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Reeling in a big fish at tight end didn’t result in the kind of trophy on the wall the Packers hoped for with Martellus Bennett. That apparently won’t stop them from making inquiries about this offseason’s prized tight end Jimmy Graham.
The NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo reported Monday that Green Bay called about Graham during the league’s legal tampering period. The 31-year-old free agent has also been linked to his former team, the Saints, as a possible destination. Furthermore, those two teams are reportedly expected to be the two teams in the final running for Graham’s services.
Brian Gutekunst and his front office team have been burning the phone lines according to reports, with apparent interest in Richard Sherman before he signed, as well as at least three other free-agent cornerbacks.
All of that in addition to their work on Graham and the free-agent visit with Muhammad Wilkerson suggests Gutekunst will follow throw on his pledge to “be in” on every free agent and bring a more aggressive approach to offseason spending. The Packers have about $20 million cap space to work with and could clear significantly more once the Rodgers extension gets finalized. That’s expected to be done once Kirk Cousins signs his free-agent deal.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport suggested Cousins will likely sign by the end of the week.
Jimmy Graham played on a four-year $40 million deal in Seattle but isn’t expected to draw nearly that much this offseason. His projected market value via Spotrac.com is a hair under $7 million, which is about what the Packers paid for Martellus Bennett.
At that price, the Packers would still have enough cap space to target at least one other major name in free agency, including the names in the corner market like Trumaine Johnson in whom Green Bay has reported interest.