Inbox: It'll fall how it'll fall

[Cheesehead]

Joshua from Appleton, WI


Thank you guys for working from home to entertain us. I really enjoyed the video chat. Wes had said it's been several years since we had a high-dollar WR free agent from another team on the team. Who was the last such player we signed?


It depends on your definition of high-dollar, but if you don't count James Jones coming back in '15, then maybe it's Koren Robinson? Terry Glenn (via trade)? Andre Rison and Don Beebe?


Jim from McLean, VA


Hi Mike! Your answer and the question by Steve from Bloomington got me wondering: How much time do the personnel departments spend studying other teams' needs and tendencies in the draft? Seems like it could get incredibly complex with so many possible permutations.


They study it and try to get a handle on it as best they can, but they know anything can happen. They'll run their own mock drafts to see what different scenarios might present themselves. To me the possibilities seem endless when picking at 30, as opposed to 12 last year, so they can only be "prepared" to a certain extent.


Rich from De Pere, WI


Insiders, we often talk about getting or anticipating "significant improvement" from young players on the roster. How many years do teams typically give a player before they start to realize, or at least think, that perhaps the desired improvement isn't going to come?


Every situation is different. It depends on what progress they've seen, or if they feel any progress has flattened out, or how much injuries have been a factor. Most often it simply comes down to whether there's a better player available to take the roster spot.


Paul from Rockford, IL


With the re-signing of Swervin' Ervin, does this mean he will be worked into more offensive plays like we started to see towards the end of the season?


I wouldn't be surprised. LaFleur was very interested in the skill set Tyler Ervin brings to the offense, even when the rest of the running backs were fully healthy.


John from Yakima, WA


As GM, for the late-round picks, in evaluating players do you include how the player contributes to special teams?


Quite frequently, yes, but even if they didn't play much on special teams in college you're looking for body types and attributes that can help in that area.


Mike from New Orleans, LA


I appreciated your breakdown of guarantees in contracts. It got me thinking, if a team for some reason has an absurd amount of cap space one season, could they sign a player to a multi-year contract, but simply pay the whole thing as a signing bonus? That way the player gets the money and the team doesn't need to worry about cap hits in the future from him.


Well, the signing bonus would be prorated cap-wise, so what you're suggesting would be to pay a player a whopper of a first-year salary so it all counts on the cap right away. But that's not an advisable strategy. After Year 1, you don't have a very motivated player.


Raymond from Edmonton, Alberta


Hey Mike (or Spoff), reading that the offseason program has a possibility of being canceled got me wondering about the play books. I was always under the impression that that is when they were given out to the team. I heard someone ask if they will be given out electronically and the answer was no, if I remember correctly. My question is, if the OTAs are cancelled, when will the players get the playbook and does this present a problem with picking it up for the start of the season?


The playbooks have been electronic for a while now, and I would imagine the team will distribute them when it can. Everything in the offseason is voluntary for players, though, except the one minicamp, so they can't be compelled to do anything. Players with offseason workout bonuses in their contracts are going to be more concerned about those, frankly, than the playbooks. That's not a criticism, just reality.


Bob from New Britain, CT


Hi Mike, the other day you commented: "The slightest miscue leading to a slow start can easily cost a player one or two tenths on his 40 time." It caused me to think ... these are football players, not track stars. Why do they always begin their 40-yard sprints in the track "ready position"? Wouldn't it make more sense, to better evaluate their "football speed," for each player to line up as they normally would at the line of scrimmage? Wouldn't that be more natural for them?


I think it's well accepted that 40 times aren't football speed. But having everybody run them, in the same place and from the same starting position, provides comparisons to the rest of that draft class and to past draft picks as well. Therein lies the value, such as it is.


Nate from Pueblo, CO


Can you think of even one free agent this year that would've been worth sacrificing David Bakhtiari, Clark, Kevin King, or Jones next year? I can't.


I'm with you, and there's still no guarantee the Packers can keep all four of those guys you listed. There's also Corey Linsley, plus the following year Davante Adams, and then Jaire Alexander entering the same fifth-year option Clark is heading into now.