Jermichael Finley Wants To Remain A Green Bay Packer; Do The Packers Feel The Same Way?

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Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley has opened his mouth again.  At least this time, it’s nothing too controversial.

On Monday, Finley made it known he wants to “retire a Green Bay Packer,” and be a “Packer for life.”  He went on to “compliment” the city of Green Bay by saying there is nothing to do there so there is a much smaller risk of him getting into trouble.

There’s no doubt Finley has the skills of a superstar. Anyone who has watched him play agrees he is a freak of athlete, a wide receiver in the body of a tight end.   He is a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses.  Just his height of 6-foot-5 gives him a big advantage over an opponent’s secondary.

He’s also one of quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ favorite weapons.  All offseason, Rodgers talked about excited he was to get No. 88 back on the field and that Finley had the chance to become a truly special tight end.

So Finley wants to stay a Packer and the franchise quarterback agrees with him. That’s fine, but what do the people that truly make that decision, general manager Ted Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy, think?

No clue.  Like anything with those two, they’re holding their cards fairly close to the chest.  Some word has gotten out of talks between Finley’s agent and the Packers, but there hasn’t been anything concrete.

The question then becomes: Should the Packers bring back Finley long term?

There’s evidence for both answers to that question.

First, the Packers are already loaded with offensive weapons even with Finley off the list.  There was no bigger proof of this than the 2010 season in which Finley was lost for the year in week 5 yet the Packers managed to win the Super Bowl.  Finley is well aware of this, that they won a Super Bowl without him.

Another concern would be Finley’s twitter account as well as his mouth.  During the week leading up to Super Bowl XLV last year, Finley could (and probably should) have steered clear of Nick Barnett’s public protest about injured players being included in the team picture.  Instead he joined in.

Exhibit B about Finley’s mouth was earlier this season when he publicly complained about not getting the ball enough. This was a concern of many people given how many offensive weapons the Packers have.   Of course, during the game in Atlanta which came right after he made those remarks, Finley dropped what should have been an easy touchdown pass in the end zone so perhaps that served Finley some humble pie.

Along with the bad, there is still a lot of good that would come with keeping Finley on the roster.

It all starts with his aforementioned athletic skills.  He’s good enough that he can not only lineup in the traditional tight end spot, but he can also line up wide and be a giant wide receiver. That’s the kind of matchup problem he presents.

This season, Finley is second on the team behind Greg Jennings with 25 receptions and is tied for second with four touchdown receptions, though three of those came in week three against the Chicago Bears. I for one expected higher numbers out of Finley, but this also speaks volumes again about how deep the Packers really are on offense.

The flip side of his personality is that he is basically a kid at heart and just loves playing the game.  This can wear on some people, but it also helps keep a locker room loose.  Finley hasn’t shown any true signs of becoming a locker room menace like a Randy Moss or Terrell Owens, so that definitely helps his case.  McCarthy won’t tolerate any of those shenanigans in his locker room.

There is one other wild card in whether or not Finley stays, and only the tight end will be able to answer it once free agency starts (should he get that far without an extension).  He can say all this now, but if a team dangle more money in front of him than the Packers are offering, will a young man like Finley truly be able to resist a bigger paycheck even if it means going to a lesser organization?

Like I said, only Finley can answer that question.  I hope it doesn’t come to that.  All the attention being paid to Finley is allowing people like Jordy Nelson and James Jones to make plays and has helped make the Packers offense so much more potent.

So I would tell Thompson to re-sign Finley.  Tight ends with that skill set only come around maybe once in a career, so letting him slip through his fingers now would be a mistake.  If Thompson thinks otherwise, I’m fine with that.  After all, Thompson has proven time and time again he knows more about football than I do.

Please Ted. Extend the lease on TGIFinley’s for at least another few years.

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Kris Burke is a sports writer covering the Green Bay Packers for AllGreenBayPackers.com and WTMJ in Milwaukee. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) and his work has been linked to by sites such as National Football Post and CBSSports.com.

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8 thoughts on “Jermichael Finley Wants To Remain A Green Bay Packer; Do The Packers Feel The Same Way?

  1. If the Packers used two tight ends like say, the Patriots do, I’d be more inclined to say keep him. But as of today, what has he shown to get “Top 5 money”, potential?

  2. “There’s nothing to do there so there is a much smaller risk of him getting into trouble”.

    Perhaps I’m reading between the lines a little too much but,to even infer getting into trouble sounds premeditated with an unknown time and date of implosion.
    Pay me to stay in this do nothing town or…

    It might be wrong to look that way but,that avenue is there. Just saying.

  3. If he can stay healthy, they have to resign him. That simple. He’s going to demand the richest contract in TE history, but they still need to resign him. Now the real question is: How’s this going to affect the salary cap in the future?

    1. Bearmeat, how could this affect the salary cap? Think Mathews, Raji, and Wells, that’s how. I’d much rather the “big” money be divided up between those 3. I like Finley, but think of life W/O Mathews or Raji, I don’t like that picture.

  4. I really like Finleys potential and ability. With that said I told my brother last year that the Pack won’t resign him. I have my doubts that he is ‘Packer’ people. If he could close his pie-hole for the rest of the season and do the little things well, like chip-block, and consistently catch the rock then you sign him. I mean we have 5 tight-ends what does that say. I thought Crabtree was gone this year but he made it and what few throws he gets hedoes not drop, I still remember the catch in the superbowl for about two yards when the Pack had to settle for that fieldgoal, but his difficult catch kept the clock going.

  5. Finley is a toss-up.

    I get a partial sick feeling when I hear the term, “Packer People”. The term is somewhat negative in a fact that we are looking for people who are only good enough for us because we assign a label to them.

    Cullen Jenkins I guess was not “Packer People” because he went for more money.

    Brett Favre was not “Packer People” because he was not willing to give up his spot.

    Many other cuts, were not “Packer People” for various reasons.

    The whole notion of that concept is overrated in my opinion. Now, what is not, is team chemistry and willing to play as a unit.

    While Finley has been out there at times by saying something, or venting frustration, I think he fully understands what he has on his plate. Its one thing to go from being a standout in college and transition to the NFL to rebuild your reputation. He has put in his hours at training camp and really has never thrown anyone under the bus or blamed anyone for his lack of catches at times.

    I think the key issue is that Finley is worth the money but just un-trust worthy with his value because of his previous injury reports. Not to mention his value of a TE is all about his athleticism. At some point those legs will fail because of wear and tear, and will make Finley become more of a balanced TE like Tony Gonzalez. Finley will have to prove to Ted Thompson and McCarthy that he is worth the contract because the NFL stands for “Not For Long”.

    1. I don’t think Cullen Jenkins left for more money as he was hurt the Pack did not establish his price so he took his first offer and did not let Thompson counter. Favre showed his true colors…I agree that the term ‘Packer People’ gets misused I should have rather said it like it is – he lacks character, however should he mature he can develop it.

  6. I guess this conversation is part of a 7-0 start to the season. I am most concerned about the remaining 9 games. MM’s philosophy is strictly “TEAM” and that’s what will be in place for the remainder of the season. As AR has demonstrated so well all the components of the O are used in every game. To be a GB Packer you must play team ball, individual acclaim is a result of how well a player fits into the MM team.

    I suspect that the apparent lack of negotiation with Finley/Agent is more due to a desire for Finley to see what the market will bear than any deliberate plan on the part of the Packers. And that’s fine. Sometime during the off-season this issue will be resolved. In the meantime, if he continues his efforts to be as good as he can be without injury, I wish him well no mater what.

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