Listen closely, and you’ll hear a collective sigh of relief let out by Packers fans around the country.
In the past few weeks, feelings of anxiety and helplessness have been settling in the hearts and minds of fans as only a handful of free agent names are left following the league’s shopping binge while glaring inadequacies remained on the Packers roster. While some accepted Ted Thompson’s usual complacency, others resented the perceived smug approach.
Now, you can’t say Thompson didn’t try.
On Monday, the Packers and free agent tight end Jared Cook officially agreed to a one-year, $2.65 million contract with up to $900,000 in incentives. According to reports, the deal had been in place since last Thursday. The Packers GM has had his sights set on acquiring Cook since last season, reportedly trying to trade for the tight end,, but that deal fell apart. Nevertheless, this is a picture-perfect Thompson-esque move.
The tight end market, overall, was not deep with talent and the cost for an top-tier free agent this year was especially expensive as the team’s salary cap jumped to $155 million. Coby Fleener signed a 5-year, $36 million contract with the Saints. Dwayne Allen re-signed with the Colts on a 4-year, $29.4 million contract. Ladarius Green’s contract with the Steelers of 4-year, $20 million looks cheap compared to the aforementioned signings.
While other teams attacked the market early to get their guy, Ted Thompson let the market clear to get his. Few display more patience and caution when it comes to spending money. That patience paid off. Jared Cook now looks like an absolute bargain given the contract and what he can bring to the table.
The risk? Minimal. The reward? A potential Pro Bowl caliber player for a mere $2.65 million (plus incentives).
Signing Cook to a cheap, one-year contract is the ultimate win-win for Thompson. If he has a bad year, Thompson has no further obligation to keep him. If he plays well, Thompson gets more than what he paid for and holds his nose in the air as his critics crawl back under their rocks until next offseason.
The tight end position has been heavily focused this offseason as newly signed tight ends coach Brian Angelichio replaced Jerry Fontenot following lackluster production this past season. Even Mike McCarthy emphasized the importance of adding another tight end.
“You want as many people to stretch the field as you can,” McCarthy stated prior to signing Cook. “The middle of the field is open…big people running down the middle of the field – I make no secret about it – I think that’s the key to offensive success.”
Well, that may be exactly what Green Bay is getting with Jared Cook. A physically-gifted talent (6’5″, 254 lbs. with a 4.5 40-yard dash) who has the speed and size to create the ultimate mismatch over the middle of the field. Since Jermichael Finley went down with a career-ending injury in 2013, the Packers have not found that threat down the seam that made Finley so lethal and opened up the field for Randall Cobb and company. Cook is here to fill the void.
Cook’s numbers in recent seasons don’t jump off the page. In the last two seasons, Cook has only three touchdowns and 91 receptions on 174 targets (52.2%) while playing in all 32 games. Yet, in that span, he hasn’t had a quarterback complete more than 63.4% of their passes. The newly added tight end will join the best arm in the game in Aaron Rodgers who will, no doubt, find a way to get him the ball. Rodgers posted a career-low 60.7% completion percentage in 2015 but that is an anomaly considering he never had a season with a completion percentage lower than 63.7%.
This signing provides instantaneous offense at a position that has severely underperformed since Finley’s departure. The addition of Cook frees up room in the upcoming draft for Thompson to focus on other pressing issues with the roster, such as inside linebacker and defensive line. A rookie tight end historically provides very little impact early in their careers so there was not much optimism in immediate production from a draft pick.
In a year, we may look back on this being the most cost-effective move of the entire offseason. A mutually beneficial move for both parties now put Green Bay and Jared Cook in the best position possible. McCarthy gets his threat down the seam, Cook gets a quarterback that can throw him the ball.
On paper, the Packers offense is back on track to put up monster numbers. All that’s left is execution.
Photo courtesy of realtor.com.