Cheese Curds, 3/24: Reactions to Kevin King’s new contract roll in

The takes are flying hot and heavy over the past 24 hours. Kevin King is back with the Green Bay Packers, having signed a one-year contract on Tuesday worth as much as $6 million. Predictably, the signing of a player who was exposed as a weakness in the NFC Championship Game in January was panned widely by fans who remember his getting burned by Scotty Miller at the end of the first half or his penalty at the end of the game.

In today’s Cheese Curds, we will not dispute fans’ reasons for frustration. Instead, we will look at some other reactions to the signing, which ultimately is a pretty cheap deal for a starting cornerback in today’s NFL. For context, former Titans corner Adoree Jackson got $39 million over three years from the New York Giants, and he has played just 14 games in the past two seasons to King’s 26.

As we have noted here at APC, this one-year deal for King hardly eliminates the possibility of the Packers drafting a cornerback early in 2021. If anything, this looks like a bridge deal to keep a veteran who knows the team around to help ease the transition for a young player.

Also notable is the fact that many of King’s teammates appear to be genuinely happy for his return. They are not personnel evaluators, to be sure, but these opinions — including from Adrian Amos, arguably the veteran leader in the secondary — are at least worth considering.

On to the curds.

What cornerback Kevin King's return means for him and the Packers – The Athletic (subscription)
The Packers' starting secondary from 2020 will return for 2021 -- for better or worse -- and many of the players on the defense are excited about the four-year veteran returning:

Immediate thoughts on Packers re-signing CB Kevin King | Packers Wire
"He’s a high variance player at a position that really requires every-down consistency." That's arguably the biggest indictment of this signing.

Meanwhile, APC ran a poll yesterday on Twitter, and about two-thirds of those who responded were not in favor of bringing King back on this deal:

Packers, Brown County to raise $1M for youth scholarships | Packers.com
The team and the county (through its charity golf tournament) are eyeing a seven-figure mark to help support at-risk youth in their efforts to achieve post-high school educational opportunities.

Christian Barmore Impresses as Packers GM Brian Gutekunst Attends Alabama Pro Day - Sports Illustrated
Gutekunst was inTuscaloosa a day after visiting Tallahassee for Florida State's Pro Day. He now has attended the Pro Days of three top cornerback prospects: Greg Newsome II (Northwestern), Asante Samuel, Jr. (FSU), and Patrick Surtain II at Alabama.

Bucky Brooks 2021 NFL mock draft 2.0: Jets pass on QBs in favor of Penei Sewell at No. 2 | NFL.com
While Packers fans largely still expect the team to draft a cornerback early, Bucky Brooks goes for offensive line help at 29 with Michigan's Jaylen Mayfield. Check out our profile on Mayfield here from Peter Bukowski.

Pet frog from Orlando is a finalist to become the next Cadbury Bunny | FOX 35
GO BETTY!