Let's All Freak Out About Greg Jennings

Greg Jennings has one year remaining on his contract, the Green Bay Packers are deep at wide receiver, and they're not exactly loaded with cap room. Most of us have expected Jennings to get a new long-term contract all along, but the receiver himself is talking like he doesn't expect that to be the case.

Tom Silverstein quoted Jennings in a recent Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article, where Jennings spoke about being prepared to leave if he has to.

"Whether the contract comes with Green Bay in the near future or (with) one of the other 31 teams, that's the reality of it. That's the way I have to approach it. My mind-set is 20 weeks of football with the Packers and then this is it. This is my last year with the Packers under contract. That's my mind-set. I'm not thinking about (the) contract. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, I have to make sure I go out there and do what I've been doing for six solid years here to get myself a chance to play somewhere."

Jennings also went on ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike and spoke about his contract situation.

"I definitely want to be here, but understanding the nature of the business, you never know. There is really nothing else I can really say or do. The ball is not in my court at all. I have to play the cards that I'm dealt. Right now it's football. That's my focus."

Aaron Rodgers spoke about the issue on his radio show on Tuesday and, in the words of Jason Wilde, he sounded "almost resigned" to the fact that Jennings will not play for the Packers next season.

"I think you have to be realistic about it and think that it might be (our last year together)," Rodgers said. "I have loved my time with Greg, Greg and I are going to be buddies whether he's here or not."

This is, obviously, not what any Packers fan wanted to hear. We can't begrudge Jennings for not showing unwavering commitment to a team that hasn't offered him a new deal, and we can't begrudge Ted Thompson for not getting the deal done yet. Both Thompson and Jennings are going to have a difficult business decision to make very shortly.

I think that Jennings is the team's best receiver and worthy of a very lucrative long-term contract, but the Packers also have to either extend or replace Clay Matthews, B.J. Raji and Aaron Rodgers in the next couple of years. Rodgers is irreplaceable and will get a contract comparable to the one Drew Brees signed this offseason, if not larger. Matthews and Raji will also command raises, and while both experienced drop-offs in production last season, they will not be easy to replace.

The reality of the situation is that the Packers simply can't afford to pay Jennings Larry Fitzgerald or Calvin Johnson-type money. Even if he wants something just below that pay grade, the Packers are going to struggle to fit him and their other stars under the cap. If Jennings wants to stick around, he might have to agree to a sizable hometown discount.

It's obviously too early to tell what's going to happen with Jennings, but what are your thoughts on the issue? Sound off below.

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