ESPN's John Clayton is reporting that DT B.J. Raji and the Green Bay Packers are close to signing a 5 year deal. The length isn't a surprise, all 1st round picks are signing 5 year deals. Maybe he'll sign in time to attend the first preseason game vs. Cleveland. They'd never let him play in it. The defensive line struggled last preseason, and it was a sign of bad things to come during the regular season. So getting Raji into as many preseason games as possible, starting with next week's game against Buffalo, and watching him play well would be a very good sign.
Turns out my prediction of 5 years, $30 million ($19 million guaranteed) wasn't too far off from the actual 5 year $28.5 million ($18 million guaranteed).
The rumors of QB Michael Vick to the Packers swirled for a while, but then Philadelphia swooped in and took a chance on him. To his credit, GM Ted Thompson was at least willing to discuss whether Vick could help the Packers, but he decided the Packers are better with QB Brian Brohm or QB Matt Flynn instead. I didn't want them to sign Vick because I don't think the baggage he brings and the loss of one of the Packers two young QBs (someone would have to go) outweighs what he could do on the field.