Inbox: He gave it a shot

Doug from St. Germain, WI

Make his mark? Good grief, Mike. Did you run that line past Evan Williams first?

Just trying to keep this crowd on its toes.

Marc from Holmen, WI

Regarding Charlie from Waukesha's question about any other franchise that let two SB-winning quarterbacks walk, the New England Patriots share that distinction. Jim Plunkett won two with the Raiders and Tom Brady won one with Tampa Bay (albeit after a handful for the Patriots).

Albeit indeed.

Troy from Westminster, CO

To answer Charlie from Waukesha, Tampa Bay let three Super Bowl-winning QBs walk out the door – Doug Williams, Steve Young and Trent Dilfer. Adding further insult to injury is all three were first-round picks by the Bucs. The Iowa Barnstormers let one Super Bowl-winning QB go.

So there we have it.

Gerry from Salina, KS

I will soon be 82, and I have been a Packer fan since they drafted Paul Hornung. I got to know many Packers when teaching at St. Norbert when they still trained there. I also got to know Mike McCarthy when he was a student at Fort Hays State University in Kansas. I knew that Mike had potential, but I never dreamed that he would coach three of the historic teams in the NFL. I wish him well, but have the young coaches changed the game enough that he might struggle for wins?

That's what everybody questioned when McCarthy left Green Bay. Then he took a year off, struggled through the pandemic season without his starting QB in Dallas, and won 12 games three straight years with the Cowboys. I have no idea how things will go in Pittsburgh, but McCarthy isn't oblivious to how the game has changed.

Tim from Olathe, KS

Mike, when they announced the signing of Micah Parsons last year it was like a jolt of electricity going through me like I have not felt since we traded for John Jefferson in the early '80s. JJ underwhelmed and it was demoralizing. Parsons got hurt and it was demoralizing. But the highs are worth risking the lows as a fan, no?

That's like asking if as a fan you'd rather not make the playoffs at all than risk the heartbreak of getting in and getting bounced. That feels like an easy answer to me.

Phil from Madison, WI

Now that the season is over, any scuttlebutt on whether the tush push will be addressed again? It seems like it got less attention during the season, but I would hate to see it ignored, mostly because watching runners get carried along in a scrum fries my brain even more.

Haven't heard anything yet, but with the owners' meetings at the end of March, issues to be addressed start to circulate a couple weeks in advance.

Tallon from Castle Rock, CO

Was hoping Jordan Love would win the Walter Payton award this year, but good for Wagner, it always goes to someone deserving. I totally see Love winning that award at some point, incredible guy with an amazing story that doesn't get enough attention. Who was the last Packer player to win?

Since the inception of the NFL Man of the Year award in 1970 (it was named after Payton, who won it in '77, following his death in '99), a Packers player has never won it. In 2000, Green Bay-area native Jim Flanigan shared it with Tampa Bay linebacker Derrick Brooks when Flanigan played for the Bears, and then he played for the Packers the following year, in 2001.

Steve from Eau Claire, WI

Hey, Mike! I would like to know if you have a favorite NFL current player who is overlooked, and has a sneaky chance of becoming a HOFer? Thanks for all you guys do. GPG!

I don't know about favorite or sneaky, but I'll mention two players I've admired from afar for their consistent, high level of play and impressive longevity, who may or may not retire this offseason, and whose Hall of Fame cases aren't slam dunks but will be very interesting to follow: Mike Evans and Harrison Smith.

Dave from Germantown, TN

Where did the Packers rank in penalties assessed in 2025? Can the penalties be counted for by down? Did the Packers have more third-down penalties?

I don't have a by-down breakdown (say that five times fast). But I can tell you the Packers were called for 105 penalties in the regular season, which was 18th most in the league, so right near the middle. Five teams with more made the playoffs, eight teams with fewer did. Including offsetting and declined fouls, the Packers had 126, tied for 16th.

Adrian from Chula Vista, CA

II, I've been following the special teams discussions closely, and I have one question. Knowing that the ST coach is not going anywhere, injuries happen, we are not drafting ST-only players, and probably not picking up ST players in free agency, how do we go from what we had in 2025 to what Seattle had in 2025? GO PACK GO!

The Packers need a dynamic returner who can impact field position, and the kicker needs to carry over his regular-season reliability to the postseason.

William from Charleston, WV

Good morning, II! While my questions about the dominance of Seattle's defense didn't garner much interest, it seems I may have been on to something unawares. They're now talking about "tells" from the Patriots' offensive line. Sounds like a scene out of "Invincible." How often are "tells" part of the equation? Apparently, they made a big difference in this game.

Anything to get an edge, and it can be easier to find one with extra time to prepare, like for a Super Bowl. I've never understood, though, why players would reveal publicly any pertinent info they (or their coaches) gleaned from film study on an opponent.

Justin from Thousand Oaks, CA

Not turning the ball over once the entire postseason isn't solely a QB stat, but it's one reason I feel like Sam Darnold deserves his flowers despite a statistically meager Super Bowl. Yes, he had the Seattle defense helping him out, but he also never gave the opposing (quite good) defenses a short field. New England was drowning and he never threw them a life preserver.

I'm with you, but I was more impressed in this regard the previous game. Six of the 14 INTs Darnold threw in the regular season came against the Rams – four when the Seahawks lost by two points, and two in their OT win. Then he attempted 36 passes in the NFC title game against LA and wasn't picked off once.

Justin from Thousand Oaks, CA

Rumors abound that the Rams/49ers game in Melbourne will be played on Labor Day weekend. If true, is that likely just a function of the enormous time difference/travel slog or do you think they might be doing a test run for an 18-game season?

A double-up from Justin because I missed this question earlier. For Week 1, the league abandoned Labor Day weekend 25 years ago, believing as the last bastion of summer it couldn't generate adequate ratings. It makes sense there'd be interest in re-testing that theory before an 18-game season would potentially return Week 1 to then. But also, yes, the travel time and time-zone difference with the Australia trip would almost necessitate a bye week before those teams' next games, so having them start their season a week early for the inaugural trip in this case would make sense as well.

Steve from Ankeny, IA

I find it interesting that Zach Tom commented after the season that he "is considering surgery." He missed the last six games; wouldn't it make more sense to have the surgery while the season was going on to use those extra weeks to start healing. I assume there is more to that story.

He thought there was a chance he could heal up well enough without surgery to play by season's end, so he gave it a shot. It didn't work out that way. The decision-making considerations change once the offseason arrives. Nothing more or less to it than that.

Ray from Phoenix, AZ

In your opinion, is Sean Rhyan on the Packers' 53 next year? If yes, is he at center or back to battle for the RG spot? If no, is it a lock that GB adds a FA center or draft a plug-in center with an early pick?

If the Packers re-sign Rhyan, I think it'll be to start at center, and I'm not sure they'd want to use any of their Day 2 draft picks on that position. But I don't have any knowledge of what they're thinking.

Joe from Bozeman, MT

I agree with Mike that for every miss in the early rounds of the draft the Packers have had significant hits in the later rounds. The problem has been the first round, where no matter where you draft in that round you should get someone who can contribute right away and has a large upside. Lukas Van Ness has yet to show the potential the Packers sold us on and we hold our breaths to see what Morgan and Golden will bring in 2026.

I expect all three of those players, health permitting, to play major roles on the 2026 Packers. What they do with their opportunities could have a seismic impact on the upcoming season and future.

Jordan from Osterdock, IA

I hope those comp pick projections hold because I have an odd excitement about drafting Mr. Irrelevant.

We shall see.

Mike from Geneva, IL

The Packers have pick No. 199 in the draft. Back in 2000, the Patriots picked at 199 and changed the history of their organization. We don't need a QB but I'd be happy if the Packers can draft a player that can be considered the greatest ever at his position with pick 199 this year. Heck, I'd be happy if they can do that with any of their other picks. It can't be that hard, can it?

Piece of corn. Can of cake.

Joe from Dells, WI

First the Arlington Heights Bears. Next the Indiana Bears. Now the Iowa Bears? What are your thoughts on the possibility of the Kenosha Bears?

The amount of political posturing going on in this saga is reaching "West Wing" or "House of Cards" levels.

Al from Green Bay, WI

Spoff, curiosity question: We know players have contracts. Coaches, GMs and scouts also have contracts. But there are lots of other Packers employees including medical staff, field and equipment personnel, the all-important media department, and others. Are these typically at-will employees or do they have contracts as well? (If you and Wes have contracts, what can the II base do to get you two lucrative extensions?)

None of the folks you mentioned in that list of employees, including me and Wes, has a contract. At least not that I know of. But I'm planning to serve as Wes's agent when I retire and he starts playing hardball.

Jason from Buchanan, WI

Since it's the offseason, can you give us some history on how this column came to be? What was Vic's impetus to start it all?

For the uninitiated, Vic came to the Packers after a number of years with the Jaguars, where he'd started his "Ask Vic" column on their website, initially to answer fans' questions about the salary cap in the offseason. It grew from there to cover any and all topics for 10 years, and he brought the concept to us. After five full seasons he retired, turning the column over to me and Wes, and we renamed it Insider Inbox. Vic posted the first column on Feb. 21, 2011, so we are one week away from its 15th anniversary on packers.com.

Graydon from Menomonie, WI

Now that pitchers and catchers have reported, can we transition this to the Brewers Insider Inbox for a month or so?

Sorry, I'm out next week and Wes will be at the controls. He'll probably talk UFC all week if you let him.

Dan from Inver Grove Heights, MN

Having crossed the Red Sea of the Super Bowl and now destined to spend months wandering the Sinai of hyperbolic umbrage, disingenuous dyspepsia and fictitious click-bait prestidigitation betwixt here and the draft, is there any balm in Gilead? Some actual, meaningful nugget to assuage this aging Packers fan? It seems only a minute ago, it was halftime and 21-3. Now it is the winter of my discontent. Whaddya got?

Happy Friday?

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