Cheese Curds, 3/6: NFL gets a one-week breather after its Combine marathon

With the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine now complete, most NFL teams will have a week to gather their thoughts and scouting observations before fully diving into the start of free agency. That begins one week from Wednesday, with the start of the free agent negotiation period (aka the legal tampering period) kicking off on Monday.

The Green Bay Packers have plenty of intriguing performances to sort through from Indianapolis. The relative performances of certain position groups — a great day from the tight ends and a poor one from the safeties — could affect how the team decides to approach free agency.

However, the Packers don’t exactly have a quiet week on deck, thanks to one Aaron Charles Rodgers. The veteran quarterback is expected to meet with the Packers this week to discuss his decision and the Packers’ plans, which will surely make for a fascinating conversation. One way or another, the public at large should know what the Packers’ plans with Rodgers will be by the end of this week.

Stay with us here at Acme Packing Company all week long as we discuss our observations from the Combine in Indianapolis, as Justis, Tex, and Tyler were there to get the feeling from those on the ground.

MT5: NFL Scouting Combine marks start of 2023-24 league year, still serves important function | Packers.com
We saw Mark Murphy walking through the halls of the JW Marriott on Friday afternoon, presumably in between writing responses to fan questions about the Combine. Thankfully, he agrees with all of the other football people in the NFL that it should stay in Indy -- we'll see if the league's entertainment division agrees.

What Packers fans need to know from NFL Scouting Combine | Packers Wire
It's thumbs up to the tight end class and thumbs down to the safeties, at least in terms of athletic testing over the past few days, while the wide receiver class doesn't really seem to fit with the Packers' traditional preferences.

The Case for Jaxon Smith-Njigba With Packers’ First-Round Pick - Sports Illustrated
One receiver who could be in play at 15 is this Ohio State product, who did everything but the 40-yard dash and blew it away. Think Amon-Ra St. Brown for a comparison, but with better short-area quickness.

Packers should swing big on an ultra-athletic TE class | Packer Report
As mentioned above, the tight end class was very impressive on Saturday. Darnell Washington will be the big name to watch, but players like Luke Musgrave, Zack Kuntz, and Luke Schoonmaker all put up RAS values of 9.75 or higher.

Will Aaron Rodgers Retire? It's Decision Week for the Packers Quarterback | WI Sports Heroics
Of course, we can't forget that this is the only full week in between the Combine and free agency, which begins on March 15th. That means that we're all but sure to get Aaron Rodgers' decision in the next few days.

Former Louisville QB Malik Cunningham says he's not playing in USFL, focused on NFL draft | Yahoo Sports
In one of the funnier moments this week, Cunningham responded "Nah, I'm not playing in that" when asked about the fact that he was drafted by a USFL team.