Inbox: It always cuts both ways

Fredrick from Okatie, SC

I view getting some older players on the roster a positive. I seem to remember back about 30 years or so that Washington won the Super Bowl with what they called the "Over the Hill" gang. So maybe a few older players might just give us a little push.

Washington's "Over the Hill" gang was 54 years ago, for the record.

Mike from Baraboo, WI

What has been the biggest move by the Packers so far?

Signing Javon Hargrave to pair with Devonte Wyatt on the D-line interior. It was a huge hole to fill.

Tony from Marinette, WI

Hi guys, I'm curious your thoughts on the edge position opposite Micah Parsons. I like Brenton Cox Jr. coming back as a contributor but that to me seems to be his ceiling. Lukas Van Ness I don't feel has developed the way the team has hoped. He's a good rotational guy but I'm not sure he's going to ever be a full-out starter. The person on the roster that might have the most room to grow is Barryn Sorrell, he seemed to really grow as the season went on. What do you see as the likely pecking order right now?

I think the expectation is Van Ness will earn the starting job, but Sorrell will absolutely compete for it. LVN got off to a decent start last year, but that foot injury he sustained while sacking Flacco (Cincinnati home game) turned into a real bugger, and he wasn't back to full go until late December. It wiped out most of his season. Then he had a sack in the playoff game in Chicago. I get the caution and skepticism with him, but there's no reason to write him off. I don't think he's shown who he can be just yet.

Jennifer from Middleton, WI

Hey Spoff, regarding the defensive FA acquisitions being in service of fitting Gannon's system, I swear I remember coverage of Gannon's hiring including comments about being similar to Hafley in terms of adjusting system to players we have to play to their strengths. Can you reconcile those two things for me? Related to this, I think I'm trying to read the tea leaves on how the defense will change. After so many years of it being a weakness, I admit I'm uneasy about messing with it too much now.

Gannon will play to his players' strengths. It's not some rigid system. But having successful, veteran players, highly familiar with what he wants to implement and how, can be valuable in speeding up the learning curve for the unit and hopefully easing the transition.

Nate from Kewaskum, WI

Newly signed Skyy Moore has two unique stats: His first (and only) touchdown was scored in the Super Bowl and he has a 98-yard kickoff return on which he did not score.

Plus a 66-yard punt return on which he didn't score. But he does have one other TD aside from the Super Bowl score.

Mark from Austin, TX

Wow! The projections on the (Rasheed) Walker contract were way off. Thoughts?

His market clearly wasn't as robust as many were anticipating. I don't think I can recall a year when the supposed top left tackle on the market settled for a one-year, mid-level salary deal. I wonder if Walker's poor showing in the playoff game in Chicago really hurt him. He left a terrible final impression. It'll probably result in just a sixth-round compensatory pick for the Packers now, which makes the fourth they got from Dallas for Gary all the more important.

Bill from Fort Worth, TX

If "sources" are correct and Walker got $10M, it seems the Packers had other ideas at LT, since that appears a doable number for such a critical position.

Yes, they have a first-round draft pick – about whom the GM has gone on record saying he basically won the job in training camp last year but was needed elsewhere due to injuries – waiting to step in at a little more than one-third the cap hit of Walker's $10M price tag.

Gary from Minneapolis, MN

It appears the Vikings have signed Kyler Murray. I couldn't be happier. I have to believe Jonathan Gannon knows a thing or two about his weaknesses, and how to defend him.

But Murray also knows a heck of a lot about a Gannon defense. It always cuts both ways.

Brian from Zephyrhills, FL

After the last couple of seasons I have come to realize the backup quarterback position is a lot more important than I previously thought. I don't know if we have anybody on the roster that can win a couple games in an emergency, and I don't think we can draft one without using one of the top picks left. I hope we can pick up someone after another team drafts a top QB. It will be very difficult to find Malik Willis 2.0. Backup QB might be one of the top needs left.

The concern is understandable, but I'm curious how Desmond Ridder will fare in LaFleur's system, getting this offseason to learn it and then training camp to apply it. He's experienced, with 18 career starts (Willis had just three before coming to GB), and he won eight of them. He may prove to be a worthwhile option. But there's also a lot of dust left to settle in the backup QB world, with the draft coming up and all the preseason games in August.

Mark from Snellville, GA

Addicted to II for years, it is how I spend lunch at my desk. With so much talk about needing more depth at OL, I am always hoping for readiness status for recent draft picks. Guys like Jacob Monk, Travis Glover and John Williams probably dominated lower competition in college with size and strength, but with a couple years of pro coaches training technique and time on the practice squad, why aren't we hearing about them being the depth we need? I know Glover and Williams have had injuries but aren't they ready? GPG!

Monk was injured last summer, too. They may very well be ready, but nobody knows yet, and the best situation for the team is to create as much competition as possible and make them earn their roster spots by showing the growth that's anticipated in Years 2-3. Many rookie draft picks make the 53 by default because they need time, and exposing them to waivers and losing out in the initial investment before anything's known can be counterproductive. But as the timeline moves along, those guys have to earn their place.

Matt from Fitchburg, WI

Maybe the thing that bothers me most about clickbait and certain radio shows, is how quickly those narratives can become cemented as "facts." I'll hear or read something that is pure conjecture, and that the host or writer would have no way of knowing, and suddenly it's being discussed as truth within other forums the next day. Really bothersome, especially when it comes to discussing coach/GM/player motives. Sorry, just wanted to vent.

The proliferation and oversaturation of "media" trying to grab a piece of the audience creates a vicious cycle, because they all have show/podcast hours to fill and they need content. So if someone else's conjecture can become their content, it helps their cause. They feed each other, and the symbiosis succeeds because the consumers aren't discerning enough (or don't care to be, because they just want to be entertained), which allows the size of someone's audience to lend a phony credibility to their content, when in fact their content on its face has no credibility at all. And the cycle doesn't stop.

John from Stevens Point, WI

Sorry to see Emanuel Wilson go, especially to a conference foe with GB area connections, but again, the Pack can't keep everyone with two big salaries eating up a lot of the cap. Do you think Jordan Love and Parsons will be approached at some point to see if they're amenable to a restructure, or were their contracts front-loaded so as to not hamstring the Packers down the line?

There's a decent chance those deals will be restructured in the future, but whether those would be straight cap-accounting restructures that can be done without player input/negotiation, or something more involved, remains to be seen.

Curtis from Moreno Valley, CA

Letting Emanuel Wilson go for $2M seems like a headscratcher to me. That is one I think we will regret because he always delivered when his name was called and that isn't a lot of money to keep him.

How do you know the Packers didn't offer it? All we know is they didn't tender him as an RFA at $3.5M. Regardless, I said at that time, right after Chris Brooks re-signed, I wondered if Wilson would look for an opportunity for more playing time elsewhere. That's what I suspect happened here, and going to a place that just let the Super Bowl MVP running back sign elsewhere, and where the No. 2 RB tore his ACL in January, makes a TON of sense for Wilson.

Bill from Menominee, MI

What are you anticipating the running backs room will look like in camp? Obviously, barring unforeseen events, Josh Jacobs and Brooks are penciled in to make the 53. Is MarShawn Lloyd expected to return to camp healthy of previous ailments? How many RBs are typically on the training camp roster?

Typically five or six. There are a couple of developmental prospects on the roster now, and I could see the Packers adding to the position via the draft and/or UDFA class. But my expectation is camp will start with Jacobs-Lloyd-Brooks as the 1-2-3.

Joe from Bozeman, MT

I don't understand all the consternation over the Ravens backing out of the trade. Does everyone forget that the Raiders shut Crosby down due to that same injury? If the team's doctors are concerned then that's good enough for me.

The scuttlebutt around the league is the Ravens apparently had all the medical information needed – scans, reports, etc. – to make their decision on Crosby before conducting the formal physical, but they went through with negotiating the trade only to back out at the last minute anyway.

Kevin from Arlington Heights, IL

When scheduling, does the NFL take into consideration players who will start on IR? For example, the Bears/Packers game you'd think you want to have Parsons healthy for, for the storyline alone, or Mahomes to be back for a game against the Bills or Ravens.

They're not oblivious to it when it comes to QBs, but whether any other high-profile players are taken into account is debatable.

George from North Mankato, MN

What has been the biggest surprise of free agency so far in your opinion? Mine would be the catapulted contract for Linderbaum at center. Seems to me upping the ante by making him the highest paid ever could have been enough to sign him. Your thoughts?

Linderbaum topping the league's previously highest-paid center by 50%, and Indy's Alec Pierce joining the high-priced receiver crowd at $29M per were the two deals that blew me away.

Matt from Allouez, WI

What are your thoughts on the NFC North teams this offseason? Can the Packers win it?

I'll probably say this too many times this offseason: I don't believe there's a clear-cut favorite to win the division.

Mike from Algoma, WI

Hey Mike! Did you see the new Titans unis? What an incredible upgrade. Not the best uniforms in the league, but a vast improvement over previous iterations. Finally, normal numbers!

They possess a welcome resemblance to the Houston Oilers' "Luv ya Blue" Earl Campbell era. Those were always a sharp look, and it's great to see them back. I wish they'd never gone away in the first place.

Jeffrey from Eveleth, MN

Skyy Vodka. Evan Williams whiskey. Is there a pattern here?

Johnny Blood (red) and Green 19 (IPA) are among many GBP-related local beer varieties in this town, so why not?

Kyle from Osceola, WI

Can we please enshrine "Don't confuse outcome with intent" as one of the core tenets of Inbox (f.k.a. Vicisms)? It should be right up there with "Players, not plays," "Just win, baby," and "It's time to be new."

Appreciate the recognition. I did come up with that one on my own, but in a nod to the predecessor, last week I pulled out "It's a game of replacement," too. Happy Monday.

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