Cheese Curds, 2/15: Packers’ & NFL’s offseason priorities take shape

With the Super Bowl now behind us — less than 48 hours removed — the NFL is already moving forward towards the 2022 season. Priorities are taking shape for this offseason for the league and all of its teams, and the Packers have gotten off to a bit of a head start on a handful of rivals thanks to their early exit from the postseason.

Coming up next for the league is the Scouting Combine in a few weeks, which will mark the first time that all of the teams get together since the same event in 2020 — which took place just two weeks before COVID-19 shut down the world. This year’s event will also be the last one guaranteed to take place in Indianapolis, with the league planning to start up a bidding system for 2023 and beyond.

For the Packers, so much of the team’s plans revolve around Aaron Rodgers’ decision. But regardless of what he decides, the team needs to trim off some salary cap money before mid-March. They could start making some of those necessary moves now, though it is probably reasonable to expect them to hold off for just a bit.

Here’s a look at the goals for both the Packers and the NFL as we move fully into offseason mode.

Aaron Rodgers' future, Davante Adams' new deal and more: Packers' biggest offseason storylines – The Athletic ($)
We all know about Rodgers and Adams, but special teams and the salary cap will be the other major topics coming up over the next few weeks.

NFL offseason priorities for 2022 - ESPN
Meanwhile, the league's priorities include figuring out what (if anything) to do about the Rooney Rule, as well as evaluating the COVID-19 protocols and if they need to do anything about overtime.

Packers put 7 players on PFF’s top 101 players list from 2021 season | Packers Wire
Adams and Rodgers made the list, but Rashan Gary and De'Vondre Campbell both landed in the top 40 and a pair of running backs were in the mix as well.

‘Nobody wanted to tackle’ John Brockington | Packers.com
We get a look back into Packers history from the team website, as Brockington was one of the stars of some disappointing teams in the early 1970s.

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray releases statement: 'All of this nonsense is not what I'm about' | NFL.com
This drama between the Cardinals and Murray could just be posturing by both sides, since Murray is now eligible for a contract extension.

A Reno man donated his kidney. He received a $13,064 bill in return | USA Today
The bill was eventually rectified, but not before a second notice and a threat of sending the bill to collections came in. America’s health care system, everybody!