Inbox: He's on the path to greatness

Angela from Brighton, MI Thank you Mark Murphy and the Packers players in the video. I needed that. We all needed that. The Packers are very deliberate in how they handle sensitive matters like this. They don’t just pull out “Boilerplate Press Release No. 38” from the crisis communication box and email it out. The organization and the players are very thoughtful, and I felt that was evident in the video and Murphy’s statement. It was a collaborative effort, which is what it’s going to take for real change to happen. Gerd from Stuttgart, Germany Morning II. Love your work. You said many times that TE takes more time to learn in the NFL. But now you expect Josiah Deguara to have an impact right away, despite his role being larger than for a normal TE. Is he that special? Tight end does take more time to develop and I don’t expect Deguara to be a finished product by any means, especially without a traditional offseason program. But I think he’ll have more avenues than most rookie tight ends to make an impact with his skill set. Margeaux from Tallahassee, FL Wes, I finally made time to read your Jordan Love story. As expected it is another gem, well done! Thanks Margeaux. It was a lot of fun to write. My main takeaway was how Jordan Love has consistently won over teammates and coaches with his work ethic and maturity. There are a lot of unknowns with draft picks but those traits easily translate to the next level. Al from Green Bay, WI Like others, I'm excited to see which of the young receivers achieve the next level of success in the year ahead. While Davante Adams is a proven commodity, every year is new. What does he need to do to take yet another step forward in his impressive career? Just stay healthy. That turf toe deal was a freak injury but it cost Adams an historic season. If he’d played in all 16 games, Adams would’ve been on pace for 110 catches, 1,329 yards and six TDs – after having 111-1,386-13 a year earlier. He’s an elite receiver who’s become a respected voice in the locker room. He’s on the path to greatness. Stay on it. It really is something when you step back and remember Adams as a rookie in 2014 and now see the man he’s become, inspiring change. That’s what football is all about. Rob from Katy, TX Which game is going to cause the biggest matchup problem this year? It would be easy to say the 49ers, right? But the Buccaneers game is what I have my eye on. Tampa Bay had a championship-caliber defense last year but made too many mistakes offensively en route to a 7-9 year. If Tom Brady is anything at 43 years old, it’s high-percentage. I think he’ll cut down on the turnovers while putting his perimeter weapons to use. I usually don’t like boarding hype trains because it’s usually more speculation than substance, but the Bucs could be a problem next year.Christopher from Frederick, MD Week 3 just got a little bit more interesting, didn't it? Za'Darius Smith sure seems amped about it. Brianna from Farmington, MN What changes will Packers face? Do they need to social distance in the locker room? That’s a good question. The Packers have a large locker room but there are only 62 lockers in the main area. So there’s only so much you can do with a 53-man roster, especially with most position groups located next to each other. Maybe set specific times players can be in the locker room? I don’t know. Jason from Austin, TX I thought the more obvious reason teams weren't signing as many free agents this year, compared to other years, is because of the uncertainty of the season. Why pay a free agent if you don't know if there's going to be a season? If there's no season you just saved yourself valuable cap space where you can still spend it on that same player (for likely cheaper) or spend it on the new crop of free agents. The supply of free agents after an unplayed season will be higher I'd guess. If it really got to that point, I don’t think it would be business as usual for the NFL next offseason. The league doesn’t want to encourage teams not to spend on free agents now out of fear of what it might mean next winter. Mike from Fort Wayne, IN If social distancing is practiced during the game and there are 6-feet splits between the OL, wouldn't that benefit the running game? Depends on the running back.Larissa from Minnetonka, MN Top QB money has risen by something like 30% in the last decade. Is that sustainable? Is revenue growing by that amount? I guess it just doesn't make sense to me because that's not the pattern of inflation we see in most things. The cap rises, the contracts rise. It’s ebb and flow. With that in mind, QB contracts are pretty much where I’d expect them to be. Ken from New York, NY What has been the general reaction of the Inbox to the Packers organization speaking out on critically important social issues? Mainly positive. I’ve seen a few “FUs” but also a lot of thoughtfulness and understanding. As I told a few close friends, I’ve had to take a long look in the mirror myself this week. Because I’ve been listening to these players’ stories for eight years now but I cannot say I truly heard them – and that bothers me. Mark from Carmel, IN I just finished the final episode of “Legacy” and can’t wait to watch the whole series again! Such a beautifully created production. We are truly blessed to be fans of this historic franchise. The series brought back so many memories of going to games with my father and taking my own children to Lambeau for the first time. I can’t wait for my next opportunity to watch our team. They did a really nice job with the project. It was cool knowing the development that went into it and then seeing it come to life on the screen.John from Kirkland, WA Can you publish the social justice organizations the team is donating to? My wife and I would like to donate to one of the same groups. That’ll be announced in the near future. The organization is going to work with the players on determining where the money will go. If you want to contribute at this very moment, here are the five charities the Packers donated to last year as part of the team’s community action initiative. Beth from Franksville, WI I would like to see equality for all, including gender equality. To quote Mark Murphy’s statement on Thursday night: “We can also take this time to dissect our own role in discrimination toward people with differences in gender, gender identity, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, and physical and mental abilities.” Amen. Tom from Green Lake, WI I read Wes's response to Vishnu from Granite Bay, CA. Thank you, Wes! Your response powerfully resonated with me. I hope that it did with other readers as well. You put things in perspective. "What we do with our lives while we're here, that's what lasts." Priceless! Enough is Enough! I love that this forum is about the Packers. Moreover, it also reminds us that no matter what you do for a living, we are all in this together. This was not an easy week, for so many reasons, but I’m fortunate to have coworkers like Spoff, Ana Hoosier, Duke Bobber and Ryan Hartwig to help navigate through it. I wish you all a pleasant and safe weekend. HAVE A QUESTION?

Inbox: He's on the path to greatness

There are two traits that easily translate to the next level