For years now the Green Bay Packers have neglected their offensive weapons around star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. This has led to some frustration from Rodgers and cultivated with his comments about not knowing if he would be back next NFL season.
The Packers have been historically frugal when it comes to adding weapons via trade or free agency and has instead chosen to groom homegrown talent. Problem being that their homegrown talent hasn’t included drafting a receiver, tight end, or running back in the first round in Rodgers entire career.
Green Bay must capitalize on this Super Bowl ready roster and add weapons to a Hall of Fame quarterback who isn’t getting any younger at 37.
Current Weapons
As it stands, the Packers have arguably the best receiver in football in Davante Adams. However, outside of Adams, Green Bay doesn’t have a strong supporting cast.
Allen Lazard has shown potential but has less than 1k receiving yards in his career and missed significant time last year due to injury.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling has proven to be a player that can be an asset on a team but not a teams number two receiver. The soon to be fourth year player has never caught more than 38 passes. He has also struggled with drops and vanishing for games at a time.
Robert Tonyan has the most potential in this bunch as hauled in 11 touchdowns last year and caught 52 passes. He could take a big step forward next year.
Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams are both free agents and both are expected to test the market. Losing either of these players would be a significant loss. Jones has become one of the best backs in the league and has scored 30 touchdowns in the past two years. While Williams has become a solid player, able to rip off long runs and provide a solid receiving option out of the backfield.
Why Antonio Brown Makes Sense
Antonio Brown is one of the most accomplished receivers of this decade. He proved this year that he still has the ability to threaten a defense on any given play.
Teaming up a Davante Adams and Antonio Brown on the Packers would create arguably the best wide receiver duo in the NFL and give Aaron Rodgers the off-season acquisition that he has been asking for.
Antonio Brown’s talent has never been in question.
The cloud around Brown is his off the field and locker room problems. The NFL is still investigating his off field the field problems and that investigation should conclude this off-season. As for his locker room issues, he reportedly was a solid teammate and contributor on the way to the Buccaneers Super Bowl win.
Per Overthecap, the Packers are currently 19.8 millions dollars over the cap so they’re not going to be able to make a splashy financial signing without making some major changes to their current roster. AB would be perfect for their salary cap situation as he is going to come at a discount due to his many bridges burned around the league.
Pursue or Pass?
Antonio Brown offers the Packers a chance to right the wrongs of their neglect to Aaron Rodgers. He would walk in the building as their best offensive acquisition in decades. This is a signing the Packers need to do and should seriously consider in the coming weeks.
