SMILING ALL THE WAY BACK HOME
Cobb excited to be back with Packers after seeing ‘the other side’
GREEN BAY - Randall Cobb stretched his arms wide and flashed a big grin Thursday afternoon as he entered the media auditorium inside Lambeau Field. It was the same grin he'd worn all day, no matter where he went, from the Green Bay Packers' locker room to the practice field to, yes, his introductory interview with reporters.
Cobb was grinning as he played catch before practice with Davante Adams. He was grinning as he stood beside Aaron Rodgers on the sideline. Still grinning as he caught up with Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy during a break in practice.
A day earlier, Cobb said, there were tears as he parked outside an airport in Houston, preparing to board a plane for Green Bay. His wife, Aiyda, sat beside him in their car and cried the same. For two years, Randall
Cobb wanted nothing more than this moment, back with the Packers, wearing that block G on the side of his helmet.
Finally, reality set in. Cobb was coming home. “I can breathe again,” Cobb said. “Because I've seen the other side, and I'm excited to be back here. I'm excited, I'm smiling. It's funny, one of my teammates was like, ‘You look like you just got out of prison.' You know, I'm very, very, very excited to be here.”
It took a six-month standoff between Rodgers and the Packers to facilitate Cobb's return. The quarterback, displeased with the lack of a slot receiver in the Packers' offense, had first requested his general manager trade for Cobb in February. Instead, Brian Gutekunst used a third-round pick to draft Clemson slot receiver Amari Rodgers, who counts Cobb as a mentor. Cobb played for Amari Rodgers' father, Tee Martin, at Kentucky.
Rodgers' demand never changed. Even though a premium draft pick had been used to fill the Packers' vacancy for slot receiver. If the three-time MVP quarterback was returning to the Packers, so was Cobb.
Cobb stopped short of saying he could take credit for Rodgers' return.
“That would be way, way, way too egotistical for me to think that I'm the reason,” Cobb said.
Then again, from how Gutekunst described the trade Thursday morning, perhaps it would not be.
“Without Aaron,” Gutekunst said, “I don't think we would probably be pursuing that. Randall is still a really good player, and seeing him last night just kind of reminded me of what an impact he'll have in our locker room and for our football team. But this is a very important thing for Aaron, and that's why we did it.”
Rodgers helped enable the Cobb trade, Gutekunst said, by pushing money out into the future cap. Cobb will count $3 million against the cap in 2021.
Gutekunst called the Packers' trade for Cobb a "unique situation." He acknowledged incorporating his quarterback's voice in personnel decisions makes his job more difficult, but made clear he has not relinquished control of the roster.
"He's unique in the fact of what he's done for this organization," Gutekunst said. "Every player is not going to have that kind of input, right? It's going to be Aaron. But he's always had it. I think it's how we incorporate it, and at the end of the day it's really no different than some of the other people in the organization who have opinions on what we're going to do. At the end of the day, I'm going to take that in, and I'll make the decision, and we'll move forward.
"That's the way me and (coach) Matt (LaFleur) have kind of done it and grown over the last couple years. We've got a lot of voices, and they're all important, and we listen to them all. At the end of the day, me and him get together, and we'll make decisions on what's best for the Green Bay Packers."
Gutekunst emphasized the value of Cobb's presence in the locker room. Cobb said he anticipates continuing his mentorship of Amari Rodgers. Still, it will be a delicate balance, considering Cobb's arrival most directly removes snaps from Rodgers.
He was drafted to replace Cobb, not back him up.
“I don't care about how many snaps I get,” Cobb said. “I don't care how many catches, or how many yards, touchdowns. If you don't know that about me by now, I don't know what else to tell you. Like, I'm here to win a championship with a football team.”
With Cobb still learning LaFleur's offense, Amari Rodgers got first-team reps Wednesday. The rookie caught a nolook pass from Aaron Rodgers in the right flat, the type of throw that should build trust in his quarterback. Still, there's no disputing where Aaron Rodgers' heart lies.
Cobb is one of his best friends in the NFL. He had his quarterback stand with him in his wedding. As Rodgers contemplated retirement this offseason, something Cobb said was “very real” based on their conversations, so did the 11thyear receiver. Their bond is the reason Cobb is here.
Simultaneously, Cobb believes, he can also be here for Amari Rodgers.
“I expect to see the continued progress of his growth,” Cobb said of his rookie teammate, “and I hope to be a part of it. I hope that I can be what Greg Jennings and Donald Driver and those guys were for me. That's the approach that I'm taking when I walked in here. I'm gonna give him every tool that was given to me, and we'll see what happens with it.”
So long as Cobb doesn't thwart Amari Rodgers' development, his biggest service might be as a leader in the receive room.
There's a reason the Packers let Cobb walk in free agency two years ago. His production had diminished late in his time with Green Bay, as injuries mounted. He caught only 38 passes for 383 yards and two touchdowns in 2018, while being limited to only nine games as he tried to push through a hamstring injury.
“I shouldn't have been on the field,” Cobb said, “and that's all on me.” He caught 55 passes for 828 yards and three touchdowns in Dallas, but the Cowboys didn't re-sign him after the 2019 season. His production dropped to just 38 passes for 441 yards and three touchdowns last season in Houston when a toe injury limited him to 10 games.
Cobb turns 31 years old on Aug. 22. In a career riddled with injuries, it's fair to wonder how much he has left.
“A lot,” Cobb said. “I'm only 30. I know that may surprise you, but I still think I have a lot in the tank. We'll see how this goes. I would rather have my play speak for it than my words. So I'll see it at that.”
For now, Cobb's smile said everything there was to know Thursday. He wasn't the only one. Cobb was greeted with cheers by fans in the Ray Nitschke Field stands throughout practice, never more than after his first catch from Aaron Rodgers during route-running drills.
It's an uncomfortable reality, Cobb being here only because his quarterback wants him. He heard his GM's comments Thursday. Yes, they stung. “About the same way,” Cobb said, “it made me feel when I signed with Dallas and I was waiting, hoping for an opportunity to come back.”
But Cobb is home now. Nothing was wiping that grin off his face.