you can't get someone to trade with you for him, what are your options? Continue to pay him #6 TE money for #22 TE performance, or cut your losses and go with Quarless, Taylor, Crabtree and Williams. Maybe draft another TE.

Finley has now jumped to #2 on our pay scale behind Rodgers. $8.75M for Finley. Releasing him would save $8.25 on the cap, unlike Hawk, who counts $7.2M, but releasing him would only save $2.25M on our cap because of accelerated signing bonus money.

I think they are planning to cut Finley, and that is why his agent is walking back his statements on not taking a pay cut. They know it.

The Packers either fish or cut bait with Finley this offseason. We'll know soon enough, as FA officially begins 3/12, and he is due a $3.5M roster bonus 15 days after the start of FA (3/27).

This offense doesn't succeed without Jennings AND Finley. Jennings is old talk so I won't even touch on it. Finley is untapped potential year after year. He can be a threat, but he isn't. Now he is just getting to be too expensive to just be "that guy" who draws double coverage or opens lanes for other receivers. Personally, I wouldn't care if Finley goes to an NFC North team...if he didn't progress or excel with Rodgers, is he really going to do any better with the other quarterbacks in this conference? Can the other NFC North teams even afford him?

If they do happen to cut Finley the Packers better have a plan to draft a top tight end of sign a free agent. The best free agent would probably be Jared Cook, but like Finley...he hasn't reached his potential. Well, he also doesn't have a quarterback that can pass him a ball. There are good tight ends in this draft. Three can potentially make an instant impact, but I don't know if the Packers can afford to use a high draft pick on a tight end.

Decisions, decisions.