OT - Packers receiver acquisitions?

[QuikSand]

Amidst the unfortunate events that befell the Green bay packers' WR corps this weekend, this is now a team that has a rather acute need to field some players at that position. I don't have any particular insight into what they might do - but it seems worthy of some speculation.

Here are a couple of names that came to my mind:

Mar Tay Jenkins - might have even been in cap with them this year, but he's floating out there, I believe, as a free agent. Not a breakout star, but he's played a bit in the NFL and probably could handle the system.

Antonio Freeman - to the best of my knowledge, he is also jobless. Not a lot left in the tank, it seems, but he once did good things with Favre.


I don't know if anyone they sign will end up with any meaningful fantasy value... but it bears some watching, I suspect. Anyone else with an off-the-cuff guess about what the Pack might end up doing here?

[Grego]

From Fanball.com.......

Ferguson is going to be out for awhile, which means that Javon Walker moves into a starting role. Walker has a ton of raw ability and potential, and he will be a solid fourth fantasy receiver as long as Ferguson is out. If Driver misses time as well, Walker could be joined in the starting lineup by Antonio Chatman or Karsten Bailey, which is a scary thought for Packer fans and Favre owners. We should have more information to pass along as the team further assesses both injuries this week.

[korme]

Ron Dugans.

[Bee]

I'll take a wild shot at Freeman.

link (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=1611653)

[Neuqua]

Did Rison end up signing with the Bucs?

[GrantDawg]

Freeman would be the best fit, and if they have cap pick up Jenkins while your at it.

[Bee]

Originally posted by QuikSand

Antonio Freeman - to the best of my knowledge, he is also jobless. Not a lot left in the tank, it seems, but he once did good things with Favre.


I'm not sure how much I agree with not a lot left in the tank. I think Freeman is only 31, not that old for a wide receiver in today's NFL. I always thought Freeman was a bit overrated and was more of a product of the system in Green Bay than a great wide receiver. He seemed to fit very well in Green Bay and seemed to have a good relationship with Favre on the field. I think a move back to Green Bay could revive his career and he could have another 4-5 productive seasons. JMO.

[QuikSand]

I dunno... it's certainly possible that Freeman has a lot left. However, for every WR who makes it well into his 30s and is still productive (*cough*AFC West*cough*) there are plenty of guys who are pretty good into their late 20s and just fall apart for whatever reason.

At one point, there was a near-fever pitch in Baltimore (Freeman's home town) to bring him aboard for the Ravens. They worked him out last season, and ended up saying thathe didn't make any sense for them. Implicitly, they made the same decision this year, as have the Eagles and other teams. (Plus, if you look at the clown factory that is the Ravens' receiving corps from last year and this year, that's pretty damning evidence)

Thus, I reach my conclusion that it seems like he may not have much left. I certainly may eb wrong - that opinion is one reached by inference, not in any firsthand judgment.

[Fonzie]

I agree that Antonio might be a good stopgap if Driver is out for a few games, but the cap is going to be a huge problem regardless of whom they try to sign. If I recall correctly, the Packers only have about $50k of cap room. Thus, they'd have to renegotiate a contract or two to free up cap space just to get someone in at the minimum salary.

[Fonzie]

Dola -

Just to address QS' point about Freeman - I suspect that he would be adequate for the Packers only because of his knowledge of the system and his understanding of how Favre plays. I don't think he'd do a lot for many other teams.

[ice4277]

Don't worry Packers fans, you are playing the Lions next; that means that some no-account fifth-string wide receiver will have his breakout game, go for 250 yards and 3 TDs. It happens every time.

[Bee]

Originally posted by Fonzie
I suspect that he would be adequate for the Packers only because of his knowledge of the system and his understanding of how Favre plays. I don't think he'd do a lot for many other teams.

That's similar to the point I was trying to make. I don't think it's that Freeman's skills have actually eroded, but that he was only productive in a specific offense with Brett Favre throwing to him. Put him back in that situation and he might be able to return to that productivity (depending on how much he's used).

I thought when Freeman was a free agent in 2001 (?) that he was overrated. I don't think he ever had that much talent, but was just in a great situation and had a good chemistry with Favre on the field.

[Fonzie]

Hot off the presses: (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=1611653)

By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

Decimated by injuries to three of their top four wide receivers, the Green Bay Packers have turned to an old friend as they seek reinforcements, ESPN.com has learned.

Early Monday, the team phoned the representative for free agent wide receiver Antonio Freeman, who starred with the Packers for seven seasons before his release last spring, and is attempting to negotiate a deal amenable to both parties.

The courtship of Freeman came only one day after three Green Bay receivers, including both starters, suffered injuries in the season opener that could sideline them for various periods of time.

Donald Driver, the Packers' top receiver, suffered a neck injury and he will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis. Robert Ferguson suffered ligament damage to his right knee and ankle and is scheduled to undergo further tests on Monday while Karsten Bailey, the No. 4 wide receiver, strained his hamstring during the loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

The spate of injuries left second-year veteran Javon Walker as Green Bay's lone healthy wide receiver. A first-round pick in the 2002 draft, Walker started two games as a rookie, and had 23 receptions for 319 yards and one touchdown on the year.

Freeman, 31, played last season for the Philadelphia Eagles on a one-year contract. He rejected some contract proposals in the offseason and told ESPN.com two weeks ago that he was seeking an opportunity with a team where he would get playing time, and where the franchise had a chance to go deep into the playoffs and possibly to the Super Bowl.

With more than enough cash in the bank, Freeman acknowledged that he has opted for deliberation over desperation. But the plight of the Packers, and his friendship with many of the veterans on the roster, could bring him back to Green Bay for a second stint.

The advantage to the Packers is that Freeman is familiar with the offense and might be able to step quickly into the lineup, depending on his conditioning.

One significant hurdle in contract talks: Freeman would prefer to have some guarantees in his contract. Without them, the Packers could simply sign him for several weeks, and then release him when their injured wide receivers are healthy again.

Playing as the No. 3 receiver for the Eagles last season, Freeman had 46 catches for 600 yards and scored four touchdowns. His reception total would have topped all wide receivers on three teams in the league. It was better than the catch totals of a dozen No. 2 receivers and just five of the No. 3 wideouts leaguewide had more catches.

His best seasons, of course, came with the Packers. From 1995-2001, he had 417 catches for 6,510 yards and 57 touchdowns. Four times Freeman registered 60 or more receptions and in the three-year period between 1997-99, he averaged 79.7 receptions, 1,247 yards and 10.7 touchdowns.

Freeman appeared in 101 games for Green Bay, which selected him in the fourth round of the 1995 draft, and the former Virginia Tech star started 90 contests.

[Butter_of_69]

Criminy, what happened to Ferguson? That's 3 WR's of my 5 on the bench due to injuries/substance abuse.

[Fonzie]

Ferguson got twisted around by a Viking CB as he tried to enter the end zone, spraining his knee and tearing ankle ligaments. And to add insult to injury, he didn't score on the play. Poor slob.

[Fonzie]

Dola-

Oops - sorry Bee, I didn't see you link up above.

[Cringer]

check Packers.com and Ferguson wants to play this week although expect him to be held out from what Sherman says. Driver won't be out too long but will be out this week. He gets out of hospital tomorrow from his sprained neck. Fergusons injuries are ankle and knee sprains with the ankle sprain the bigger worry.

[Jas_lov]

Actually thanks to the next three opponents the Packers have scheduled, Driver and Fergueson should have plenty of time to heal. Detroit at home, at Arizona, and at Chicago. They can probably win the next two without them. Chicago may be tougher if their stadium is done by then, if not then the Bears and Packers are switching home games so it would be in Green Bay.

[Cringer]

I thought the Vikings at home wasn't too much tougher then those games either......and then...:(.....well, we all know what happened. Jevon Walker, here's your chance to make yourself a rising star, SEIZE THE MOMENT YOU BASTARD!!! :D

[The Afoci]

I am a Vikings fan. Daunte really suprised me. Randy was Randy which is a great sign. The O-Line was tough, but the running game wasn't what I was hoping for. Defensively, much better, but needs improvement still. There is a small chance for the playoffs this year. Sadly for the Vikes I feel this win goes more towards Farve playing like crap than the Vikings winning it. Although I do give them credit for taking what was given to them and actually doing good with it. So what do I know?

[Cringer]

ok, my take on the game is this....Vikes played good, better then i thought they would while the Pack couldn't do anything right for much of the 1st 3 quarters. Favre definetly wasn't good but as is the case with most of Favres multi-interception games they were not all his fault.....Driver taking the wrong direction in the endzone....atleast one ball batted up into the air on what was just a GREAT play by the CB, balls batted into the air, wether by a defender or by a Packer WR seems to happen a lot to Favre, so i guess some could put the blame on him for those for throwing the ball so stinkin hard but i don't. Also on INT was because his WR tripped on his own feet or on another WR's feet, i couldn't tell which it was, and the DB was there by himself. And i had hoped the defense would be better....knew it some problems but as a fan you always hope for the best. The LB's need to improve...Navies was making some plays early on because they had him blitzing, but then you didnt notice him much later on. Bennett, the rookie at MLB was not really seen or heard from all day...I like Diggs a lot and he can only do so much so i give him a break, he looked good to me considering what else was going on. The DB's had thier moments but i was dissapointed with McKenzie sometimes concerning his coverage on Moss, but like Afoci said, Moss was Moss and he is a Packer killer most of the time. The hardest thing to take from this is that it was at home....every year i usually count on the Pack losing IN Minnesota, so knowing they whipped us at home and we have to play them again in something like 8 weeks is crappy. I just hope the Pack looks like they are out of the preseason next week.


Side note....KGB looked good for a bit there in the middle of the game, but Vonnie Holliday was a monster for KC yesterday, i love KGB but not anymore then i did Vonnie.....Joe Johnson better do pretty good the rest of this year because i already hate that signing him last year is the reason we couldn't keep Holliday.

[TroyF]

Originally posted by The Afoci
I am a Vikings fan. Daunte really suprised me. Randy was Randy which is a great sign. The O-Line was tough, but the running game wasn't what I was hoping for. Defensively, much better, but needs improvement still. There is a small chance for the playoffs this year. Sadly for the Vikes I feel this win goes more towards Farve playing like crap than the Vikings winning it. Although I do give them credit for taking what was given to them and actually doing good with it. So what do I know?

Huh? Farve playing like crap is what gave the Vikings this game? Nah, he did have a bad game, but the Vikings did a lot of this on their own.

If Farve were having a good day, it would have been an old fashioned shootout. The Vikings racked up 334 yards of offense and ate up over 33 minutes of the clock despite going into a ball in the fourth quarter. (of the 17 plays the Vikings ran in the fourth quarter, only 3 of them were pass plays) The Vikings scored on 5 of their first 7 possessions (not counting the end of the half when they were trying to run out the clock or the field goal at the end of that half)

If this would have been the "old" Viking defense with a poor defensive front, the game could have been a 45-42 game. In that situation, whoever had the ball last would have won. They do have a good defensive line though. That defensive line gave up one 16 yard run to Green and another 8 yard run near the end of the game. The rest of the day Green had 13 carries for 29 yards. (2.23 avg) Farve playing badly had nothing to do with that. The Vikings controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball did.

TroyF

[Fonzie]

Interesting - Ferguson's ankle injury is now being described as a "sprain" and not as torn ligaments. It is not supposed to be a long-term injury, as earlier reports suggested, but it is still unlikely he (or Driver or Bailey) will play this weekend, and they may all miss another game or two.

Thus, the Packers' need for a replacement is more of a short-term one. Freeman has stated that he wants to play for a whole season as a significant contributor/wants guaranteed money, and that may not be what the Packers have in mind for him.

In related news, the Packers have cleared about $1.5 million in cap space by guaranteeing some of Darren Sharper's salary. Now they just need to decide who to spend it on.

And finally, a question: assuming the Packers do sign a WR, whom do they cut to make a roster spot?

You know, the more I think about this injury situation the more I wonder how I would've reacted to such a rash of "out" injuries in a single game in FOF4. I probably would've felt it was a bit unrealistic to lose the top three wideouts in such a fashion. This would've led to much consternation on my part, and probably would've ultimately led to a drinking problem.

[Fonzie]

The answer to the question originally posed in this thread: Antonio Freeman. (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=1612875)