Packers waiting on Rodgers
INDIANAPOLIS — The Green Bay Packers will continue to play the waiting game with Aaron Rodgers. They’re also ready with a backup plan.
Though general manager Brian Gutekunst’s first choice still appears to be bringing back the fourtime league MVP and longtime face of the team, Gutekunst acknowledged the Packers are willing to go with Jordan Love.
“I think he’s ready to play. I think he’s ready to be an NFL starting quarterback,” Gutekunst said Tuesday, referring to Love. “He’s shown a lot of progression ... and I think that the next step in his progression is to play.”
First, though, Rodgers must make his call. He’s scheduled to cost the Packers $59.5 million, a prohibitively high number that would prevent the team from doing much in free agency. Green Bay also must decide whether to exercise its fifth-year option on Love, their first-round pick from 2020 who has not played much as Rodgers’ backup. Extending Love’s contract through next season would cost the team $20.3 million in 2024.
Bills: Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is taking a year off from coaching but plans to return for the 2024 season, the team announced Tuesday. Also, general manager Brandon Beane that safety Damar Hamlin has a few more visits to doctors before determining whether he can pursue his goal of returning to play football after going into cardiac arrest and having to be resuscitated on field in January. Beane said Hamlin’s “end game” is to resume playing so long as he receives medical clearance.
Giants: The team has told wide receiver Kenny Golladay he will be released after two horrible seasons. Speaking Tuesday, general manager Joe Schoen said the 29-year-old receiver recently was informed of the decision. Schoen said the team has not decided whether to release Golladay on March 15 or after June 1.
Browns: General manager Andrew Berry indicated Tuesday the team may consider restructuring the five-year, $230 million deal it used to entice Deshaun Watson to agree to a trade from Houston to the Browns a year ago. The Browns are approximately $14 million over the salary cap and need to get under it if they intend to be active in free agency. Watson’s deal not only made league history because it was fully guaranteed, but his salary cap hit is $55 million in 2023, another record.
Commanders: Washington has put the franchise tag on Daron Payne, keeping the standout defensive tackle under contract following the best season of his NFL career. Payne will earn just over $18.9 million if he plays on the franchise tag next season. Also, the Commanders are denying the contents of a newspaper report about the team’s sale process and demands being made by owner Dan Snyder. The team, in a statement late Monday, said a story published hours earlier by The Washington Post is “simply untrue.” Citing anonymous sources, the Post reported that Snyder and his attorneys have demanded that NFL owners and the league indemnify him against future legal liability and costs if he sells the team and threatened to sue if not. The Post said Snyder also wants the findings of a league investigation into him kept private and that his demands angered owners and renewed discussion about possibly taking a vote to remove him. An NFL spokesperson declined to comment Tuesday on the Post report.
Eagles: Philadelphia promoted quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson to offensive coordinator, replacing Shane Steichen after he left to become head coach of the Colts. The Eagles also named Sean Desai as defensive coordinator, hiring him away from his role as associate head coach with the Seahawks. Desai succeeds Jonathan Gannon, who left after the Super Bowl to become the head coach of the Cardinals.
Falcons: The team released quarterback Marcus Mariota, a move that was expected after the veteran was benched late in the season. The Falcons were 5-8 with Mariota as the starter before rookie Desmond Ridder started the final four games, winning two. Mariota signed a $10.5 million, two-year deal with Atlanta after the Falcons traded Matt Ryan to Indianapolis.
Panthers: The team will meet with free agent quarterback Derek Carr this week at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the team doesn’t announce its meetings with free agents. The NFL Network was first to report the planned meeting. The Raiders released Carr on Feb. 14 rather than pay him $40.4 million in guaranteed money.
49ers: Quarterback Brock Purdy's delayed surgery could happen next week if the swelling in his injured elbow has been reduced. Purdy was originally scheduled to undergo the operation last week to repair his throwing elbow that got hurt in the NFC championship game. But Dr. Keith Meister delayed the operation because Purdy’s elbow was too swollen. General manager John Lynch said that Meister will meet with Purdy in Arizona this week. If the swelling has been reduced, the operation could happen next week.
Note: Irv Cross, the former NFL defensive back who became the first Black man to work full-time as a sports analyst on national television, is the latest football player diagnosed with the brain disease CTE. Cross, who was 81 when he died Feb. 28, 2021, suffered from stage 4 chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Boston University researchers said Tuesday. Stage 4 is the most advanced stage of CTE, showing the kind of damage that often causes cognitive and behavioral issues in those exposed to repetitive head trauma.